FOOD JUSTICE NEWS 2012
To All Those Interested in Food and Justice...
A usually weekly update of news about hunger, nutrition, food prices and a host of other issues, focusing on things you can become involved in! (Targeted to the LA area, but we like all the rest of you too)
Jan 11, 2012 / Jan 23, 2012 / Jan 31, 2012 / February 10, 2012 / February 17, 2012
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@HungerActionLA Follow us on Twitter @HungerActionLA . Welcome to all the new people on the list: please respond to frank@hungeractionla.org if you wish to use a different e mail or be removed. On this list you will receive about 6 e mails a month.
- Hunger Action LA Meeting Friday Feb 24
- California Alliance for Retired Americans Training on State Budget Feb. 28
- Family Farmers Strike Back With Lawsuit Against Monsanto
- San Diego Food Stamp System Is Broken
- Program Trains New Beginning Farmers in California
- First Lady Michelle Obama Highlights FreshWorks Program
- President Obama’s Ag Proposals for 2013
- Whole Foods Trying To Change Wallet-Draining Image
- High Food Prices Contribute to World Malnutrition
- U.S. Can Now Buy Local Food In Relief Operations
- Chemical In Water Bottles Can Cause Obesity and Diabetes
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As the FDA prepares to approve the sale of genetically engineered salmon---the first genetically modified animal to be so approved---Eric Schlosser and Gary Hirshberg have started a petition asking that food from genetically engineered plants and animals at least be labeled so we can know what we’re eating and make an informed choice. You can sign the petition here:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=271198&id=35829-17277404-CTTvYSx&t=2
Hunger Action LA Meeting Friday Feb 24
Next Hunger Action LA Meeting is Friday, Feb 24, 10 am to noon, at LAANE, 464 S Lucas, LA CA 90007. All are invited to attend, it’s free and there’s free parking. You can rsvp to frank@hungeractionla.org . Topics regularly include state and federal food and anti-hunger legislation, local activities, and updates from several organizations around Los Angeles working on similar issues.
California Alliance for Retired Americans Training on State Budget Feb. 28
Free Training for Southern California CARA members, Senior, Student, and Disability Advocates
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
10am – 3pm (lunch included)
UFCW Local 324, Auditorium
8530 Stanton Blvd., Buena Park, 90620
For more information, to RSVP for lunch, call 714-244-7776
The California Alliance for Retired Americans is sponsoring this one day, free training to learn ways we can talk about the California budget crisis and develop support for important revenue solutions that will be considered this year. Please let us know at least one week before the meeting if you need other language materials, Spanish translation during the meeting, alternate format materials, or ASL interpreters.
Family Farmers Strike Back With Lawsuit Against Monsanto
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Federal Courts in Manhattan on January 31s, to support organic family farmers in their landmark lawsuit against agribusiness corporation Monsanto. Over 300,000 organic farmers, organic seed growers, and organic seed businesses are represented in a lawsuit against Monsanto and their threats and harassment of organic farmers who get Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds blown by the wind onto their land.
On March 31st the federal judge will hand down her decision on whether the lawsuit will move forward to trial.
San Diego Food Stamp System Is Broken
Wonder why California enrolls only half of eligible participants into the CalFresh (Food stamp) program? One reason may be in San Diego, where a call center that’s supposed to help people apply only answers one out of every six calls.
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http://m.kpbs.org/news/2012/feb/10/county-official-says-food-stamp-hotline-problems-s/
Program Trains New Beginning Farmers in California
California Secretary of Food and Agriculture Karen Ross recently wrote a piece about the crisis in California farming, with the majority of farmers now over 60 and few people willing to become new farmers. A new program in Solano County, California Farm Academy, was started at the Center for Land-Based Learning. “More than 40 percent of the academy's class of 2012 is under 30 years old. Nearly 60 percent are women, and a quarter are minorities. Most of them plan to farm plots of less than 10 acres.”
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/12/4255210/how-california-can-nurture-next.html
First Lady Michelle Obama Highlights FreshWorks Program
First Lady Michelle Obama recently visited Los Angeles to publicize the California FreshWorks fund, a public –private loan fund intended to help start grocery stores in underserved areas, and help stores stock more fresh fruits and vegetables. You can learn more at the site:
President Obama’s Ag Proposals for 2013
President Obama’s 2013 budget request to Congress included $32 billion in cuts to direct farm payments, but two other items of controversial note. First, a one year cut of $432 million to farm conservation programs. Secondly, and difficult to understand, a cut to a program that is funded to test for bacteria in produce (the Microbiological Data Program). This $5 million program has discovered lettuce and spinach tainted with e.coli, that lead to recalls possibly saving hundreds of lives. The packaged greens industry wants to do its own testing, complaining that the government program unfairly targets farmers who weren’t responsible for contamination. The FDA makes similar tests but only on a targeted basis
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/02/16/national/a003746S33.DTL
Whole Foods Trying To Change Wallet-Draining Image
The Wall St. Journal writes “To counter its reputation for being expensive, Whole Foods is offering more price promotions and discounts in all of its stores, and lately it has held many of its grocery prices flat despite its own costs rising. The idea is for customers to feel that while there may be certain product prices that are going up, they are finding plenty of good deals to make up for that, said executives, who call the strategy "price perception."
Lindsey William-Ross in the LAist notes: The chain has also been emphasizing bang-for-your-buck in other ways, too. They offer "value" tours of their stores where employees help you shop on a budget. A number of stories have cropped up in blogs in the past few weeks about families taking a "30-Day Thrifty Challenge," in which they feed their families for a month on what the USDA indicates is a poverty-level dollar amount but shop only at Whole Foods.”
http://laist.com/2012/02/15/whole_foods_wants_to_get_rid_of_tha.php
High Food Prices Contribute to World Malnutrition
The international aid agency Save the Children says that 500 million children around the world are malnourished or at risk of malnourishment, leading to permanent physical and mental damage. Food price hikes in the last few years have contributed to that situation. According to Save the Children, half of the malnourished kids live in just five countries: India, Bangladesh, Peru, Pakistan and Nigeria. One in six of the children surveyed had dropped out of school to work for the family’s survival.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17034134
U.S. Can Now Buy Local Food In Relief Operations
The U.S. food relief agency , USAID, can now buy from local farmers in affected countries, rather than being restricted to buying American products. Previously, U.S. food aid to other countries had to be bought from American companies (or companies in other donor countries). The new policy should help countries needing food aid to truly become more independent.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201202090707.html
International development and aid agencies are urging Congress to maintain and expand the new policy, pointing out that past aid projects have been more about protecting American agribusiness than aiding hungry countries:
http://www.agri-pulse.com/Aid-groups-seek-flexible-food-assistance-program-farm-bill-02152012.asp
Chemical In Water Bottles Can Cause Obesity and Diabetes
More tests have provided further evidence that a chemical called BPA, bisphenol A, disrupts human hormones and can lead to obesity and diabetes. This chemical is found in plastics, including water bottles, and food can linings, and is regularly ingested in huge amounts by millions of people. Even a small amount of it can fool the body into thinking it’s eaten more food than it actually has, and cause the pancreas to secrete far more insulin than necessary. The chemical industry says BPA has a 50-year safe track record.
