CFSC Farm Bill Update - Don’t Wait! Call your Senator Today!

CFSC Farm Bill Update
September 21, 2007


Don’t Wait! Call your Senator Today!

Thank you for your continuing support of Community Food Projects (CFP) in the 2007 Farm Bill!
Community Food Project funding has made great progress toward healthy, sustainable food systems in communities around the country, and it’s up to us to ensure that this successful program continues. If you have not yet contacted your Senators to ask for their support of mandatory funding for Community Food Projects, now is the time. To find your Senators’ contact information, call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, or look it up at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm If you’ve already called, consider forwarding this email to a friend or colleague.

For more information on how you can help keep Community Food Projects going, see last week’s Farm Bill Update at http://www.foodsecurity.org/policy

Recent Farm Bill Developments

Senate Timing:
According to Congress Daily on September 18, Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) announced that he intends for the Agriculture Committee to debate the draft of the Farm Bill before Congress goes on recess for Columbus Day on Oct. 8, even if Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has not yet held his own debate session for the proposed agricultural tax package plan.

Congress is expected to pass a resolution to extend the present 2002 Farm Bill for one month because the current bill expires with the end of the fiscal year on Sept 30. There is a chance that instead of voting on a new farm bill, Congress could decide to extend the present bill that was passed in 2002. Harkin said he is not “unalterably opposed to extending the 2002 Farm Bill”, but expressed that he would rather get a new bill passed.

Possible New Funding for Fruit and Vegetable Programs:
Michigan Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a member of both the Finance Committee and the Agriculture Committee, is leading an effort to win $3 billion in new money for fruit and vegetable growers. Her letter to committee leaders and Senate leadership has 36 Senators’ signatures. There is $1.7 billion for fruit and vegetable growers in the House version of the Farm Bill. (Farm Policy, Sept. 14th).

Controversy in Farm Bill Funding:
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus has said he plans to provide between $8 and $10 billion in farm bill funding. As of yet, the source from which he aims to offset this money is unclear. At this point we do not have any indication that this package includes increases for nutrition programs similar to increases in the House version. We are continuing to push our legislators to support the allocation of significant farm bill funds for nutrition.

Revising his stance, Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) is warming to the idea of a permanent fund to provide disaster relief to farmers. A permanent disaster fund is a high priority of both Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and for Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), both of whom are members of the Agriculture Committee. Harkin is considering including in his draft both a revenue-protection program of the kind sought by corn growers and a ‘modest’ permanent disaster fund, which is a major priority for another influential member of both the finance committee and Harkin's. (Des Moines Register Sept 19th).

Commodity Groups Putting Pressure on the Senate:
On Sept 18, the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition asked Senator Baucus to make changes in the conservation tax credit portion of his proposal. The group noted that there are equity concerns at play here because wealthy landowners are the most likely to be supportive of tax credits while small farmers would be more interested in cash payments. The coalition also urged Baucus to provide more funding for conservation and wildlife habitat protection programs.

Last week, twenty-two commodity groups that included organizations such as the American Soybean Association and the National Association of Wheat Growers wrote to Agriculture Committee and Senate leadership to urge them to pass the farm bill as soon as possible. Senator Baucus is also under pressure from conservation groups and specialty crop growers to provide more assistance for them in the bill. (Congress Daily, Sept. 17th)

The White House Weighs In:

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns met with the National Farmers Union and outlined the reasons why President Bush has threatened to veto the House Farm Bill - mainly because of the proposed tax increase to pay for food stamps and proposed payment limitations that are not strict enough. Secretary Johanns also predicted that the Senate would not uphold the tax increase to pay for food stamp increases. However, Secretary Johanns was also quoted last week as saying that while "there were parts [of the House bill] we didn't like, there were parts we did like. We can get a bill done this year. We've done so much. We've come so far." (Congress Daily, Sept 18th)

Agriculture Secretary Johanns to Run for Senate:

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns has resigned from his current position in order to run for the Nebraska senate seat being vacated by the retiring Senator Chuck Hagel. (Omaha World Herald, Sept. 19)

Connection with the Energy Bill:

Sen. Baucus is reportedly planning on shifting some renewable energy and fuels production tax incentives from the Energy Bill to the Farm Bill. Sen. Baucus said that the agriculture tax package would include provisions to help farmers and ranchers by including tax incentives for the production of wind and other means of alternative energy. Also, Sen. Baucus announced that there would be tax incentives to encourage farmers to grow crops that are used to make ethanol, biodiesel, and other biofuels. Both the oil and renewable energy industries said that they are in the dark about whether the tax incentives affecting them would be in the Energy or Farm Bill and what exactly the incentives will look like. (Congress Daily, Sept. 18)

