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Obama and Agriculture

At USDA, Taking on Ambitious Goals and Intractable Problems
December 2008 in the Washington Post
On the campaign trail, President-elect Barack Obama said his administration would help small family farms, end childhood hunger and upgrade roads and bridges in rural areas. A report by the Government Accountability Office asserted that the USDA continued to give federal subsidies to ineligible, wealthy farmers despite a series of congressional reforms. Between 2003 and 2006, more than 2,700 farmers who were earning more than the cutoff of $2.5 million annually continued to receive subsidies. Unwarranted payments totaled $49 million. Within hours of the report's release, Obama said the findings represented "a prime example of the kind of waste I intend to end as president."

Letter to President-Elect Obama
December 2008 by Food Democracy Now!
"As our nation's future president, we hope that you will take our concerns under advisement when nominating our next Secretary of Agriculture because of the crucial role this Secretary will play in revitalizing our rural economies, protecting our nation's food supply and our environment, improving human health and well-being, rescuing the independent family farmer, and creating a sustainable renewable energy future."

Farmer-In-Chief
October 2008 by Michael Pollan in New York Times Magazine
"...keep in mind this One Big Idea: most of the problems our food system faces today are because of its reliance on fossil fuels, and to the extent that our policies wring the oil out of the system and replace it with the energy of the sun, those policies will simultaneously improve the state of our health, our environment and our security."

Urban and Local Agriculture

Schumer wants local farms' produce in school cafeterias
December 2008 in Newsday
Dismayed that Long Island schools are serving students mostly processed food, Sen. Charles Schumer said he wants to see more products from local farms in New York cafeterias. Schumer's staff will meet to explore how locally grown food can be cost-effective for farmers and school districts.

Climate Change "Foodprint"

As More Eat Meat, a Bid to Cut Emissions
December 2008 in the New York Times
What to do about farm emissions is one of the main issues being discussed this week and next, as the environment ministers from 187 nations gather in Poznan, Poland, for talks on a new treaty to combat global warming. In releasing its latest figure on emissions last month, United Nations climate officials cited agriculture and transportation as the two sectors that remained most “problematic.”

Sign the Cool Foods Pledge! http://ga3.org/campaign/CFpledge Want to reduce global warming? Take the “Cool Foods” Pledge and help take a bite out of global warming by changing the way you eat.

Food and Farm Worker Rights

Subway to Pay More for Florida Tomatoes
December 2008
Subway agreed to pay an extra penny per pound more for tomatoes grown in Florida after reaching a deal with a farm workers advocacy group. The deal between Subway and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which is aimed at improving wages and working conditions for Florida farm workers, also calls for a stricter code of conduct for suppliers concerning labor rights.