Huffington Post Contributor Says Only Staples For Food Stamp Participants: HALA Responds
A guest blogger on the Huffington Post suggests “re-inventing” the food stamp program and allowing only certain staple foods to be bought. (See link at the end of the next few paragraphs.) While Tamar Haspel has a good point in promoting nutrition, I can only respond: why do we only seem concerned with scolding poor people to eat nutritious food and not address the issue of why is there so much bad food out there, and why are healthy foods not available in some communities?
Ms. Haspel says her proposed re-invention is better than “nickel and diming the program” with arguments over what is and isn’t junk food. Let me assure you there would be the same argument over what is and isn’t a “staple” food, and the same logistical nightmare of cataloging hundreds of thousands of food products (and sorting them at the grocery counter.) In her proposal food stamps would be used only for certain staples….and then what? The person leaves the food stamp program and yippee, they can eat junk again. Being able to chow down on Twinkies, Cheetos and gummy bears is your reward for being a responsible hard working American lucky enough to have a job that pays enough to keep you off of the SNAP program.
It’s another case of the mentality that anyone, poor, disabled, or senior, who is forced to live with government assistance, is therefore eternally indebted to the rest of us and therefore obliged to live as we tell them and do exactly what we say, an indentured servant for all intents and purposes. After all they are “living off our tax money.” But it’s all of us who pay in increased health care costs due to diet-related diseases, and there are plenty of wealthy folks and other people not using government benefits who don’t eat right and contribute to those cost increases.
If junk food is the problem, why not regulate sugar at the manufacturing level, not at the retail level, and not create so much of it in the first place? Because in America, you can manufacture what you want, however deadly, toxic or dangerous, and it’s “let the buyer beware.”
For the record, Hunger Action LA operates a program at 4 farmers’ markets in LA County which provide incentives for people to buy additional fresh fruit and vegetables when they use food stamp (CalFresh) benefits. So we’re not opposed to nutrition, just to condescending proposals on what we “do with the poor” .
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tamar-haspel/food-stamps-extreme-makeo_b_1279633.html
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- Petition to Oppose Obama Appointment of Corporate Ag Veteran To FDA
- Valentine Delivery To Local Legislators Feb 14
- Hunger Action LA Meeting Friday Feb 24
- California Alliance for Retired Americans Training on State Budget Feb. 28
- Food Pantry in Covina Closes After 80 Years
- Angelinos Hit With Rising Rent, Utilities and Gasoline
- States’ Attacks on Immigrants Increase Hunger
- Food Stamp Use Rises To Record High in November
- California Still Needs To Remove Food Stamp Barriers
- Food Stamps Are Good For Consumers and Retailers
- Robert Reich: Obama Is No “Food Stamp President”
- Food Stamp Food Police?
- Scientists Report: Sugar Should be Regulated Like Tobacco
- WalMart adding a “Great for You” Label to Healthy Foods
- Trader Joe’s Signs Agreement With Tomato Workers
- Will 2012 Yield a New Farm Bill?
- State and Federal Proposals Promote Local Food Growing
- Can Farmers Feed 9 Billion?
- The Seed Emergency: Threat To Food and Democracy
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Petition to Oppose Obama Appointment of Corporate Ag Veteran To FDA
President Obama appointed former Monsanto vice president and lobbyist Michael Taylor as senior advisor to the Food and Drug Administration commissioner.This is a classic example of the fox guarding the henhouse. President Obama should isolate the FDA from corporate influence by asking Taylor to step down immediately.
A petition has been created to President Obama on SignOn.org. Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=269891&id=35461-17277404-hdjVayx&t=2
Valentine Delivery To Local Legislators Feb 14
Join various members of California Partnership in delivering Valentines to local legislators on Tuesday Feb. 14! On Feb. 14th organizations across the state will be delivering Valentine messages to legislators, asking them to:
No Cuts Until After November: With proposed revenue solutions on the November ballot, it’s premature to impose severe mid-year cuts now that will further harm California’s families.
No Rainy Day Fund: It’s raining right now! Saving $1 billion for tough times after four years of drastic cuts to essential services just doesn’t make sense.
Revenue Solutions: California needs a state budget that prioritizes the needs of the 99% with revenue solutions that will help us rebuild our social safety net.
More information : California Partnership, (213) 385-8010
Hunger Action LA Meeting Friday Feb 24
Next Hunger Action LA Meeting is Friday, Feb 24, at LAANE, 464 S Lucas, LA CA 90007. All are invited to attend, it’s free. You can rsvp to frank@hungeractionla.org . Topics regularly include state and federal food and anti-hunger legislation, local activities, and updates from several organizations around Los Angeles working on similar issues.
California Alliance for Retired Americans Training on State Budget Feb. 28
Free Training for Southern California CARA members, Senior, Student, and Disability Advocates
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
10am – 3pm (lunch included)
UFCW Local 324, Auditorium
8530 Stanton Blvd., Buena Park, 90620
For more information, to RSVP for lunch, call 714-244-7776
The California Alliance for Retired Americans is sponsoring this one day, free training to learn ways we can talk about the California budget crisis and develop support for important revenue solutions that will be considered this year. Please let us know at least one week before the meeting if you need other language materials, Spanish translation during the meeting, alternate format materials, or ASL interpreters.
Food Pantry in Covina Closes After 80 Years
Declining donations and increasing need have forced the closure of the Covina Area Emergency Aid Center. The LA Regional Food Bank says demand for emergency food is up 80% over the last four years:
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8525049
Angelinos Hit With Rising Rent, Utilities and Gasoline
La Opinion piece spotlights residents and how they’ve been impacted by rising rent, gasoline, mass transit, electricity, and gas prices, including recent City Council approved rate hikes in water and gas.
