Take Action!
Head over to the Organic Consumers Association to find out how you can take action against the FDA’s decision to push cloned meat and dairy products into our supermarkets and schools. The real question: who did Agribusiness fund to get this passed?!
Find other actions you can take in food and agriculture here.
As if you needed another reason to join a CSA, did you know food prices are expected to increase dramatically in 2008? Some folks look at CSA’s as buying food futures. Hey, whatever it takes for you to eat better food at a reasonable price, so be it. More articles on the topic can be found here, here, here and here.
More policy news from Just Food after the jump…
via AlterNet News: The Poor Get Diabetes, the Rich Get Local and Organic
via USDA: Are Lower Income Households Willing and Able To Budget for Fruits and Vegetables?
School Gardens: Senator Bernie Sanders got an amendment into the Senate version of the Farm Bill to authorize $10 million to establish a pilot program for community school gardens. Support this effort here!
Meat Labeling: If a current USDA proposal goes through, livestock producers could label their meat USDA verified “naturally raised” without any concern for animal welfare or environmental stewardship and without the animals ever necessarily stepping foot on pasture. Many are worried this could undermine the vibrant markets created by sustainable livestock producers. Comment here.
Governor Spitzer Announces Record Number of Farmland Protection Awards: Nearly 13,300 acres of active farmland across New York will be protected-on 35 farms in 22 counties-thanks to $35 million in funding from the state’s Farmland Protection Program. The funding is the largest amount ever dedicated to farmland protection in the state, and will go to protect the largest single amount of acreage in the program’s 11-year history.
From May 5 - 16, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development will bring together representatives from across the world to compare and share best practices on sustainable agriculture and rural development. Highlights include Masai mobile markets in Kenya. Learn how you can participate!