Media Report:
Here are links to some interesting articles and editorials about food and nutrition policy, local food issues, and food security that we found this week:

Detroit Free Press by Ken Dahlberg: “Proposed Farm Bill falls short on food security”
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709200360

NY Times article by Kim Severson: "Lunch with Alice Waters, Food Revolutionary"


NY Times op-ed: "Antibiotic Runoff"
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/opinion/18tue3.html?ei=5070&en=7d11ba2d2b9a7dcf&ex=1190865600&adxnnl=1&emc=eta1&adxnnlx=1190222301-+iREfXVJeHj1uFr4P3ARug

NY Times article by Andrew Martin: "Sugar Finds Its Way Back to the School Cafeteria"


Washington Post article by Henry C. Jackson: "Americans OK About Buying US Produced Food"


Washington Post article by David Hagedorn: "Better Meals From Humble Ingredients"



Don’t forget to call your Senators about Community Food Projects!

Thanks for your support,

Steph, Kacie, and Sarah

If you would like to be removed from this list, please email Steph@FoodSecurity.org and put “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

--
Community Food Security Coalition
110 Maryland Ave. NE Suite 307
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202.543.8602
Email: Steph@foodsecurity.org
www.FoodSecurity.org

SECRETARY JOHANNS DELIVERS REMARKS AT 

Release No. 5071.07
CONTACT: Press Office (202) 720-4623          
SECRETARY JOHANNS DELIVERS REMARKS AT
NATIONAL PORK PRODUCERS COUNCIL CONFERENCE

WASHINGTON, September 18, 2007-- Secretary Johanns will deliver remarks at the National Pork Producers Council Fall Legislative Action Conference.


WHO: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns

WHAT:      Remarks at the National Pork Producers Council Conference

WHEN: Wednesday, September 19, 2007
7:30 a.m. EDT

WHERE: Holiday Inn Capitol
555 C Street SW
Washington, D.C.

USDA News
oc.news@usda.gov
202 720-4623

American made, organic bedding and sheets

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Organic as an option

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Jill's Latest Nutrition Tips

Hello!

You may have never asked the question "What is food made of?",
but the answer will change the way you think about and choose
foods!

All foods have varying amounts of:
1. Fat
2. Protein
3. Carbohydrates
4. Fiber
5. Water
6. Vitamins & minerals
7. Additives (if the food has been processed with them)

Americans these days are eating too much of ingredients 1-3
(where all the calories are) and not enough of 4-6, which is why
Americans are called "overfed but undernourished." How do you get
more of the good stuff while cutting down on the other? It's easy
and not surprising: eat more fruits, veggies, whole grains and
lean meats. These foods are naturally high in water, fiber,
vitamins and minerals, which is why they are more filling per
calorie than other foods.

Processed foods generally have the least water, fiber, vitamins
and minerals because these things are removed or destroyed during
processing. For the next few days try thinking of your food as
the components that make it and see how it affects your choices.
For example, bacon is mostly fat + a little protein, soda is carb
+ additives + water and green salad is just a big pile of water,
fiber, vitamins and minerals!

Is your mouth watering?

Have a good day!

Jill

Jill Brook, M.A.
Diet for Health
1047 Foothill Blvd.
(818) 952-0668
www.DietforHealth.com

See Jill's nutrition tips at
http://jillsblog.dietforhealth.com

ACTION UPDATE ON COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECTS IN THE FARM BIL

Please circulate this alert around to others in your office, your community, your district.

ACTION UPDATE ON COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECTS IN THE FARM BILL


Thank you for all your efforts to date on behalf of Community Food Projects and other progressive farm bill legislation. Unfortunately, despite all your efforts, funding for Community Food Project (CFP) remains discretionary at $30 million and not mandatory as it has been for 10 years. This means that right now, CFP HAS NO MANDATORY FUNDING FOR FY 2008. We need your help to change this in the Senate Farm Bill.

The key next step is to get CFP mandatory funding into the Senate’s initial draft of the Farm Bill. Your efforts right now can make a big difference as to this outcome! THE NEXT FEW WEEKS ARE CRITICAL FOR INPUT TO THE SENATE’S VERSION.

NEXT STEPS FOR CFP ADVOCATES: Contact your Senators about Community Food Projects and ask them to fund CFP as close to $30 million in MANDATORY money as they can.

