Day 2 - Getting involved - Learning about the Farm Bill 2012

As mentioned, I will not only change my lifestyle (family lifestyle), I am also getting involved with anything and anyone who will support a healthier life & future for the U.S. So far so good, but what I have to deal with now that I have to get involved with politics. What a drag! Therefore I have my fiance who loves, loves politics and understands how the system works.

Well, I recently signed up with a website. They send out a newsletter with current issues and also supply petitions that one can sign to make a difference or getting involved.

Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.

This website focuses on issues like - Food Safety, Federal Budget, Factory Farms, Farm Bill: Better Food Starts Here...and many others. This is where I stumbled upon "The Farm Bill". Initially an interesting concept and a great vision proposed from Food & Water Watch.

Here's our vision for the next Farm Bill:

1) Level the playing fields for all farmers, so that huge multinational corporations and mega factory farms don't control our food system;

2) Create food system infrastructure that will support new markets for farmers and eaters in every part of the country to make sure that everyone has access to healthy, safe, affordable and sustainably produced food;

3) Protect and build upon the progress we made in the last Farm Bill that promotes sustainable agriculture, local food systems and fair contracts for farmers.

 So, I figured that's all really great and I want to become involved. Before I take drastic steps I wanted to make sure that I understand the bill completely, I asked my political brain Tom. He read over it and looked at the history of the Farm Bill, particularly the 2008 and as it turns out the vision of Food & Water Watch is more or less a "wishful thinking" vision. The Farm Bill 2008 had different ideas in mind. What I understood from this was that organic/healthy food will be  accessible to low income families, farmers are going to be able to regulate their farm business more independently and will not rely on multinational corporations....well there is much more to it than what was stated. I did sign the petition on their website, but I feel that it was too generalized and no specific previous components were tackled. 

With this post, I am advocating to get involved but also suggesting to inform yourself before you dedicate your time to support or petition something that you might not fully understand. I will keep you posted on any other development.

 If you are interested to read about the 2008 Farm Bill here is the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food,_Conservation,_and_Energy_Act_of_2008

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WISDOM OF THE DAY 

According to the Department of Agriculture:

U.S. consumers spend just 10% of their income on food-the lowest percentage in the world. Twenty years ago, American consumers spent 11.7 percent of their disposable income on food. Thirty years ago, that figure was 15.1 percent. Going back in history, Americans spent about 20 percent of their income on food about the time today's baby boomers were born. In 1933, the figure was more than 25 percent.