Farm Bill compromise could toughen subsidy rules
“The farm bill compromise being drafted by House Agriculture Committee leaders would set stricter eligibility rules for crop subsidies, lobbyists said on Tuesday. The package also would drop the idea of higher subsidy rates for crops including wheat and soybeans; end the so-called loan deficiency bonus; and limit enrollment in the largest U.S. land stewardship programs.”
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Standing at the end of the road by Ronnie Cummins
“Streaming from the historic statue of the Angel of Independence, symbolically setting fire to a decrepit tractor, one hundred and fifty thousand small farmers, teachers, workers, and neighborhood activists are marching to repeal the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and end the illegal “dumping’ by Cargill, ADM, and Monsanto of billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidized U.S. agricultural crops-beans, rice, sugar, powdered milk, soybeans, and genetically engineered corn–onto the Mexican market.”
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Beyond Organic by Elliot Coleman
“New ideas, especially those that directly challenge an established orthodoxy, follow a familiar path. First, the orthodoxy says the new idea is rubbish. Then the orthodoxy attempts to minimize the new idea’s increasing appeal. Finally, when the new idea proves unstoppable, the orthodoxy tries to claim the idea as its own. This is precisely the path organic food production has followed.”
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Sustainable food confronts elitist past
“Dinner at the Berkeley, Calif.-based Chez Panisse is more than just a rhapsodic gourmet experience. It is also a pricey — if seductive — education in sustainable food from the grand dame of local, “real” food and the Yale Sustainable Food Project’s inspiration: Alice Waters.”
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