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Most recent stories

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Siding with the Bushies?
My former boss in D.C. once said that if she ever found herself on the same side of an issue as the Bush administration, it was time to go back and look more closely: There must be a hidden agenda. That was the thought that struck me as I contemplated the administration's farm bill veto threat on Fr... Continued...

Farm Bill a Missed Opportunity
The 2008 Farm Bill to be voted on by the House and Senate this week includes incremental gains for conservation, renewable energy, food aid and healthier, local food systems. However, it fails to reverse decades of deregulation that have increased agricultural market volatility to the benefit of glo... Continued...

Grain elevator closures
OMAHA -- Nebraska state warehouse officials continue to comb through the aftermath of the closure and bankruptcy last month of the Alvo Grain and Feed elevators in Alvo and Ashland. The plight of Alvo Grain and Feed raises concerns for some state and federal officials who fear it could be the be... Continued...

House passes Farm Bill by veto proof majority
Final Vote - HouseConference Report on 2008 Farm Bill May 14, 2008 Yes 318 No 106 The bill now goes to the Senate for a vote, and then to the President's desk. The President has pledged to veto the bill. There is one rumor going around that if the House passes the bill by more ... Continued...

House passes election-year farm bill
The House has passed a $290 billion farm bill with a strong veto-proof majority. The legislation includes more subsidies for farmers, food stamps for the poor and special projects that lawmakers can bring home to voters this election year. The 318-106 vote for the five-year bill came despite Pres... Continued...

Glance: A cost breakdown of farm bill programs
Domestic nutrition programs make up the largest portion of the estimated $300 billion farm bill. Crop subsidies make up roughly 14 percent, foreign food aid less than one percent. A breakdown of the bill: Food stamps and other domestic nutrition programs such as emergency food assistance: just... Continued...

House Overwhelmingly Approves Food, Conservation and Energy Act Conference Report
WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the conference report for the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, a groundbreaking bill that invests in improved nutrition, conservation, renewable energy and farm programs and includes significant reforms. With the support... Continued...

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

R-CALF USA Defends U.S. Cattle Industry Against JBS Merger
Washington, D.C. – On March 7, during a hearing held by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard testified that permitting JBS to purchase National Beef Packing Co., Smithfield Beef Group, and Five Rivers Ranch Cattle Feeding... Continued...

Farm Bill Would Perpetuate Market Deregulation and Volatility
Minneapolis -- The 2008 Farm Bill coming to the House and Senate floor this week includes incremental gains for conservation, renewable energy, food aid and healthier local food systems. However, it fails to fix the deregulation policies of the previous two Farm Bills that have increased market vola... Continued...

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT: Threat to veto farm bill
In January 2007, I was hopeful that leaders in Washington could come together on a good farm bill. At that time, my Administration had completed more than fifty listening sessions across the country and developed a reform-minded farm bill based on the thousands of comments received. Our proposal wo... Continued...

Farm bill vote this week
National Farmers Union reports that the details/language of the farm bill conference report have not yet been made public. After resolving a CBO scoring problem yesterday, there was another snag that has now been resolved. The conference report will be filed at 2pm today and sent to the Rules Comm... Continued...

557 Diverse Groups Back Farm Bill
WASHINGTON — More than 500 farm, nutrition, and conservation organizations sent a letter to Congress today urging legislators to vote in favor of the farm bill this week. Industry insiders believe this is one of the largest group letters ever sent on an agricultural issue, showing the unity among ... Continued...

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Corporate giants get fat on food crisis
In our continuing series, "Food Fight," we look at the profitable side of the global food crisis. Sarah Gardner reports on the big agribusiness firms that are breaking earnings records as everything from grains to soybeans skyrockets. TEXT OF STORY KAI RYSSDAL: Today on Food Fight, our serie... Continued...

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Farm bill: More of the same, plus some real change
The new farm bill is a Byzantine web of special interest riders, reform, lack of reform, giveaways, ax-grinding political payback, and large amounts of cash — nearly $300 billion total; in short, it's like every other farm bill, only more so. A farm bill, which is supposed to be passed every five... Continued...

Burger With a Side of Spies
WHILE the Patriot Act has raised fears about government spying on ordinary citizens, the growing threat to civil liberties posed by corporate spying has received much less attention. During the late 1990s, a private security firm spied on Greenpeace and other environmental groups, examining activist... Continued...

Who's Gobbling Up Food Profits?
The furor over grocery store sticker shock reached a boiling point last Thursday as the Congressional Joint Economic Committee held a hearing to investigate the impact these food prices are having on everyday Americans. Tom Buis, the president of the National Farmers Union, told the Committee th... Continued...

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Will the Food Crisis Finally Get the Attention of Presidential Candidates?
As we head into another round of presidential primaries, the specter of a growing world food crisis looms on the horizon. Fueled by rising apprehension over increasing price volatility in agricultural commodity markets, the debate continues to escalate over what are the underlying causes of rising f... Continued...

Monday, May 5, 2008

Imagine how it feels to be chronically hungry
Last week the United Nations Secretary General said he would head a special task force to address food shortages and price rises around the world. Ban Ki-moon said the move was an attempt to avert “social unrest on an unprecedented scale.” He added that 100 million people were estimated to have been... Continued...

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Congressmen Payne and Ellison paid tribute to myriads of political chaos and calm in the Horn of Africa
“Too many people are dying and instead of agreeing not to go to war to stop the carnage in the Horn of Africa,” Congressman Donald Payne, the Chair of Subcommittee of Africa and Global Health said in his characteristic rich voice laced with passion and concern. Addressing East African community f... Continued...

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear
Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics–ruthless legal battles against small farmers–is its decades-long history of toxic contamination. May 2008 No thanks: An anti... Continued...