A. Calls and letters: As with the House, this is a great strategy for your Senators:

  1. Call both your Senators and ask them to demand MANDATORY funding for Community Food Projects in the Senate mark up of the Farm Bill. If you don’t know your Senators’ contact information, call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Or look it up here: http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/index.html http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

ALL Senators are important to contact, but if your Senators is on the Agriculture Committee, they ESPECIALLY need to hear from you because they are on the Senate Agriculture Committee and will be marking up the Farm Bill in September. To see if your Senator is on the Agriculture Committee, go to http://agriculture.senate.gov/sen.htm

These quick phone calls will take only a few minutes of your time, but could make a huge impact on whether this program continues. Enclosed are talking points and background on Community Food Project for you to use in your calls.
  1. Faxed letters: If you can, request your Senators’ FAX numbers and compose a brief letter. See talking points enclosed and add something about your own CFP projects or others in the district. (Note: emails are not preferred because they tend to get lost or ignored. Calls are recorded and faxed letters go right to the appropriate aide. Regular mail is not advisable).

B. Meeting with your legislators—especially in the Senate—is vital during this recess! Decisions are still being discussed and deals are being brokered, and WE NEED YOU to stress the importance of small but powerful programs like Community Food Projects and the need to adequately fund them with mandatory money. Contact their local offices for appointments. Meeting with aides who handle the farm bill can be very effective.

C. Project site visits: While Congress is officially on recess, your legislators are likely to be in their home states and districts, attending summer fairs and events. Many of them will even accept invitations to tour community food projects such as farms, community gardens, farmers’ markets, and other activities that highlight local food systems, especially if you invite the press along too! It’s easy to find your legislators—just call their local office and ask to speak to their scheduler. They may also post events on their websites.
D. Letters to the Editor and editorials in local papers have also been extremely successful, and we encourage you to continue submitting them. Sample op-eds and letters to the editor can be found at www.foodsecurity.org/policy under “Farm Bill Materials”.

Updates, background, alerts and links on the Farm Bill (and there are others):

· Community Food Security Coalition: www.foodsecurity.org/policy

· Farm and Food Policy Project: www.farmandfoodproject.org


Thank you for all your hard work and support, and we look forward to working together to make a big impact as the Farm Bill moves to the Senate.



This message is sponsored by the Community Food Security Coalition and its partners

--
Stephanie D. R. Larsen
Policy Organizer
Community Food Security Coalition
110 Maryland Ave. NE Suite 307
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202.543.8602
Email: Steph@foodsecurity.org
www.FoodSecurity.org

SPECIAL NEWS ALERT: TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT SUPPLEMENT ACCESS

Alert from Bauman College:


SPECIAL NEWS ALERT: TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT SUPPLEMENT ACCESS

Please click here if you are interested in learning about and taking action on impending FDA guidelines that will affect your access to supplements. These guidelines are designed to raise the bar so high on information about what supplements can do and their health benefits, that, as the guidance says, small and medium sized supplement companies will be driven out of business.

www.baumancollege.org

Mapping Green

Hi Folks! I found this site while googling for organic news on the Westside. Please take a peek and see what's available over on the WESTSIDE. CLICK HERE...

The Santa Monica Green Map shows green business and related ecological features. This map has been created to help residents and visitors to the region become aware of the abundance of resources that contribute to the making of a more sustainable community. The map will allow users to visualize the breadth and diversity of the local environmental resources and opportunities. On this map one finds features such as:
>
Sustainable Quality Award Winners (businesses which received award from the City of Santa Monica)

>
stores that sell green building products and green designers

>
environmental organizations

>
schools which have "learning gardens", offer organic salad bars and compost on-site

>
vegetarian restaurants and natural food stores

>
location of car oil recycling centers

>
types and locations of all storm water percolation systems including statistics on the volume of water mitigated

>
sample catch basin inserts installed to filter out urban run-off before it enters the Bay

>
location and facts about SMURRF — Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility

>
solar energy and green power sites

Farm Bill Update August 6

Farm Bill Update
August 6, 2007

Find your Legislator at Home in August!


Happy August! Congress is officially on recess and many of the rest of us are planning a week or two of vacation before summer ends. Your legislators, however, are likely to be in their home states and districts, attending summer fairs and events. Many of them will even accept invitations to tour community gardens, community food projects, farmers’ markets, and other activities that highlight local food systems, especially if you invite the press along too! It’s easy to find your legislators—just call their local office and ask to speak to their scheduler. They may also post events on their websites.