States’ Attacks on Immigrants Increase Hunger
A new Kansas policy cuts back on food stamp benefits towards U.S. born children with illegal immigrant parents. A local food pantry is seeing more families as a result and some of the customers are sad that the state made the decision to cut off assistance:
Alabama’s new immigration law has also resulted in immigrant children being denied food stamps, as well as some utility companies denying water and power to homes of immigrants:
Food Stamp Use Rises To Record High in November
About 46.286 million Americans received aid, up 0.1 percent from 46.225 million in October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today in an e-mail. Participation was 6.2 percent higher than a year earlier. The government spent $6.22 billion on the program for the month, up 6.9 percent from 2010.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-03/u-s-food-stamp-use-rose-to-record-in-november.html
California Still Needs To Remove Food Stamp Barriers
California’s lengthy food stamp application and some barriers (that have been recently removed, or will be removed in the next year) due to successful legislation) remain reasons why it costs more to enroll each person in the CalFresh program here
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/08/4246860/state-must-expand-access-to-food.html
Food Stamps Are Good For Consumers and Retailers
Two professors team on an LA Times editorial striking back at recent Republican comments denigrating the SNAP (Food Stamp) program and its 46 million participants: “With the increasing protest against economic inequality across the country, the 99% should defend food stamps as a crucial pillar of the American promise, and as something good for the economy. In today's hard times, with growing poverty and rising food prices, there is widespread recognition that making ends meet is no small feat, even for the middle class, and that food stamps are essential.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-levenstein-food-stamps-20120206,0,3343518.story
Robert Reich: Obama Is No “Food Stamp President”
“If anything, America’s safety nets have been too small and shot through with holes. That’s why the number and percentage of Americans in poverty has increased dramatically over the past three years. According to a study by Northeastern University, a third of families with young children are now in poverty.”
“This is the real scandal. For example, only 40 percent of the unemployed qualify for unemployment benefits because they weren’t working full time or long enough on a single job before they were canned. The unemployment system doesn’t take account of the fact that a large portion of the workforce typically works part time on several jobs, and moves from job to job.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2012/0202/Obama-is-no-food-stamp-president
Food Stamp Food Police?
LA Times rightly rakes Florida Senator Ronda Storms over the coals for her bill proposing to limit what food stamp (SNAP) participants can buy. She’s annoyed that low income parents might save time by buying their kids a birthday cake instead of making one from scratch. For heaven’s sake, everyone else makes their own cakes right? Times commentators point out that “There are two key motivations behind this drive: a well-meaning effort to fight obesity among the poor, and a mean-spirited attempt to make them eat their spinach because Uncle Sam doesn't want to spring for candy bars. Either way, it's a misguided approach.” Read the rest:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-foodstamps-20120131,0,869231.story?track=rss
Scientists Report: Sugar Should be Regulated Like Tobacco
If we are going to regulate junk food and its main ingredient, sugar, we should regulate it for everyone, not just poor people (and at the manufacturing rather than retail level):
Scientists at the University of California at San Francisco have published a study linking sugar to increasing incidences of chronic disease and early death, and recommending that the use of sugar be regulated similar to tobacco and alcohol:
WalMart adding a “Great for You” Label to Healthy Foods
“As part of its promise last year to improve the nutritional quality of the food it sells, Walmart said on Tuesday that it had devised standards to determine what is healthy and would label the foods that meet those standards.
The new label, bright green with the words Great for You, will first appear on the retailer's own Great Value and Marketside food items this spring, as well as on signs around fresh fruits and vegetable displays. But Walmart executives said the company planned to allow other brands to use the label without paying any licensing fee on products that meet the criteria.”
Trader Joe’s Signs Agreement With Tomato Workers
The Fair Food Program is a groundbreaking approach to social responsibility in the US produce industry that combines the Fair Food Code of Conduct – a set of labor standards developed in a unique collaboration among farmworkers, tomato growers, and the food industry leaders who purchase Florida tomatoes – with a small price premium to help improve harvesters’ wages.
Will 2012 Yield a New Farm Bill?
A number of key observers have all expressed concern publicly about whether election-year politics will cripple the Farm Bill process. A third of the Senate and all 435 House members are up for reelection in November, and legislators are expected to spend more time than usual back in their districts campaigning. Partisan wrangling between the two chambers has also continually led to gridlock.
http://www.agjournalonline.com/news/x675929033/Will-2012-yield-a-new-farm-bill
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., chairwoman of the agriculture committee, announced a series of hearings on the farm bill, beginning in mid-February continuing through late March.
Specialty Crop Industry advocates hope to preserve gains won in the 2008 farm bill, which allocated $3 billion for programs devoted to fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops. The 2008 farm bill also budgeted $1 billion over 10 years to expand the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Snack Program.
http://www.thepacker.com/fruit-vegetable-news/Farm-bill-process-kicks-off-138589534.html?ref=534
State and Federal Proposals Promote Local Food Growing
Community Ag And Jobs Act: “H.R. 3225, the Community Agriculture Development and Jobs Act, will help create the next generation of farmers in our nation’s cities, reduce foreign agricultural imports, work to eliminate food deserts, strengthen local food systems and increase marketing opportunities for small farmers while improving seniors’ nutrition.”
http://www.cityfarmer.info/2011/12/09/usa-community-agriculture-development-and-jobs-act/
Local Farm, Food and Jobs Act: Introduced in November, this bill includes a variety of policies long championed by sustainable and local food advocates, as well as anti-hunger and nutrition promotion groups. For example, the Farmers Market Promotion Program is boosted and is expanded to include “grants to scale up local and regional food enterprises, including processing, distribution, aggregation, storage, and marketing.” Provisions are also included to allow schools to purchase more food locally rather than from USDA’s nationalized commodity program
http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/lffja-introduced/
California: Homemade Food Act: Mark Stambler of Los Angeles Bread Bakers: AB1616, the California Homemade Food Act, was introduced in the California State Assembly by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles). This cottage food law will allow people in California to legally sell bread [and other "non-hazardous" food such as honey, jams and jellies] they bake at home
The Los Angeles Bread Bakers helped draft the legislation and will be organizing community support for it over the next few months. One of many sources:
http://www.theselc.org/cottage-food-laws/
That’s the projected world population by 2050. Farmers face increasing challenges from a depleted ecosystem, but the director of the UN’s Food and Agriculture organization believes it can be done
The Seed Emergency: Threat To Food and Democracy
Famous Indian environmental activist Vandana Shiva writes on the increasing loss of control by farmers over their own seeds. She points out that “The past twenty years have seen a very rapid erosion of seed diversity and seed sovereignty, and the concentration of the control over seeds by a very small number of giant corporations. In 1995, when the UN organised the Plant Genetic Resources Conference in Leipzig, it was reported that 75 per cent of all agricultural biodiversity had disappeared because of the introduction of "modern" varieties, which are always cultivated as monocultures. Since then, the erosion has accelerated.”
