News

U.S. 2007 Farm Bill affects food worldwide

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

	2007 Farm Bill Forums Thursday, July 19 - 7:30-9 p.m. at First English Lutheran Church, North Site (corner of Ballard Road and Broadway Drive), Appleton; Monday, July 23 - 7:30-9 p.m. at All Saints Church, 125 St. Claude St., Denmark.
	Related article this week: • Eye on the Capitol --     Farm Bill needs to help farmers     The bill needs to take steps to help     rural people in U.S., abroad

Are you worried about the rising obesity rate in the U.S.? Would you like to see more locally grown fruits and vegetables in your diet?

Then take another look at the U.S. Farm Bill in Congress.

While the farm bill has provided price supports and subsidies for farmers since its inception during the Great Depression, today it affects such issues as food stamps, food banks, overseas food aid and development, and conservation.

In an effort to get people to become aware of the 2007 Farm Bill and connect it with Catholic social justice, the Diocese of Green Bay has partnered with Bread for the World and the University of Wisconsin-Extension to present three forums on the Farm Bill. The first was held July 12 at Prince of Peace Parish, Pine Grove. The others will be July 19 in Appleton and July 23 in Denmark. (See information box.)

Br. Steve Herro, O. Praem., diocesan social concerns director, said that, "while the majority of the land mass in the diocese is rural" he would estimate that maybe no more than 8% of the population is directly involved in agriculture. He's says that's true for most of the country, where "probably 90% of people who live in rural areas do not work in the rural economy."

Therefore, he added, they might not know about important issues such as the fact that "producers of fruits and producers of vegetables do not receive farm subsidies, but producers of wheat, corn and soybeans do."

Beth Lepinski, state coordinator for Bread for the World, said that they are also hosting forums so people "can see how our public policy affects hungry people."

The Wisconsin Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the state's Catholic bishops, believes that the future of rural communities depends on a restructuring of the commodity-payment system to focus on the areas of rural development, nutrition programs that assist the poor and the elderly, conservation, and overseas aid and development.

Barbara Sella, associate director for respect life and social concerns, noted that "America's farm policies have a profound effect on billions of people" since half of the world's population - unlike the U.S. - still derives its income from agriculture.

At the Pine Grove forum, most attendees were small farmers, so their concerns focused on price supports for farms in their situations.

Lepinski said that price supports are necessary to help the farmers, "to stand between people who risk everything to plant their crops, and disaster." But, she added, it's important to realize that "two-thirds of farmers never get anything."

Br. Herro said that this is why, while commodity prices have a direct impact on the farmers, the issues of the farm bill affect all "people of faith." The Farm Bill, he said, addresses issues of social justice that we should all care about:

• Respecting God's creation.

• Giving an option for the poor, including studying the impact that farm subsidies have on those who have less of the resources of creation.

"The lowest income farmers are not benefiting from the program," said Br. Herro. "Only those who produce a lot get the subsidies. And the more they produce, the higher subsidy rates they get."

• Remembering the dignity of the human person. Everyone deserves fair prices for their work, and to have healthy, affordable food. The forums and the WCC both seek to point out that the price support system needs to be steered toward supporting the growth of more fruits and vegetables, and on building a greater connection between local farmers and the poor and elderly in their areas.

Also under the topic of human dignity is the connection of the Farm Bill to farmers worldwide. Sella noted that U.S. price supports have led to overproduction of some crops and, in turn, proved devastating for farmers in countries that rely heavily on those crops for their livelihood. This has proven true of cotton in India, of rice in African countries, and of sugar in the Caribbean.

"Over 50% of the world's population is malnourished," said Br. Herro. The Farm Bill should help stimulate an international system where farmers are empowered to produce more of their own food."

In turn, he said, this benefits the U.S., and improves how the rest of the world views us. Br. Herro hopes that, through the Farm Bill, we can be seen "as a major economic power that shares its blessings with others."