Thursday, July 26, 2007

Farm Bill Vote is Tomorrow

My chef friend writes:
It has come to my attention that our Representative, Mike Thompson [(202) 225-3311 in DC or 226-9898 in Napa] does not support the Kind-Flake Fairness Amendment to the Farm Bill.

The current Farm Bill perpetuates subsidies to large corporations like ADM and Cargill, the net result of which is mega farms, corn syrup in our foods, diabetes for our kids, and no help to local, sustainable farming. Without exaggeration, this is a massive, pervasive problem that affects the health of all Americans and the health of the planet.

This is your chance: this only comes up every 5 years. You can help to keep food producers in our back yards with this amendment. You can help support local agriculture and an end to mindless subsidies for multi-national companies.

The bill comes up on the floor tomorrow. I encourage you to call Representative Thompson and others immediately and ask that they support The Kind-Flake Fairness Amendment to the farm bill. Here are three links that explain the amendment.

http://www.azcongresswatch.com/?p=3358

http://www.mulchblog.com/2007/07/the_new_york_times_onthe_antir.php

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-25-2007/0004632581&EDATE=

Thank you for your time.

Vincent Nattress
Executive Chef
Meadowood Napa Valley

PS: Call Nancy Pelosi too! (202) 225-4965 or (415) 556-4862

I'm not usually a caller-inner, but I did it. There are hundreds of amendments to the bill, so be prepared to tell them that it's the one that supports funding for organic farms. I called the Washington office of both representatives. My friend Karen used to work for a senator, so I know that these things do get logged. If we all call, hopefully it will help.

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