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/02/06-0
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- Hunger Action LA News
- California Alliance for Retired Americans Sponsoring Training on State Budget Feb. 28
- Nutrition Policy in The News
- Newt’s Never Ending SNAP Flap
- Kansas Legislators Question Policy Ending Food Assistance for Hundreds of Children
- Tomato Workers Continue With Trader Joe’s Campaign
- Higher Food Prices Caused By Everything From Drought To Speculation
- The Outlook For Food in 2052
- “Go Halfsies” Tackles Food Waste, Obesity, and Hunger
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1. Hunger Action LA News:
Next Hunger Action LA Meeting is Friday, Feb 24, at LAANE, 464 S Lucas, LA CA 90007. All are invited to attend, it’s free. You can rsvp to frank@hungeractionla.org . Topics regularly include state and federal food and anti-hunger legislation, local activities, and updates from several organizations around Los Angeles working on similar issues.
California’s state of hunger: This recent article by Sasha Abramsky highlights among others Maribel Diaz of Hunger Action LA. “While California doesn’t have the highest rate of poverty or hunger in the country, its raw hunger and food insecurity numbers are stunning simply by virtue of its size. Yes, the state with the largest population in the country has the second highest number of food-stamp enrollees (Texas holds the dubious distinction of having the highest), with more than 3.8 million residents on its CalFresh program. Of these, 1.39 million are children.”
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/californias-state-of-hunger/content?oid=4978550
Who’s Hungry Adds Second Performance:
Dan Froot & Dan Hurlin's “Who's Hungry - Santa Monica”, Experimental Puppetry Portraits from the Hungry and Homeless Community, is playing Friday and Saturday Feb 3-4, 2012, at 8:30 pm and has just added a Saturday Feb 4 afternoon 5 pm showtime. TICKETS: highwaysperformance.org 310.315.1459. Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404, (½ block north of Olympic) $20 general admission | $15 seniors and students. Written and produced by Dan Froot, Designed and directed by Dan Hurlin. “Who’s Hungry” looks at the lives of homeless people from Santa Monica from the point of view of their humanity. Hunger Action LA helped to introduce some of the participants to the project and from the previous version (West Hollywood) in 2008. More information:
http://whoshungrysantamonica.blogspot.com/
http://web.mac.com/danfroot/Whos_Hungry_On-Line_Press_Kit/On-Line_Press_Kit.html
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2. California Alliance for Retired Americans Sponsoring Training on State Budget Feb. 28
Free Training for Southern California CARA members, Senior, Student, and Disability Advocates
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
10am – 3pm (lunch included)
UFCW Local 324, Auditorium
8530 Stanton Blvd., Buena Park, 90620
For more information, to RSVP for lunch, call 714-244-7776
The California Alliance for Retired Americans is sponsoring this one day, free training to learn ways we can talk about the California budget crisis and develop support for important revenue solutions that will be considered this year. Please let us know at least one week before the meeting if you need other language materials, Spanish translation during the meeting, alternate format materials, or ASL interpreters.
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3. Nutrition Policy in The News:
Less Meat and Potatoes in School Meals Rankles Industry Groups: “The potato and French fry industry should be happy,” said Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director at the Washington- based Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group. “There should be a limit on fries and hash browns in schools, and they got Congress to step in and prevent USDA from doing what the science shows is best for kids.”
Florida Pushes Policy To Ban Junk Food From Food Stamp Purchases: Floridians could not use food stamps to buy soft drinks, candy bars or other junk food under a bill that survived contentious debate among members of a Senate panel Wednesday.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/25/2608397/on-food-stamps-no-junk-food-for.html#storylink=cpy
“SNAP” To Health Invites Comments To Improve Nutrition In SNAP: From the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress:
"SNAP to Health" is an initiative of the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress to improve nutrition in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. The website SNAP to Health serves as a public forum where community members can join the ongoing conversation about the current state of nutrition in SNAP.
We hope that what you read here will encourage you to participate in the dialogue on strengthening SNAP as well as discussing hunger and obesity prevention issues. We welcome your contributions at www.snaptohealth.org, as the views and perspectives shared on the website will be incorporated into recommendations to strengthen nutrition in SNAP in the upcoming Farm Bill.
Email: health@thepresidency.org
Phone: (202) 872-9800
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4. Newt’s Never Ending SNAP Flap
“Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and now front-running Republican presidential candidate, has made calling Barack Obama the "food stamp president" his calling card. But Republicans, Gingrich included, have had a strong hand in the expansion of food stamp use.”
The President has responded, stating, “"First of all, I don't put people on food stamps. People become eligible for food stamps. Second of all, the initial expansion of food-stamp eligibility happened under my Republican predecessor, not under me."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/obama-abc-interview_n_1235281.html?ref=politics |
“In Massachusetts, SNAP enrollment was up 73 percent over the five years prior in 2008. It must be noted that it was up 103 percent over the five years prior in 2010. Nationally, participation of eligible working poor families was at just 66 percent in 2007. Enrollment in 2009, however, was up 41 percent over the five years prior. These trends were the intersection of two patterns -- increasing financial hardship and a multi-administration push to support struggling Americans with SNAP.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tiziana-dearing/newt-ginrich-food-stamps-_b_1225942.html
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5. Kansas Legislators Question Policy Ending Food Assistance for Hundreds of Children
“After being briefed on the matter, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback announced Wednesday that he won’t change a policy that eliminated food stamps for hundreds of children in the state. But several state legislators promised to do their own review.
The bipartisan group wants a further explanation of the policy change by the state’s Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. The change eliminated food stamps for hundreds of low-income children who are U.S. citizens but whose parents are illegal immigrants.
Sen. John Vratil, a Leawood Republican, told The Associated Press that the change “has the effect of denying food to children, which is something I could never support.”
Sen. Laura Kelly, a Topeka Democrat, agreed and said the policy must be reviewed. “There are other ways to approach this other than to cut off access to food for these kids,” she said.
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/25/3392159/lawmakers-to-review-food-stamp.html#storylink=cpy
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6. Tomato Workers Continue With Trader Joe’s Campaign
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a group of Florida farmworkers who’ve been working with students and other allies on a largely successful campaign to get corporations to agree to pay one penny extra per pound of tomatoes that they purchase to help improve farmworkers’ wages and get them badly needed services. Largely successful, but among the notable holdouts is Trader Joe’s , a store that is thought by many to be the opposite of the typical corporate supermarkets
“The people who pick the tomatoes we eat make as little as $50 for a 12-hour workday, picking ton after ton of tomatoes.”
You can sign the petition to get Trader Joe’s to join the other players, including Taco Bell and other unlikely suspects, who’ve agreed to pay the extra penny or two per pound:
http://sumofus.org/campaigns/tjs-tomatoes/?sub=taf
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7. Higher Food Prices Caused By Everything From Drought To Speculation
Texas drought will result in beef price rise: The Agriculture Department reported Friday there were about 91 million head of cattle in the U.S. on Jan. 1, down 2% from a year ago and the lowest level since 1952. Retail beef prices, now near record levels, will likely rise 4% to 5% this year following a 10% increase in 2011, according to Agriculture. John Nalivka, owner of consulting firm Sterling Marketing, estimates prices could rise as much as another 10% — more than double the inflation rate for all food.
