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 The Farm Bill - The Time to Act is NOW
Take 10 minutes to click and call; fight hunger at home & abroad
When a bill that could help both small farmers in the U.S. and people in poor countries trying to grow food and feed their people instead is poised to continue to hurt them, it's up to us to say, "NO MORE!" ... and that's what we're asking you to do -- with one, loud voice.
The Farm Bill is the focus of the Episcopal Church's advocacy efforts this year because it sets U.S. government agriculture and food policy for the next five years. It's in desparate need of reform -- and so far our cries have not been heard. Here's the situation:
As it's structured now, the Farm Bill continues an unjust and immoral status quo. It provides commodity subsidies -- U.S. government payments that guarantee a base price for a crop -- to a small number of primarily large-scale farms while the majority of farm families and rural communities are left behind.
1) Because the government is paying the big producers per acre to produce a crop (let's say, cotton), they produce more than they should.
2) Now you have too much cotton -- more than Americans want to buy -- so the big U.S. producers "dump" it on the world market.\
3) Because the world market is supply-and-demand, an oversupply means the price of cotton goes way down globally.
4) The poor farmer in Mali, who is depending on getting a decent price for his cotton just to break even, gets undercut and either can't sell his product or even if he can sell it, still sinks deeper into poverty.
All year, a remarkable alliance of faith groups and anti-poverty advocates that includes Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals, Bread for the World, Oxfam, and the ONE Campaign has been working hard to reform this bill in committee -- that effort failed. The bill left committee and is now going in front of the full House -- where it is absolutely critical changes are made lest we face five more years of agricultural policy that makes the poor poorer in the U.S. and around the world.
What Can One Person Do?
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE RIGHT NOW! We need every member of the House to be flooded with calls from people saying this unjust and immoral status quo cannot stand and to support the Fairness in Farm and Food Policy Amendment. It's easy:
2, Call the Capitol switchboard (1. 800. 826. 3288) and ask to be connected to your representative's office.
3. Tell him/her the House Agriculture Committee's version of the farm bill does little to change the inequities of farm payments and it must be amended and that you want them to support the Fairness in Farm and Food Policy Amendment.
You must call by NOON on THURSDAY to guarantee your voice is heard on time. So call NOW.
Also...
Because so many people are on vacation, each call and email is critical. It only takes 10 minutes now and help poor farmers at home and abroad. You can't beat that. |
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| Quote of the Week |
 "We stand by as children starve by the millions because we lack the will to eliminate hunger. Yet we have found the will to develop missiles capable of flying over the polar cap and landing within a few feet of their target. This is not innovation. It is a profound distortion of humanity's purpose on earth."
-Retired Republican senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon | |
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What One Congregation Can Do |
Our friend Ted Jackson from Trinity Episcopal Church in St. Louis, Missouri shares this story of how one congregation is using the arts to bring the MDGs to the people. |
Trinity parishioners recently assembled an exhibit of original artwork entitled "Bringing in the Reign of God Through the Millennium Development Goals". As a self-defined radically inclusive and progressive congregation, Trinity formed its Arts Committee two years ago to showcase the talents which normally go unnoticed in parish life and to allow these talents to find expression in the church setting. The congregation's first art exhibit, which consists of parishioners' interpretations of the stations of the cross, has traveled to other congregations in the Diocese of Missouri for display.
The current project highlights the artists' relationship to the Millennium Development Goals and was intentionally open to all forms of artwork, including poetry, fiction, and music.
One artist, Alexah Strongheart, who submitted a collage made of soda tabs and other found objects, describes her own interactions with environmental issues. She writes about her project that, "living in a time of wastefulness and carelessness, and the seeming acceptance of a disposable and throw-away society, I believe my cultural artifact (found object) art is a way to reuse and recycle that which is destined for the trash."
Eden Harris, who submitted a woodcut entitled, "I Become Part of It" insists that art is "a path toward self-awareness" and that "It is the deep awareness of the Divine within ourselves that connects us to one another and to all creation, that stirs in us empathy and compassion, that leads us to action on behalf of others."
For my part, I formed a collage out of packaging from household items he uses. He comments about his project that "consumer culture and advertising draw us away from giving our money to the causes that really need it and persuade us that we are somehow more deserving of luxury goods than our neighbors across the ocean. Deconstructing the packaging of the things I buy from week to week helped me realize how rich we Americans truly are, but how little of these riches we are willing to share with others."
Trinity held an opening reception for the exhibit on May 20th. Parishioners enjoyed a light snack there after the congregation's main worship service while enjoying the art and had a chance to take home information on the MDGs. In addition to the Art Committee's MDG project, Trinity has also formed a committee on Spirituality and the Environment which has explored ways in which the parish can become more earth friendly.
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Practical ideas for doing your part for the MDGs. Sources: 