The Farm Bill is perhaps the single most significant land use legislation enacted in the United States, yet many citizens remain unaware of its power and scope. With subsidies ballooning toward $25 billion dollars per year, the Farm Bill largely dictates who grows what crops, on what acreage, and under what conditions--all with major impacts on the country's rural economies, health and nutrition, national security, and biodiversity. As debate and wrangling over the 2007 Farm Bill intensifies, Food Fight offers a highly informative and visually engaging overview of legislation that literally shapes our food system, our bodies, and our future.
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Food- a political opportunity:
No one goes to the grocery store thinking that the government legislates what they buy or eat. But in fact, the government plays an enormously influential role on what products and foods are grown and produced, as well as distributed in your local grocery. The legislation known as the Farm Bill (some call it the Food Bill) has greatly altered the way that farms operate, thereby changing the landscape of food choice, nutrition, biodiversity in our country as well as other poorer countries, quality of life... more info
Farm Policy for Dummies (Like Me):
Word of the day: "cornification." Cornification, in a nutshell, is the takeover of a diverse landscape by one mighty plant: corn. The "Effects of Cornification" graphic on page 17 of Dan Imhoff's new book shows the results: the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone, factory livestock farms, obesity, immigration problems, food deserts (that's "deserts" not desserts"), the emptying of our rural communities, etc., etc. One look at the "cornification" graphic and a message comes through loud and clear: what the government... more info