The most severe drought in more than half a century last year left ranchers in Texas, Oklahoma and other states with meager supplies of grass and water to feed their cattle. Many animals were sold to feedlots or slaughterhouses.
The crisis added to a long-term trend of ranchers thinning their herds because of the soaring price of corn — a primary feedstock for cattle — rising property costs and increased competition for land with corn, soybeans and other crops, says Kevin Good, a senior analyst at research firm CattleFax.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/story/2012-01-29/beef-prices/52874812/1
Barclay’s Bank Wins Shame Award For Speculating on Food Prices: “Barclays Bank has been adjudged the world’s worst company at the Public Eye ‘shame award’ for speculating on food prices as a result of which about 44 million people worldwide were pushed into extreme poverty in the second half of 2010.The award, organised by Greenpeace and the Berne Declaration (BD), was held January 27, 2012 on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos.
Barclays’ activity is fuelling hunger and poverty worldwide, says the World Development Movement, which nominated the bank for the shame award.
“Barclays is gambling with the price of food, and therefore with people’s lives. Speculation benefits a tiny minority in the financial sector, and at the same time fuels food price spikes which force millions of people to go hungry. Governments must take urgent action to curb this reckless practice,” Amy Horton, campaigner at the World Development Movement, said on its website.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16170
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8. The Outlook For Food in 2052
Feeding 9 billion in 40 years:
“Although world agriculture has met the food demand of growing populations and expanding economies over the last half of the 20th Century, U.S. growers and their counterparts worldwide face a "continued challenge" to meet the continued growth in food demand over the last half of the 21st century, according to Iowa State University emeritus ag economist Don Hofstrand.”
Some of the factors involved in fighting hunger around the world, from economist Hofstrand:
· “In general, biofuels may have a difficult time competing with food demand from developed countries. Conversely, the food demand of developing countries may have a hard time competing with biofuels.”
· “In addition to population growth, world food need will rise due to increasing incomes in developing countries, especially for meat.”
· “Despite the large movement from rural to urban over the next 40 years, population growth in rural areas is expected to increase faster than employment opportunities in primary agriculture. So, rural areas in many developing countries will need to transition to non-agriculture employment.”
· “Food waste is another issue as agriculture attempts to feed the world for years to come. It's estimated 30 percent of food is wasted along the food chain from growing to consumption.”
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9. “Go Halfsies” Tackles Food Waste, Obesity, and Hunger
“Everyone knows restaurants' portions are out of control—they're usually two to four times the recommended meal size, and they're growing every decade. Meanwhile, almost half the food produced in the United States today is thrown away—including $44 billion worth in the retail industry—while 50 million people in the U.S. experience food insecurity or malnutrition. This triangle affects everything from obesity rates to ballooning waste-disposal costs to every person who can't afford to eat properly.
Enter Go Halfsies, a new social initiative that's tackling these three depressing, interrelated problems at the same time. Halfsies plans to partner with local restaurants, beginning in Austin and New York City, that will designate a certain portion of their menu to the initiative. When a customer chooses a meal with a "go halfsies" symbol, she'll pay full price while receiving only half of the portion. Ninety percent of the proceeds are donated to support the fight against hunger. “
Follow us on Twitter @HungerActionLA . Welcome to all the new people on the list: please respond to frank@hungeractionla.org if you wish to use a different e mail or be removed. On this list you will receive about 6 e mails a month.
Thanks to: Anna Carter, Judith Gerber, and Breanna Morrison for contributions to today’s newsletter
- Hunger Action LA News:
- Local News on Poverty and Assistance
- Seed Lady of Watts Invites Angelenos To Join in New Project
- Gingrich’s Attacks on Food Stamps Seen As Coded Racial Attacks
- Local Farm Food News Around The Country
- End Monsanto’s Attacks on Family Farmers
- Can Supermarkets Help Increase Healthy Food Access
- Food Waste Issue Goes Global
- Biofuels Held Responsible For Grain Price Increases
- Cattle Raids Source of Conflict in South Sudan
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1. Hunger Action LA News:
Next Hunger Action LA Meeting will be Friday January 27, 10 am to noon, at LAANE, 464 S Lucas Ave, LA CA 90017, just west of downtown. All are invited for updates on upcoming activities for 2012 including fighting for a fair state budget, the Mayor’s day of service March 31, and Hunger Action Day in Sacramento, May 17. RSVP 213 388 8228 or frank@hungeractionla.org
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2. Local News on Poverty and Assistance:
California Alliance for Retired Americans Sponsoring Training on State Budget Feb. 28
2012 Is the Year to Get California Back on Track
Free Training for Southern California CARA members, Senior, Student, and Disability Advocates
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
10am – 3pm (lunch included)
UFCW Local 324, Auditorium
8530 Stanton Blvd., Buena Park, 90620
For more information, to RSVP for lunch, call 714-244-7776
The California Alliance for Retired Americans is sponsoring this one day, free training to learn ways we can talk about the California budget crisis and develop support for important revenue solutions that will be considered this year:
· Learn how to impact the State Budget and save essential programs;
· Continue our campaign to protect pensions, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and important retirement income;
· Find out how to get involved in electing leaders who will represent your interests and supporting ballot measure that can help re-build California.
Kim Klein, well known fundraising guru and partner in Nonprofits Talking Taxes will provide this special training that will help us learn how to talk about how fair taxes will help us get California and the Country back on the road to recovery. This workshop will help us “make the common good a common conversation.” This is a training you will not want to miss.
Please let us know at least one week before the meeting if you need other language materials, Spanish translation during the meeting, alternate format materials, or ASL interpreters.
Homeless make up growing number of public assistance recipients: Over the last five years, the number of CalWorks families without a permanent place to live has grown by 98%. That's nearly four times the growth of non-homeless families who are also getting assistance. The increase shows how difficult it is for people on the lower rungs of the financial ladder to improve their situation in the current tough economy, experts say, especially because the average amount that Los Angeles County families get from the state has shrunk from $560 a month three years ago to $490 last October.
Grants could become even smaller if Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget passes. Brown wants to reduce CalWorks by about $1 billion.
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-welfare-20120117,0,325056.story?track=rss
Gas company launches winter assistance:Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today launched its annual winter assistance campaign, the Gas Assistance Fund, which provides a one-time grant in the amount of the bill, up to $100, for low-income families. The program is funded by the generous contributions from customers, employees, and shareholders.
