Why Food? Seems like a simple enough question, but you will be surprised, hardly anything we see on the shelves of super markets today has any resemblance to actual real food: it comes in vacuumed pack, pre-portioned packages of sterility and convenience. Yet, what does it mean to actually eat food, to touch it, see it, cook it and feel it? We are so divorced from what comes to our plate that we are willing to take produce at face value. Such an attitude leads consumers to settle for food that is Chlorinated and Irradiated, unaware that despite the band-aid sterility such items necessitate toxic treatments in order to render them even remotely fit for human consumption. Small farms are the only real assurance consumers have to assure themselves that the labels present any form of transparency; everything else is a carefully calculated, carefully orchestrated and a highly governed system of smoke and mirrors.
Obviously, the final solution is to buy local, shop at farmers markets, enlist in a CSA programme and shop directly from your friendly neighbourhood farmer. However, this is not as straightforward as one would hope for. The pastures green that once thrived upon the amber waves of grained kissed nation is dwindling faster than you can say recombinant bovine somatotropin.
According to Farm-Aid, 330 American farmers leave their land each week. 330 of the most hard working individuals you will ever have the good fortune to meet are giving up on the only job they have known for 7 days a week, 365 days a year for the majority of their lives. That is 17, 160 individuals per year: an absolutely staggering amount.
Why? Why this mass exodus? What are we doing as a society that would possibly drive -I would consider- the back bone of America out in droves. I will tell you : The current farm bill and the practices it promotes.
Author Dan Imhoff, “Although the committee proposal includes important reforms to the commodity title, we are deeply concerned that it would continue to give away subsidies worth tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to the largest commodity crop growers and agribusinesses even as it drastically underfunds programs to promote the health and food security of all Americans, invest in beginning and disadvantaged farmers, revitalize local food economies and protect natural resources.” (Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to the Next Food and Farm Bill).
Whether you are democrat, republican, moderate or Monster Raving Looney party (for my UK friends) the health of your person, your progeny and your environment ought to weigh heavily on your mind. If you however do not actually give a proverbial you should perhaps stop reading and go crack yourself a Bud and go play beer pong.
In 1933 President Roosevelt passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act in order to help a struggling nation emerge from the Depression by creating policies that aided national issues such as rural poverty and hunger. This was a visionary Bill to rescue agriculture and support a starving nation. So why is it today that we are looking at two major health crises that despite appearing as disparate are in fact interconnected by our current farming policies and legislature? Food Insecurity and Obesity. Namely, because the Food Bill remains more or less the same as it did 80 years ago, thus allowing for large agribusiness such as Monsanto to maintain an oligopoly on farming, reducing crop diversity and blanketing the landscape with mono-crops such as corn and soy. During the 60’s 70’s and 80’s, the bill provided incentives to farmers to either get big or get out. Small rural farms and agricultural communities were greatly ignored. Unfortunately the current draft of the upcoming legislature leaves the money and the power in the hands of Big Agribusiness. In 2012, 1 in 7 Americans signed up for food stamps, despite the highest commodity prices in history, rural communities are falling deeper into debt. In 2010 17.8% of individuals living in rural communities were living below the poverty line. In order to feed themselves and their families they turned to cheap highly processed food loaded with high fructose corn syrup and GMO-ed soy.
The monetary proposals of this year’s bill would provide hundreds of billions of dollars per year for agriculture that could, if fairly and wisely proportioned provide the landscape and means that could aid in the obesity crisis, target water pollution from chemical and animal waste run off, prevent the possibility of another dust bowl and support the expertise and ingenuity of a new wave of farmers and ranchers whose land stewardship ideals will benefit future generations.
According to Dan Imhoff and Michael Dimock (president of roots of change and chairman emeritus of Slow Food USA), in order to promote real farming and challenge the Monoculture giants who are destroying our landscape and monopolising good growing and livestock fields with round up resistant mono crops, at least four fundamental shifts must occur:
Supporting Food, not feed. Crop subsidies and federal insurance currently are used for disproportionately favourable to commodity crops used for animal feed, or for to produce over processed food. This leads to a distinct lack of available fresh and affordable produce for most Americans and the likelihood Americans will ingest more packaged food. Combined with a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program including incentive programs for fruit and vegetable purchase that would reduce diet-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Such a program would save trillions of dollars in health cost in future decades.
Focusing on safeguarding the land. As with original bill, government investments should promote the maintenance and good stewardship of the land and waterways. Currently the farm law only supports a minimal amount of requests from farmers seeking to cost share dollars for projects that would protect water and soil quality and endangered species.
Adding labour to the equation. A labour policy to protect the 6 million farmworkers must be implemented. Currently there is nothing in place in the 1000 page document that prevents exploitation of workers.
Increasing research. The new bill must emphasise the importance of helping food producers and businesses promote practices to end obesity, hunger, water and soil scarcity and species degradation. The bill needs to provide a platform for ingenuity and innovation
The farm bill’s renewal allows such tremendous opportunity to change the face and shape of agriculture. However, the current bill is a dinosaur, a relic that does nothing but support the very factors that are harming our health, or environment and our animals. YOU have the power to change this nation, one food choice, one meal and one vote at a time. Get informed, take a stance and as always instigate some good eatin’ y’all. Always with love THE EPICUREAN.
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