“Sensing the winds of reform at his back, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told a reporter in July: “This is not just a farm bill. It’s a food bill, and Americans who eat want a stake in it.”
Pollan goes onto explain that, unfortunately, the bill includes the traditional subsidies for commodity crops (to the tune of $42 to $47 billion over five years), and only a billion or two here and there to support local foods, nutrition programs and food stamps, effectively buying off critics of the traditional farm subsidy programs.
Redirection of massive subsidies doesn’t change overnight, but we have made a beginning (and Pollan explains how we may still make an even bigger dent by supporting reforms during the Senate debate on the bill).
I know Massachusetts farmers work their buds off, and don’t make much profit for 7-day-a-week jobs. They don’t need amateurs telling them how to run their farms. I can’t help but wonder, however, whether the conflict between awakening consumer and environmental interests and traditional farming interests described by Pollan also underlies the conflict described by the Globe yesterday regarding Gov. Patrick’s appointment of a new Ag Secretary.
“Eaters” and people on the outside (as Pollan calls us) want to be represented, too. We can do this in a way that extends new, more rational, support for farmers but serves the priorities of nutrition and the environment (and perhaps even improves the lives of livestock) at the same time.
The idea was pretty simple: if you’re poor, you eat really terrible food. Why? It’s cheaper to eat processed food than fresh food. It’s cheaper to eat Cheetos than apples. So, the poorest Americans are also induced to be among the least healthy, with food being a major culprit.
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One antidote? Make some of their food stamps that are only valid at farmers markets. This guarantees that they’re buying fruit and vegetables.
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As an added bonus, it’s a farm bill. They’re buying locally grown fruit and veg, not food grown overseas. Because it’s fresh, they’re helping to maintain a more steady stream of income to the farmers, instead of the more bursty revenue streams that come about from processed food.
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As another added bonus, it’s an environmental bill. By buying locally, they’re reducing the amount of fuel consumed slinging food around the world. By buying locally, they’re fighting agri-mono-culture because they’re providing a market for a diverse set of foodstuffs in every region of the country. By buying locally, they’re also reducing the amount of chemicals sprayed on the food, since small farms [statistically] use less than large farms.
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As another added bonus, it’s a farmers bill. It help the American family farmer — a rare breed already — stay afloat. It helps them resist the financial dead end that requires them to sell their farm to one of the agricultural giants.
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It was a really great program. But, as the NYTimes article suggested, it was “crumbs” and I think it even got cut. Seems to me that a good farm bill would restore and expand this program. Hell, I wonder if the US Gov’t mailing each person who mails in a 1040 [etc] a $10 coupon to spend at the farmers market. It’d cost about $2 billion [if everybody used ’em, and remember 1040 payers not all people living in tUSA] and would help millions of people discover their local farmers market… lots of ’em would buy more than $10 worth of food, and lots of ’em would go back next week/month.
Transportation may be a bit of an issue, as lower income people have less access to transportation, and many farmers’ markets are in somewhat remote locations. But this could be solved.
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In the Berkshires, we have a variation on this idea of linking income eligible families more directly with producers. Berkshire Grown’s Share the Bounty program allows donors to purchase fresh food that is distributed to food pantries. I suppose this approach also saves the farmers from having to figure out how to redeem food stamps for cash.
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A few years ago, I contacted a local school to share information I had come across about grants for community garden projects. The school’s community liaison said this kind of project would be a perfect fit for the school, as many Latina/Latino families living in the area were in urban apartments with no lawn or yard space where they could plant things. Many had come from agrarian regions, and really missed the opportunity to plant something and harvest their own gardens. [The school did plant a garden, but it did not turn into a community garden with access for families. So the need continues.]
That’d be on the Green line in downtown Boston. IIRC, there’s another one at Government Center a different day of the week — intersection of Green and Blue. There’s also one in Harvard Square, on the Red line. Brookline’s is in Coolidge Corner, on the Green C Line. All of these are also on multiple bus lines.
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That takes care of Boston metro. Sure, others don’t have it quite so convenient, and it is a legitimate concern. But still, some is better than none!
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Here’s the link for a statewide list of farm markets.
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Look for “producers only” farmers’ markets. Some markets let people truck in produce they have bought from wholesalers. If you want to help farmers, buy direct.
Actually high quality apples are around $3.00/lb and Cheeto’s are about $4.20/lb. Healthy, locally grown food is always less expensive than processed meals or foods. It’s just not as EASY. I’ve noticed that recent (legal) immigrants who work where I do tend to purchase whole foods rather than processed. They do this to save money. No Stouffer’s Chicken Casserole, they buy a chicken and pluck it and cook it and eat the results. The problem is with our culture. We are lazy and ignorant.
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I find it offensive that someone might believe that through food stamp legislation, they could “…guarantee[s] that they’re buying fruit and vegetables.”