Information on how you can donate to the program, or how you may qualify to receive assistance from the program:
http://www.socalgas.com/for-your-home/assistance-programs/gaf/
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3. Seed Lady of Watts Invites Angelenos To Join in New Project
Anna Marie Carter, The Seed Lady of Watts, has spent the last 37 years of her life planting over 11,100 gardens in Watts and harvesting seeds for posterity. She has now retired from her selfless Community Garden work in Watts and is working diligently to build an Organic Agricultural University for Women and Children on the 20-Acre Promised Land in Historic Allensworth, California, the very first all-Black town in California.
The immediate need of this historic venture is the building of the first Green House to start the growing and harvesting of the millions of Heirloom Organic Seeds that she has been collecting since 1975. "Not very many people understand the importance of the Organic Seed," says Miss Carter, "and the time is quickly approaching when Organic Seeds will be more valuable than money!"
Everyone is invited to share in Miss Carter's extraordinary vision by joining The Promised Land's GREEN SEED CLUB with a $10.00 Membership Donation. These funds will be used to build Green houses on the Promised Land to produce fresh Organic Fruits, Vegetables and Seeds for distribution to all the Green Seed Club Members in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.
All donations and Membership requests can be mailed directly to ACT SLOW MINISTRIES, P.O. BOX 431312, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90043. Please be sure to include your complete Name, Address, Telephone number and Email Address, so that we can communicate with you in the future with updates on the progress at The Promised Land!
For more information about other ways to support THE PROMISED LAND, including direct donations of building materials for the first Green House, please contact the Watts Garden Club at 323-969-4740.
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4. Gingrich’s Attacks on Food Stamps Seen As Coded Racial Attacks
Raj Patel: In Attacks on Obama, Food Stamps, Newt Gingrich is “Racially Coding Poverty”:
From Democracy Now radio program: “The new documentary “Finding North” premiering at the Sundance Film Festival exposes how one in every four American children suffers from hunger, despite living in the wealthiest nation in the world. And, nearly 30 percent of American families, more than 49 million people, often go without meals. While Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich decries President Obama as “the food stamp president,” author Raj Patel says what is really needed is a conversation about poverty and why the need for food stamps is so high. “It is true that disproportionately people of color are affected by food insecurity. What Gingrich is doing is racially coding poverty by calling President Obama the food stamp president,” Patel said. “He is invoking ideas of racialized poverty.” Hear the interview with Raj Patel:
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/1/23/raj_patel_in_attacks_on_obama
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said attacks on the U.S. food-stamp program, a standby of Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s criticisms of President Barack Obama, exploit stereotypes of aid recipients. Those who get the federal assistance “are playing by the rules,” Vilsack, whose department administers food stamps, said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg News. “There are misconceptions about this program and confusion” about recipients caused by negative portrayals by some Obama opponents, he said.
In their attacks on the food stamp program, some Republican presidential candidates are leaving a deeply misleading impression of the nation's leading anti-hunger program. No one aspires to enroll, but for those who must, it is an essential lifeline that addresses one of the harshest impacts of poverty and unemployment -- hunger.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/19/opinion/dean-food-stamp-program/
Why isn’t Newt lecturing Idaho? : 235,000 Idahoans are now receiving food stamps, up from just 95,433 in 2008. Department of Health and Welfare Administrator Russ Barron said that number is growing at a rate of 6 percent per year. Food stamp participation is up and the state has proposed staggering distribution of them to avoid rushes at grocery stores. Note: Idaho is an 89% white state.
http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005140417
“Do as we say, not as we do”:Kip Smith, author of a Georgia state bill requiring food stamp applicants to be tested for drugs, was arrested for DUI:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/16/kip-smith-dui-arrest_n_1209365.html
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5. Local Farm Food News Around The Country
New York sees increase in food stamps for local farm food: “More New Yorkers on food stamps are using them to buy fresh produce, eggs and baked goods at city greenmarkets.From 2010 to 2011, use of food stamps at greenmarkets increased from a little more than $505,000 to $620,000 — a gain of 23 percent.” Oh, those wacky New Yorkers! “Greenmarkets” are what we all know down here as “farmers markets”.
http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2012/jan/03/food-stamps-increasingly-deployed-greenmarkets/
Iowa farmers encounter problem of scale: Despite a powerful demand for local food in grocery stores, restaurants and schools, some local growers say they don’t have big enough operations to make selling at wholesale prices viable. A problem for local growers everywhere, spotlighted here in Iowa---known for its vast fields of grain: you wouldn’t suspect so many fruits and vegetables being grown there.
http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20120121/NEWS01/301210010/Demand-local-food-growing
National Jewish organizations in the U.S. are making the Farm Bill an advocacy priority for 2012: Leah Kaplan Robins: “While it may seem like an unlikely target for a swell of Jewish activism, the Farm Bill—which dictates U.S. law on everything from agriculture to food stamps to biofuels—is packed with policies that go against the grain of Jewish ethics. The bill is up for debate and reauthorization this year, and six Jewish organizations are seizing the opportunity to call for reforms that they feel will go a long way toward achieving their Torah-inspired visions of food justice. Even though they’re each tackling a different aspect of the bill, they’ve recently joined forces to maximize their power and mobilize their constituents toward a common goal.”
http://m.forward.com/blogs/the-jew-and-the-carrot/149969
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6. End Monsanto’s Attacks on Family Farmers
From Food Democracy Now: “On January 31, family farmers will take part in the first phase of a court case filed to protect farmers from genetic trespass by Monsanto’s GMO seed, which contaminates organic and non-GMO farmer’s crops and opens them up to abusive lawsuits. In the past two decades, Monsanto’s seed monopoly has grown so powerful that they control the genetics of nearly 90% of five major commodity crops including corn, soybeans, cotton, canola and sugar beets.”
“In many cases farmers are forced to stop growing certain crops to avoid genetic contamination and potential lawsuits. Between 1997 and 2010, Monsanto admits to filing 144 lawsuits against America’s family farmers, while settling another 700 out of court for undisclosed amounts. Due to these aggressive lawsuits, Monsanto has created an atmosphere of fear in rural America and driven dozens of farmers into bankruptcy. Please join us in standing up for family farmers everywhere against Monsanto's abusive seed monopoly.”
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/farmersvs_monsanto/
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7. Can Supermarkets Help Increase Healthy Food Access
Texas’ HEB chain is launching campaign to lower prices on healthy foods---can we get California chains to follow suit? HEB grocery chain in Texas has rolled out the “Healthy at H-E-B” initiative, which it described as a “comprehensive, long-term commitment to improve the health of Texans and provide them with fresh, healthy food that is affordable and easy to prepare.”