Meeting with your legislators—especially in the Senate—is vital during this recess! Decisions are still being discussed and deals are being brokered, and WE NEED YOU to stress the importance of small but powerful programs like Community Food Projects and the need to adequately fund them with mandatory money. Letters to the Editor and editorials in local papers have also been extremely successful, and we encourage you to continue submitting them. Thank you for all your hard work and support, and we look forward to working together to make a big impact as the Farm Bill moves to the Senate.

Agriculture Appropriations: Last week, the Agriculture Appropriations bill was introduced on the House floor. There were significant partisan differences of opinion which resulted in various actions to disrupt the process, including a walk-out by Republicans after a disputed vote.

One exciting event during the debate on the floor for Agriculture Appropriations was a colloquy, or discussion on the House floor, between Chairwoman DeLauro (D-CT) and Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) on the Community Food Projects (CFP). Rep. Rush lamented the fact that CFP was changed from mandatory money to discretionary, and the Chairwoman went on record as supporting the program. This is good news for the program, which may have to rely on the Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee every year if the program doesn’t receive mandatory money in the Farm Bill.

Omissions from Last Week: Due to the sheer volume of information in last week’s update, we forgot to mention several important programs in which people may have interest.

  • Fruit and Vegetable Snack program-In the Manager's amendment, the mandatory funding for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable (Snack) Program was increased to $70 million per year and to include 35 schools in each of 50 states.
  • Organic Research- In the Managers Amendment, organic research was extended at $25 million in mandatory funding per year.
  • Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) for meat and fresh produce was included in the Farm Bill with a compromise 3-tier system to account for products of mixed origin.
  • Rural Coalition has an outline of the outcomes for socially disadvantaged and minority farmers which should be posted on their website (www.ruralco.org ) soon.

SENATE: Now that the House is finished and August recess has begun, we are looking to the Senate next. Timing is completely up in the air—some rumors suggest that we may have a draft of the Senate Farm Bill before the end of August, others say we may not see it until the 3rd week in September. It is likely that the 2002 Bill will have to be temporarily extended as the Senate may not take up the Farm Bill on the floor until October.

Sen. Baucus, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is working on finding money for desired increases in the Farm Bill, but it’s not likely that he’ll use the same tactics the House used in closing a tax loophole. Information is being held very closely right now and is difficult to come by, but we’ll keep our eyes and ears open and keep you informed as we have new information.

Media Report: There have been lots of interesting editorials and articles about the Farm Bill in the last week, here are links to some that caught our attention (though some are more positive than others):

Anthony Flaccavento in the Washington Post, “Hurting a Small Farm Near You”: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/03/AR2007080301569.html

NY Times, “Food That Travels Well’: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/opinion/06mcwilliams.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Tucson Citizen: http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/frontpage/56406.php


Lastly, this week we say goodbye to CFSC’s rock-star policy intern, Aliza Wasserman. She’s done amazing work this summer, and we wish her the best of luck as she returns to her graduate program at Tufts. Thanks Aliza!

Happy summer, and don’t forget to contact your legislators!

Best,
Steph & Aliza

--
Community Food Security Coalition
110 Maryland Ave. NE Suite 307
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202.543.8602
Email: Steph@foodsecurity.org
www.FoodSecurity.org

Organic Opportunities on the Westside

Co-Opportunity
Santa Monica's Cooperative Natural Grocer
1525 Broadway
(Corner of 16th & Broadway)
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310-451-8902
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

This site is full of valuable information from a speaking gig on Ayurvedic Nutrition to getting involved in the Green Business Certification Program.

and Downtown LA...
Tofu-Festival
August 18-19
A weekend exploration of all things soy with festive foods and opportunites to taste tofu delicacies.
Saturday and Sunday, August 18-19 12noon-8:00pm, Downtown Los Angeles, San Pedro Street between 2nd and 3rd.
tofufestival.com

Mindful Eating

From the land of MINDFULNESS...


Westside Farmgirl here; Save the Date


On Tuesday, August 14 at 7pm

At The Santa Monica Public Library(Main Library Multipurpose Room)

601 Santa Monica Blvd.



MINDFUL EATING for GOOD HEALTH

with Marius Imfeld, LAc


Licensed Acupuncturist and Yo San University Clinic Manager Marius Imfeld presents a lecture on Mindful Eating. Calories, nutrients and food groups are only half the equation of a healthy diet. HOW you eat is equally important. Learn ancient as well as modern tricks that will allow you to make your meals balanced and beneficial.


Take this from someone whose mind is constantly traveling, losing meaning and awareness to what they are gorging on. I found being in the moment, appreciating the chewing process, visualizing digestion and how my food will enhance my"being," has affected my food choices.