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It’s cultural. Yes we’re lazy and maybe ignorant, but don’t FORCE your culinary habits and ideas on someone else. Educate, don’t legislate.
people on foodstamps have coupons (distributed by the state of Vermont) they can use to buy food. Each coupon is worth $3.00. The vendors plan ahead and have quantities of food (so many ears of corn, eggs, beans, etc.) that are worth $3.00, so there is no money exchanged. The coupon has a space for the vendor’s number. Last year I was #459, so I assume there are 458 other vendors in Vermont selling fresh produce to people on food stamps.
At the end of the market, our manager comes around and collects coupons from the vendors and writes each of us a check in exchange. The manager deals with the state agency for us farmers.
We get to know the families who buy from us. We share recipes and growing tips.
I think it is a fine and simple program. I hope I have not contributed to the conversation too late for anyone to read this!
From what I understand of food labeling and marketing, the “organic” label has been co-opted by big Ag with the help of the USDA. So it may not be a good strategy to encourage our (relatively small scale) New England farmers to focus on organic methods – they will be undersold again by big Ag, and the label has lost much of its meaning.
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The better path is to educate consumers about added value that can be found only by purchasing locally grown products – fresher, less petroleum used, less chemicals used, open lands preserved, more humane treatment for animals, keep the profit in the community, etc. Many of the local products would or could qualify as organic (and consumers can discuss this directly with producers and determine their own comfort level for production techniques) but it does not require the farmer to jump through hoops for the USDA “organic” stamp of approval. And cutting out the middle man is the best way to ensure profitability for producers.
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Support farmers’ markets throughout the year!
any thoughts on Doug Petersen as Ag Commissioner?
When I saw Pollan’s op-ed piece, I began to wonder whether the Petersen appointment was a reflection of this new trend of non-farmers taking an interest in the way government interacts with the food supply. Gov. Patrick apparently wants to see some movement toward new thinking in the state’s ag industry, and I think that’s not a bad idea. I do believe that northeast farmers have to keep looking for new value-added products and marketing angles if they are going to compete with midwestern factory farms. Maybe Petersen will help us to take a fresh approach.
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I don’t know any specific reasons (i.e., voting record) that Rep. Petersen scares the traditional farm constituency, and I don’t know if Gov. Patrick chose him specifically because he is an “outsider” to traditional ag interests. (I admit that I may not be the best person to ask – I can’t say that I have huge experience in ag matters, although I did play a role in embarrassing the state Senate when they thought the had a noncontroversial proposal to promote consolidation of milk processing a few years ago. . . .)
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All I know about Doug Petersen (D-Essex) is that he’s not the one we legislative and district aides referred to as “the gun guy”: George Peterson (R-Grafton).
Apparently Petersen represented Lynn, home of the big milk processor West Lynn Creamery (a division of Suiza Foods) that bought up independent processors around New England. The consolidation of milk processing creates a monopoly and makes it harder to farmers to profit from their product.
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Alas. I hope Petersen is not in the pocket of big Ag!
It is highly unlikely that, when we are in Wellesley, we would go to the expense of driving into Copley just to go to a farmers’ market one day a week. But there are more than a few farmers’ markets in the ‘burbs. Less than a couple of miles from here is Volante Farms, in Needham, that has fresh veggies. I can’t recall the name of the store, but along Rte 2 in (I think it is) Lincoln is another such operation. They grow their own veggies. If you don’t demand fresh tomatoes or corn or beans completely out of season they are the places to go to. WholeFoods (formerly Bread & Circus) isn’t bad, but out-of-season veggies generally are deficient, not only in flavor, but also in vitamins & minerals. The problem for many Americans is that they demand veggies even when they are out-of-season.
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Another issue regarding Copley. I suspect–but cannot prove–that many of the purveyors there are actually buying their produce from the distribution markets in (I believe it is) Chelsea. Unclear how fresh that produce is. The most disgusting experience we had was a couple of decades ago venturing into Haymarket; the stench was overwhelming.
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In our little village just outside of Munich, there is a farmer’s market every Friday morning (no transportation or parking expense) with many if not all of the purveyors selling their own produce. There are such specialized stands as for various types of potatoes, various types of chicken eggs, cheese, fish, meat products (including sausages) and so forth.
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And, if a veggie “out of season” in Germany, the local stores (not the farmers’ market stands) import it from Italy, Israel (!), Turkey, northern Africa and even southern Africa. No problem there, unlike in the US.
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On the subject matter of the post, it has been clear for a number of decades that the “farm bills” are nothing more than welfare for farmers and for companies such as Archer-Daniels-Midland. So are export subsidies and import limitations. Let’s cut to the chase. The agribusiness lobby is the second largest welfare recipient after the defense-industrial-congressional complex, and they are both going to bankrupt the US.