“We are facing a health crisis in Texas,” said Craig Boyan, president and chief operating officer of H-E-B., who noted that Texas has been listed as the 13th most obese state in the nation.“An estimated 64% of the total population and one in five Texas kids are now considered overweight or obese,” he said. “Given our position as the leading food retailer in the state, we have a unique opportunity to help those who want to make a change for themselves and their families.” ….In addition to lower prices on produce, H-E-B will offer its new Healthy Savings meal solutions — packages of fresh ingredients with recipes for preparing a healthy meal for four for under $10 after a $4 coupon.
http://m.supermarketnews.com/latest-news/h-e-b-launches-health-price-campaigns
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8. Food Waste Issue Goes Global
Food waste was denounced by farm ministers and policy makers gathered in Berlin as almost 1 billion people in developing countries go hungry…..Consumers in rich countries dispose of 220 million metric tons of food waste every year, equal to the entire food output of sub-Saharan Africa, Jose Graziano da Silva, the director general of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, told 64 agriculture ministers meeting in Berlin over the weekend.
One third of the food produced in the world every year is lost or wasted, amounting to 1.3 billion metric tons, according to Graziano da Silva. As many as 925 million people faced hunger worldwide in 2010, based on the FAO’s most recent estimate.
Russia Today chimes in on the paradox of US food waste and hunger:
http://rt.com/news/usa-food-waste-hungry-345/
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9. Biofuels Held Responsible For Grain Price Increases
The use of corn to make ethanol in the U.S. is helping to lift the grain price worldwide, said Jose Graziano da Silva, the new director general of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.
“FAO has been raising its voice against using food to produce bio energy,” Graziano da Silva told 64 agriculture ministers in Berlin yesterday. That’s “especially” the case for corn in the U.S. and oilseeds in Europe, he said.
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10. Cattle Raids Source of Conflict in South Sudan
Food remains a direct source of conflict in some parts of the world. The newly independent country of South Sudan is suffering violent civil war between tribes resulting from cattle raids. Some have accused Sudanese refugees in the US of fundraising for weapons in the conflict:
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Frank Tamborello
Hunger Action Los Angeles
961 S. Mariposa #205
Los Angeles CA 90006
- Hunger Action LA News:
- Upcoming Actions for A Fair Budget: Tuesday Jan. 10 Action at State Bldg
- Help End California’s Lifetime Ban On Food Aid For People In Re-Entry
- Checking Newt’s Facts on “Food Stamp” vs “Paycheck” Presidency
- What’s Ahead in 2012: Farm Bill, Debate Over Healthy Food, And Concern Over Food Safety
- A Hamburger From A Test Tube For Ya
- As Organic Food Becomes Big Business, It’s Running Into Same Issues As Conventional
- Obesity Affects Low Income Communities More
- Anti-Immigrant Legislation Hurting Farmers In U.S.
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Next Hunger Action LA Meeting will be Friday January 27, 10 am to noon, at LAANE, 464 S Lucas Ave, LA CA 90017, just west of downtown. All are invited for updates on upcoming activities for 2012 including fighting for a fair state budget, the Mayor’s day of service March 31, and Hunger Action Day in Sacramento, May 17. RSVP 213 388 8228 or frank@hungeractionla.org
Voices of Poverty: Author Sasha Abramsky (Inside Obama’s Brain, Breadline USA) paid a visit to LA recently to collect stories of low income Angelenos and anti-poverty advocates. The website he founded, thevoicesofpoverty.org, states as its mission: “By sharing their stories, we hope to shed light on the men, women, and children of America’s poverty. Our intent is to make complicated stories too often reduced to two-dimensional stereotypes. And, in exploring why and how people fall into, or remain mired in, poverty—using issues like housing, employment, wages, healthcare access, and education resources as lenses on their conditions—we hope to point the way to possible solutions. “ Check it out: http://thevoicesofpoverty.org/poverty-stories
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2. Upcoming Actions for A Fair Budget: Tuesday Jan. 10 Action at State Bldg
Governor Brown has just proposed a state budget with $1.4 billion in cuts to health and human services, including yet further restrictions on the amount of aid that low income parents can receive over their lifetime. At a time of recession, can we afford to be creating more hunger and homelessness, and remove people from the job training programs, access to child care, and other things that keep them connected and engaged and most of all, hopeful?
Join California Partnership in an action to call for a fair state budget:
Tuesday January 10
Los Angeles
State Building, 300 S. Spring St, LA 90013
Time: 12pm
Contact: Astrid Campos, 213-407-5840
Background:
LA Times: California in retreat on social spending
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-state-budget-20120107,0,1600241.story?track=rss
A statement from Vanessa Aramayo, Director of California Partnership and Co-chair of the Health and Human Services Network of CA : “We are appalled that yet once again Governor Brown’s solution to California’s budget crisis consists of $1.4 billion cuts to essential health and human services. Since 2008, California’s health and human services have suffered an astounding $15 billion in cuts, and this budget only continues the gutting of the social safety net that so many Californian families depend on.”
“We challenge the Governor to create definitive and solid revenue solutions that truly protect core health and human service programs and we call on legislators to protect the interests of struggling families in their districts rather than those of large corporations that receive billions of dollars in tax giveaways every year. “
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3. Help End California’s Lifetime Ban On Food Aid For People In Re-Entry
California remains one of 13 states that continue to ban people with certain drug felonies from ever getting food assistance (CalFresh program) in their lives. Last year Assemblymember Sandre Swanson introduced a bill, AB 828, to change this situation. The bill passed the state Assembly but was placed “on suspense” by the state Senate. It will be heard in the Appropriations Committee sometime in April 2012.
It’s wrong for people who have already done time for their crime to be punished for the rest of their life and denied assistance that can help them rebuild their lives. Hunger Action LA has joined with several other anti-hunger groups to advocate for a change in this policy. You can join in the campaign. Please contact frank@hungeractionla.org for more details and actions to take. A website is being developed
and we will have that link for you as soon as it is completed.
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4. Checking Newt’s Facts on “Food Stamp” vs “Paycheck” Presidency
NY Times op ed columnist Charles Blow analyzes recent GOP candidates’ (specifically Gingrich and Santorum) claims and implications that African Americans overly depend on food stamps, and that the Obama presidency is a “food stamp” presidency as opposed to Newt’s “paycheck” society. :
“First, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, most SNAP participants are either too old or too young to work. Forty-seven percent were under age 18, and 8 percent were 60 or older. Second, "nearly 30 percent of SNAP households had earnings in 2010, and 41 percent of all SNAP participants lived in a household with earnings."