In a nutshell;if I choose two super tacos from Jack in the Crisak...I don't really want to be reminded slowly what I am ingesting...my choices have slowly evolved to healthier, friendlier choices.


-westside farmgirl

Farm Bill Update

Update as Farm Bill Moves to House Floor


First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all your support and calls to legislators on Community Food Projects. This process is NOT over, and it’s important for us all to stay plugged in and informed as the Farm Bill moves to the Senate.

Currently in the House, tensions are rising among Democrats and Republicans as the Farm Bill moves to the House Floor within the next 24 hours. There has been some progress in securing Community Food Security Coalition priorities in the House version of the Farm Bill, while Community Food Projects remains WITHOUT MANDATORY FUNDING in the version of the Farm Bill being discussed and voted on by the full House.

Community Food Security Coalition Priorities

  • Community Food Projects: The Rules Committee ruled early this morning to only allow 31 amendments to the Farm Bill to be offered on the House Floor, and this did not include an amendment by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) to give Community Food Projects mandatory funding. This is unfortunate, but means that we will need to work harder to push for funding in the Senate and in the Appropriations Bills that both houses of Congress will be voting on in the next few months. We are working to ensure that the importance of funding for CFP is included in upcoming floor statements.
  • Healthy Food (Urban) Enterprise Development Program (HFUED): The loan portion of what was formerly called the Healthy Food Enterprise Development was adopted as an amendment (by Rep. Gillibrand (D-NY) to the Rural Development Title in the Agriculture Committee's Farm Bill last week and has remained in the version of the bill going to the House Floor. The grant portion of the program was included in the Horticulture & Organic Title of the "Manager's Amendment," an amendment by the Chairperson of the Committee (which almost always passes), as the "Healthy Food Urban Enterprise Development" Program (HFUED).
  • Geographic Preference/Local Procurement: An amendment offered by Rep. Steve Kagen (D-WI) to clarify previous language allowing schools to use a geographic preference to request local food in all federally-funded Child Nutrition programs, was adopted by the House Agriculture Committee in its bill last week and is currently in the Nutrition title of the Farm Bill to be debated on the House Floor.
House Floor Debate

The version of the bill to be debated and voted on by the full House, as well as the 31 accepted amendments can be viewed at: http://www.rules.house.gov in the section under "H.R. 2419- Farm, Nutrition & Bioenergy Act of 2007." Debate should begin with 24 hours and will last at least 7 hours based on the timeline laid out by the Rules Committee: http://www.rules.house.gov/SpecialRules_details.aspx?NewsID=2793.
You can view the proceedings of the Farm Bill on the House Floor on C-SPAN or online at:
http://www.c-span.org/watch/index.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS
There are 2 accepted amendments to be offered on the floor that address healthy food and communities priorities, as well as 2 additional provisions in the Manager's amendment:
  • Manager's Amendment Includes:
    • "Sense of Congress Regarding Food Deserts, Geographically Isolated Neighborhoods and Communities with Limited or No Access to Major Chain Grocery Stores"- The "Manager's Amendment" includes a provision recommending that the NIH, CDC, IOM and faith-based organizations assess the existence of food deserts and develop recommendations to eliminate them.
    • "Pigford Claims"- The manager’s amendment includes a provision that would allow people who met criteria in this case (who were black farmers who were discriminated against by USDA) but were denied a way to appeal their status in this case.
  • Amendment # 10 (Welch)- An amendment will be offered by Rep. Jack Welch (D-VT) to encourage schools to develop plans to include locally grown foods in the Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program.
  • Amendment # 23 (Clay)- An amendment will be offered by Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO) to create a grant program to assist in purchasing operating organic gardens or greenhouses in urban areas for growing fruits and vegetables.

When the House of Representatives concludes its debate and vote on the Farm Bill, we will provide a more comprehensive update on healthy food and communities provisions in the Farm Bill, INCLUDING OUR NEXT ACTION STEPS!

Thank you for all your support,
Steph and Aliza

--
Community Food Security Coalition
110 Maryland Ave. NE Suite 307
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202.543.8602
www.FoodSecurity.org

Leite’s Culinaria and EAT FEED join forces to create

fellow member of the new media, I’d like to point your attention to the latest program from the Eat Feed Network, Now Serving. It’s a podcast all about food news and trends with in-depth interviews with famous food personalities and great food writing from the passionate foodies at Leite’s Culinaria (www.leitesculinaria.com). The show launched last month and we’d love to attract your trained ear as a member of our audience. Hey, if you like what you hear, maybe you’ll even share it with your circle of foodie friends.

