Urge Senators to use the Food and Farm Bill to realign corn subsidies to support small, local farmers and implement stronger conservation efforts
- Posted to Environmental Conservation by Jessica Dahl
To: US Senate
The impact of corn subsidies over the past few decades has challenged the sustainability of our vital farmlands, causing long-term damage to the ecosystem that produces the majority of our nation’s food.
As our Senators, we request that you pass a version of the Food and Farm Bill that will...
This petition closed on September 30, 2012.
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3,749 people signed the petition
As a result of subsidies, more corn will be planted this year than ever, with 94 million acres under cultivation. This influx of planting is changing the countryside as farmers plow row after row of a single crop, eliminating land formerly protected by conservation programs and destroying the once rich soils of the Midwest. Unrelenting corn production has been linked to the recent mass die-off of bees, the depletion of South Dakota’s underground reservoirs and many other environmental ills.
Fortunately, the new Food and Farm Bill being drafted by Congress is our chance to push back. The bill would create stronger land conservation efforts to protect the natural richness of our wildlife, water and soil. An emphasis on local farming would even reduce the fuel costs and carbon emissions associated with trucking or flying corn around the world.
Together we can tell Congress to rethink our environmentally unfriendly food system in America. Sign the petition urging that Senators use the Food and Farm Bill to realign corn subsidies to support small, local farmers and implement stronger conservation efforts. Send a message loud and clear – we need our environment to produce food, so don’t let our food destroy the environment.
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Update #2
Posted by Jessica Dahl (Campaign Leader) on Jun 14, 2012As the Senate continues to consider the Food and Farm bill this week we have to keep showing our support for this important legislation.
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Let your friends know that even if they don't wake up to a rooster crow every morning, they should still care about getting this measure passed. In addition to reforming crop subsidies, the bill will take important strides towards tackling the nation's poverty epidemic. The largest portion of the budget will aid the federal food stamp program. Check out... -
Update #1
Posted by Jessica Dahl (Campaign Leader) on Jun 7, 2012Thanks for signing the petition! The fight to get this new Food and Farm bill to the President's desk has been heating up this week as Senators began debating the specifics of the five-year plan. Over the next several weeks we need to continue urging Congress to pass what Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Debbie Stabenow calls "the most significant reform in agriculture policy in decades."
The current Farm Bill expires at the end of September, so we need to keep pushing for more...
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