GOP candidates are capitalizing on lingering racism that portrays African Americans as overly dependent on state benefits (although the vast majority of food stamp participants are white), and stoking resentment based on this notion:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/opinion/blow-the-gops-black-people-platform.xml
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5. What’s Ahead in 2012: Farm Bill, Debate Over Healthy Food, And Concern Over Food Safety
Food Navigator USA, a website analyzing the food business, predicts the top five factors influencing the food industry in 2012, including the federal Farm Bill: seniors interested in healthier foods, childrens’ school meals, food safety, and the public concern with either purchasing or avoiding organic, genetically engineered and other foods, some of which are labeled misleadingly.
Marion Nestle predicts that in 2012: Demand for food stamps will grow, something will happen with the new farm bill, the FDA will continue playing catch-up on food safety, and the FTC will postpone nutrition standards.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/01/looking-ahead-2012-food-politics/250766/
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said recentlythat the farm bill proposal prepared for the failed supercommittee on deficit reduction back in November will provide the basis for starting consideration of the farm bill next year:
http://www.hagstromreport.com/news_files/120611_farmbill.html
There are some interesting alternatives to the standard farm bill that were introduced toward the end of the year. The Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act introduced in November 2011 promotes rural development, job growth and public health at the level of local and regional food systems. “The bill also provides for local-marketing promotion, changes to school-lunch procurements that will encourage schools to purchase from local farmers, and renewed funding to the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program.”
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3286&tab=summary
“On Nov. 17, 2011, a bill focused explicitly on the needs of small-scale farmers was introduced in the Senate. The Growing Opportunities for Agriculture and Responding to Markets (GO FARM) Act gives the USDA authority to establish a loan program that issues grants to rural-development organizations. These organizations, in turn, will issue loans to market farmers growing crops for direct-sales venues and local schools and grocers. According to the bill, loan priority would be given to small- and medium-scale producers, socially disadvantaged farmers/ranchers, specialty crop growers, and farmers who are best able to meet the nutritional needs of underserved communities.”
http://www.hobbyfarms.com/farm-industry-news/2011/12/20/2011-farm-policy-roundup.aspx
http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/go-farm-senate-introduction/
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6. A Hamburger >From A Test Tube For Ya
From Cara Santa Maria, reporter: “Dutch biologist Mark Post is pretty confident that he can put a lab-grown hamburger on your plate by the end of the year….The stakes are high. Right now, 40 billion animals are killed per year in the US alone. One million chickens are killed per hour. Over one-fourth of the total land surface of the earth is used for livestock grazing (or non-grazing, like in factory farms). Global meat production accounts for 18 percent of greenhouse gasses. That's more than every car, bus, train, and airplane produces combined. And its not like conventional meat production is even efficient. To make 15 grams of edible meat, we have to feed that animal 100 grams of vegetable protein. Is that sustainable with a growing world population? You do the math.”
We know how to make the meat. All it takes is a biopsy of muscle cells from a living cow, chicken...whatever...called myoblasts. The cells are then grown in a nutrient-rich culture medium that delivers them all the goods that they would get in vivo--that is, if they were still inside the animal”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/01/05/in-vitro-meat_n_1185128.html
Sound disgusting? Many of us including myself have opposed genetically engineered food because of its potentially devastating consequences on the environment and its use as an intimidation tool by giant companies (like Monsanto.) But what about meat grown in a lab? Could it save the environment by one day displacing even a portion of the billions of animals raised and killed in factory farms, often in inhumane ways? Maybe it depends on who is in control of the technology? Would love to hear your feedback! frank@hungeractionla.org
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7. As Organic Food Becomes Big Business, It’s Running Into Same Issues As Conventional
From the New York Times, about tons of organic produce being raised in Mexico and shipped to Trader Joe’s in the United States: “…even as more Americans buy foods with the organic label, the products are increasingly removed from the traditional organic ideal: produce that is not only free of chemicals and pesticides but also grown locally on small farms in a way that protects the environment.”
“The explosive growth in the commercial cultivation of organic tomatoes here (in Mexico), for example, is putting stress on the water table. In some areas, wells have run dry this year, meaning that small subsistence farmers cannot grow crops. And the organic tomatoes end up in an energy-intensive global distribution chain that takes them as far as New York and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, producing significant emissions that contribute to global warming.”
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8. Obesity Affects Low Income Communities More
LA Times: “Just 4% of children in affluent, mostly white Manhattan Beach are considered obese, the lowest rate countywide, according to public health officials. In poor, predominantly Latino Bell Gardens, the rate is 36% — higher than in any other city.
"They are like two different worlds," said Paul Simon, who directs chronic disease prevention for the county health department.
Obesity among the young is starting to level off in California and around the nation. But stark disparities persist, posing vexing obstacles to further change.In Los Angeles County alone, the obesity epidemic costs about $12 billion a year for healthcare and in lost productivity, according to a 2006 report by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-obesity-gap-20111228,0,5150647.story?track=rss
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9. Anti-Immigrant Legislation Hurting Farmers In U.S.
You recall that anti-immigrant legislation has been passed by several states over 2011, including particularly onerous ones in Georgia that have resulted in kids being afraid to go to school. As predicted, this legislation is not sitting well with farmers, who are losing workers in droves.
The Department of Agriculture issued a report to measure the effect of House Bill 87, the strict immigration law passed in Georgia last year. Georgia farmers were surveyed about the issue:
“When asked why they’d hired fewer workers last year than the year before, the bad economy was the No. 1 answer, followed by HB 87 and a lack of skilled workers. Black and white American won’t do the hard work of picking crops in the summer heat, and Hispanics, documented and undocumented, fled the state in droves, they said.”
http://onlineathens.com/business/2012-01-07/farmers-want-immigration-overhaul-state-report-says
“Georgia's top agriculture official is speaking out about a study by his department about the availability of farm workers…… Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said Congress must fix the nation's immigration system so farmers have the labor they need to harvest crops.
Farmers participating in the study said they have suffered roughly $10 million (in losses)
http://www2.wsav.com/news/2012/jan/05/georgia-agriculture-commissioner-talks-about-farm--ar-2992445/
“Could California follow Utah on passing a guest worker program? Folks there are borrowing several ideas from Utah's House Bill 116 and putting them into a possible referendum. California has a lot at stake in the issue, because its agricultural industry depends heavily on migrant farm workers.
The measure would give guest workers an opportunity to live in California through a state-run pilot program.
The bill was introduced by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes after noticing many California farms are suffering from the lack of workers. “There are many jobs people aren't willing to take and if it provides an income for them, I think it's a good idea,” said Amy Campbell, who lives in Salt Lake.
Latino rights advocates in Utah say the bill will face strong opposition in California, but it's sending a message to Congress. “It's a good way for the states to let the federal government know that we need to have some changes out there,” commented Tony Yapias.”