I’ve included the press release, but the easiest way to check out the first episode is to subscribe via iTunes or visit the show’s website www.nowservingradio.com.


Please send us any comments, suggestions, or thoughts.


Thanks and enjoy!

Erica Hennings

Marketing Assistant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Mia Littlejohn

(312) 324-0142

mialittlejohn@eatfeed.com

www.nowservingradio.com

Leite’s Culinaria and EAT FEED join forces to create

NOW SERVING—A NEW FOOD PODCAST


CHICAGO, IL — June 18, 2007 — On Friday of last week, Eat Feed (www.eatfeed.com) and Leite’s Culinaria (www.leitesculinaria.com), two of the Internet’s most popular and critically acclaimed food-related Web sites, launched Now Serving, a new food podcast that combines the best of both sites—Eat Feed’s in-depth interviews and Leite’s Culinaria’s award-winning food writing.

“It was a natural fit,” says David Leite, cohost of Now Serving and publisher/editor-in-chief of Leite’s Culinaria. “When you look at what we offer our readers and what Eat Feed offers its listeners, we knew that together we had the goods to create a different kind of podcast format.”

“I think the show feeds two current passions,” says Anne Bramley, Now Serving’s other host, and co-founder and executive producer of the Eat Feed Podcast Network. “The desire to more intimately know about the people shaping the contemporary food world and the increasing demand to experience food in a more entertaining and literary format rather than the strictly hands-on, recipe-driven model often found on TV.”

Together Bramley and Leite have created a format for the podcast that includes discussions between the hosts about some of the interesting food news of the day; probing interviews that introduce the people shaping what, why, and how we eat; and audio essays, commentaries, and op-eds that explore the sheer pleasure of food and eating in all its forms.

The inaugural show, which is sponsored by Le Creuset, includes an interview with the venerated chef, cookbook author, and TV personality Jacques Pépin and an essay on the perils and passions of New England grillers by food writer and restaurant reviewer Elissa Altman. Future episodes include interviews with, among others, Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, authors of The Silver Palate Cookbook, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, as well as an essay about supertasters and an ode to the carnality of meat, both sexual and comestible.

“I’m very optimistic about the podcast,” adds Bramley. “Given the listener stats in the first few days, we fully expect Now Serving to surpass even our most popular series.”

To listen to the show, or to subscribe to its feed, visit www.nowservingradio.com or browse iTunes for Now Serving in its podcast arts directory.

###


The original Eat Feed podcast launched in January 2005 and has since expanded into a network that includes three of iTunes’ Top 100 food podcasts. Eat Feed’s unique approach to food has been featured in press as varied as Cooking Light, Saveur, and the BBC. Leite's Culinaria is the only Web site ever to be honored with a James Beard Award, one in 2006 and another in 2007. It has also won a 2006 Food Blog Award as well as the 2005 World Food Media Award for Best Food and/or Drink Web Site. The site's writers have been featured in Best Food Writing in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.

For more information on Now Serving or to schedule an interview with Anne Bramley or David Leite, contact Mia Littlejohn at mialittlejohn@eatfeed.com.

Farm Bill Needs Your Help - TODAY!

Farm Bill Update 07.16.07
Contact Your Members of Congress-
Money Needed for Healthy Food in the Farm Bill



As Farm Bill debate heats up, we urge you to contact your Representative and Senators and recommend that they support a Farm Bill with increased funding for healthy food and communities provisions. For many of the issues, the target is funding, and Members of Congress on the Ways & Means (House) and Finance (Senate) Committees as well as Democratic Leadership (Speaker, Majority Leaders) are key to ensuring that funding is found for healthy food and farm provisions in the Farm Bill.

The debate has become increasingly polarized over the past 6 months. The “reformers” want moderate to extreme reductions in payments for specific farm commodities (corn, rice, wheat, cotton, soy and several others) in order to pay for increases in nutrition and conservation. The “extenders” who want to maintain the status quo for these payments. An extension of the 2002 Farm Bill would mean everyone—low-income communities, environment and small farmers—taking a hit. While those pushing for commodity reform may have an important message, the cost in votes to the nutrition, conservation and rural development parts of the Farm Bill may be too great if no consensus on the Farm Bill is reached by the deadline –Sept 30, 2007.

The next three weeks are critical as both houses of Congress work to craft and fund the next 5+ years of U.S. food and farm policy. Congress has heard from many constituent groups but needs more input from citizens the health of our communities and small, sustainable farms. Your legislators need to hear YOUR VOICE! Please call them TODAY, below are some talking points to use. If you don’t know your legislator’s number, call the Capital Switchboard at 202-224-3121.


Requests for CFSC Priorities


For Community Food Projects, Members of Congress, on and off the Ag Committee, are urged to support the $30 million funding level in MANDATORY spending.
Though the jurisdictional issue with the House Education & Labor Committee has been resolved, members of the House Agriculture Committee should be urged to support an amendment, to be offered by Congressman Kagen (D-WI), inserting brief language, clarifying the local procurement issue, into the House draft bill.
Members of Congress, on and off the Ag Committee, should be urged to support the no-cost request for the Healthy Food Enterprise Development Program language to be included in the House & Senate draft bills.


Timing Update


House Agriculture begins debating and amending Draft Bill: July 17
House Floor Farm Bill debate and vote may be as early as July 30
House Agriculture Appropriations meets July 18 on draft fiscal year ‘08 bill
Senate likely to postpone Agriculture Committee vote until September


Food Security in the Media


Sacramento Bee link: http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/272049.html
San Jose Mercury News link: http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_6355675


Other Media:

Washington Post link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2007/07/13/AR2007071301930.html


Other Farm Bill News


Timing in the Senate is not firm because Chairman Harkin and Senate offices have expressed that the full Committee draft of the bill will likely not be released in July if there isn’t time for floor debate until September. In both the House and Senate, Ag committee offices have expressed a reluctance to let the Committee draft sit in public for a month before going to the floor, since this greater amount of time would allow critics to find more changes to make to the Committee draft.



Since neither Agriculture Committee has expressed an interest in funding increases in nutrition or conservation through commodity reform, the debate has moved to the search for offsets, or sources of funding outside of the Agriculture committee. Both Agriculture Committees have begun requesting offset sources for the nutrition, conservation and fruit and vegetable provisions in the “En Bloc Amendment” or Farm Bill 2, from the Ways & Means and Finance Committee Chairmen Rangel (D-NY) and Baucus (D-MT), in the House and Senate respectively.



Speaker Pelosi and other members of the House Democratic Leadership have joined forces with Peterson and Ag Committee Democrats to find funding for these common priorities. In order to avoid an ugly situation on the House floor with many amendments and disagreements, Pelosi has told Peterson that a moderate amount of commodity reform is necessary in order to craft a politically acceptable bill. Peterson has sent several small measures of commodity reform to the Congressional Budget Office, that would close several of a larger number of loopholes that farmers can use to increase individual commodity payments.



Meanwhile, in response to Republican announcements that an extension of the 2002 Farm Bill seems likely, in Friday’s Congress Daily, Chairman Peterson stated that this may be simply a strategy by Republicans to prevent any bills from passing this Congress.



Congressmen Pomeroy (D-ND) and Berry (D-AS) have been drafted as Farm Bill whips for when the bill reaches the floor.



Despite the fact that most House Ag Committees have banded together to support the maintenance of most farm subsidy policy, in order to prevent increases in support for Rep. Kind (D-WI)’s reform bill when it’s proposed on the floor, there remains disagreement within the Committee. According to Congress Daily on July 12, Rep.

Cardoza (D-CA) is not satisfied with the $685 million for specialty crops included in the House draft bill, and has stated he won’t vote for the bill without increases for specialty crops, conservation and research that are based in real money rather than reserve funds, causing a rift between him and Chairman Peterson.



Chairman Harkin has also discussed plans to write a 6 or 7 year Farm Bill, which would allow for greater offsets from savings to fund other Farm Bill priorities. Other potential strategies for saving money expressed by both Chairmen include delaying advance payments to farmers and finding minor savings from crop insurance.



This afternoon, Congress Daily reported that Senators on the Agriculture Committee are reluctant to suggest specific offsets until after Harkin releases his commodity title, which is the only section of the unofficial Senate bill draft that has not been released to anyone.


If you are receiving this update from another list and would like to be added to the CFSC Farm Bill update list, please go to www.foodsecurity.org and submit your name.

Thanks for your support and for contacting your members of Congress!

Take care,
Steph & Aliza

--
Community Food Security Coalition
110 Maryland Ave. NE Suite 307
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202.543.8602
Email: Steph@foodsecurity.org
www.FoodSecurity.org

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House Releases Not One, but Two Draft Farm Bills

Farm Bill Update
July 10, 2007

House Releases Not One, but Two Draft Farm Bills


While Congress has been in recess, Agriculture Committee staffers in both the House and Senate have been busy crafting the Farm Bill. Late Friday evening, Chairman Peterson released the full House Agriculture Committee’s draft of the Farm Bill, which includes a primary Farm Bill that is similar to the current levels of funding, and an amendment with additional cost priorities that will be included if offsets for the funding are found. On the House Farm Bill homepage, http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/2007FarmBill.html there is an explanation of the “En Bloc Amendment”, which contains all of the provisions that would come from the $20 billion Reserve Fund. For the purposes of this update, “Farm Bill 1” refers to all other components of the draft besides the En Bloc Amendment, and “Farm Bill 2” refers to the En Bloc Amendment.

The glass is both half full and half empty for many Farm Bill interests including nutrition, conservation, small farmers, and healthy food and communities. The analysis of specific CFSC priorities in the Farm Bill draft is outlined below. In general, the draft maintains the status quo, which is to say that it doesn’t do many of the changes needed to promote community food security or make relationships between farmers and consumers closer—favoring instead large-scale factory farms and corporate agribusiness.

GOOD NEWS!
In a late-breaking development, staff at CFSC today found out that the jurisdictional issue related to geographic preference language in the Farm Bill has been cleared up. We’d like to extend our thanks to Chairmen Miller and Peterson in the House for working this issue out. Rep. Kagen (D-WI, 3rd) will be offering an amendment in collaboration with other members on the committee to insert this language into the Farm Bill.

Analysis of the Farm Bill Drafts

At this point in the process, it is important to continue to emphasize mandatory funding for Community Food Projects, support for the amendment to insert geographic preference language, and introduction of the Healthy Food Enterprise Development program as utmost importance with members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees as well as the Democratic Leadership. The drafts include the following:

* Community Food Projects was reauthorized with $30 million in Farm Bill 1. We expect Rep. Boyda to offer an amendment to make the funding mandatory (i.e. not subject to the appropriations process).
* Geographic Preference language was not included in either Farm Bill, but will be offered as an amendment during the full committee meeting by Rep. Kagen.
* The Healthy Food Enterprise Development was not included in either Farm Bill. We expect Rep. Gillibrand (D-NY, 20th) to offer it as an amendment.
* The Farmers Market Promotion Program was authorized at $5 million in mandatory funding for each year of 2008-2010, and $10 million mandatory for 2011 and 2012, with greater than or equal to 10% of these funds to be used for EBT access at farmer’s markets.
* The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program is maintained at $15 million in annual mandatory funding with an authorization for an additional discretionary $20 million in 2008 increasing annually to $75 million in 2012.
* Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program is in Farm Bill 2 at $100 million in reserve funding (offset required).


For more information on the conservation aspects of the Farm Bill, see the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition website (www.sustainableagriculturecoalition.org) for the latest analysis.

In order for the Farm Bill to be a fair bill, CFSC and many of our partners need to see increases in funding for small farmers, conservation, nutrition and anti-hunger, none of whom fared particularly well in the House draft that was just released by Chairman Peterson. We will continue to update you as things move related to the Farm Bill.

Timing Update:
According to Congress Daily PM on July 10, Harkin said he will not call a meeting of the full Senate Agriculture Committee to review and debate the Senate draft of the Farm Bill unless floor time was given to deal with the Farm Bill before the August recess. If this is the case, the Senate draft of the Farm Bill would not be debated until September.

Media & Other Opportunities

Online Farm Bill Town Hall with Rep. Kind and Blumenauer

On Thursday July 12th, Rep. Kind (D, WI-3rd) and Rep. Blumenauer (D, OR-3rd), who are both on the Ways and Means Committee will be hosting an online radio call-in show about Farm Bill reform. You can email in questions in advance to BlumenauerOnAir@mail.house.gov to be included in the conversation about the Farm Bill.

Listen to the show starting at 2:30 PM EST on July 12 at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/earl

Boston Globe link: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/07/09/a_pro_food_farm_bill/

SF Chronicle link: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/10/MNGNUQTQIT1.DTL

Baltimore Sun link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-ed.farm09jul09,0,1517718.story?coll=bal-opinion-headlines

If you are receiving this update from another list and would like to be added to the CFSC Farm Bill update list, please go to www.foodsecurity.org and submit your name.

Thanks for your support and for contacting your members of Congress!

Take care,
Steph & Aliza

--
Community Food Security Coalition
110 Maryland Ave. NE Suite 307
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202.543.8602
Email: Steph@foodsecurity.org
www.FoodSecurity.org
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