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Why We Left Our Farms to Come to Copenhagen
Published on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 by CommonDreams.org
Speech of Henry Saragih, general coordinator of Via Campesina at the opening session of Klimaforum
by La Via Campesina
Copenhagen, 7th December 2009
Tonight is a very special night for us to get together here for the opening of the assembly of the social movements and civil society at the Klimaforum. We, the international peasant movement La Via Campesina, are coming to Copenhagen from all five corners of the world, leaving our farmland, our animals, our forest, and also our families in the hamlets and villages to join you all.
Why is it so important for us to come this far? There are a number of reasons for that. Firstly, we would like to tell you that climate change is already seriously impacting us. It brings floods, droughts and the outbreak of pests that are all causing harvest failures. I must point out that these harvest failures are something that the farmers did not create. Instead, it is the polluters who caused the emissions who destroy the natural cycles. So, we small scale farmers came here to say that we will not pay for their mistakes. And we are asking the emitters to face up to their responsibilities.Secondly, I would like to share with you some facts about who the emitters of green house gases in agriculture really are: new data that has come out clearly shows that industrial agriculture and the globalized food system are responsible of between 44 and 57% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. This figure can be broken down as follows (i) Agricultural activities are responsible for 11 to 15%, (ii) Land clearing and deforestation cause an additional 15 to 18%, (iii) Food processing, packing and transportation cause 15 to 20%, and (iv) Decomposition of organic waste causes another 3 to 4%. It means that our current food system is a major polluter.
The question we have to answer now is: how do we solve the climate chaos, hunger and assure a better livelihood for farmers, when the agricultural sector itself is contributing more than half of the total emissions? We believe that it is the industrial and agribusiness model of agriculture that is at the root of the problem, because those percentages that I mentioned earlier come from the deforestation and the conversion of natural forests into monoculture plantations, all of which is being carried out by Agribusiness Corporations. Not by familly farmers. Such large emissions of methane by agriculture are also due to the use of urea as a petrochemical fertilizer through the green revolution, very much supported by the World Bank. At the same time, agricultural trade liberalization promoted by free trade agreements (FTA) and by the World Trade Organization (WTO) is contributing to the greenhouse gases emissions due to food processing and food transportation around the world.If we genuinely want to tackle the climate change crisis, the only way we have to go forward is to stop industrial agriculture. Agribusiness has not only highly contributed to the climate crisis, it has also massacred the small farmers of the world. Millions of farmers , men and women from around the world, have been kicked off their land. Millions of others suffer violence every year because of land conflicts in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Small farmers and landless farmers make up the majority of the more than 1 billion hungry people in the world. And because of free trade, many small farmers commit suicide in South Asia. So putting an end to industrial agriculture is the only way we can go.Will the current climate negotiations, that are relying on carbon trade mechanisms, bring solutions to climate change? To this we say that carbon trade mechanisms will only serve polluting countries and companies, and bring disaster to small farmers and indigenous peoples in developing countries. The REDD initiative (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) has already kicked off their land many indigenous peoples and small farmers in developing countries. And more and more agricultural land is being converted into tree plantations in order to attract carbon credits.At COP 13 in Bali 2007, La Via Campesina proposed the landless farmers' and small farmers' solution to climate change, which is: "small scale sustainable farmers are cooling down the earth". And here, at COP 15, again we bring that proposal, backing it with the figures that prove that it could reduce more than half of the global greenhouse gas emissions. This figure comes from: (I) Recuperating organic matter in the soil would reduce emissions by 20 to 35%. (ii) Reversing the concentration of meat production in factory farms and reintegrating joint animal and crop production would reduce them by 5 to 9% (iii) Putting local markets and fresh food back at the center of the food system would reduce a further 10 to 12%. (iv) Halting land clearing and deforestation would stop 15 to 18% of emissions. In short, by taking agriculture away from the big agribusiness corporations and putting it back into the hands of small farmers, we can reduce half of the global emissions of greenhouse gases. This is what we propose, and we call it Food Sovereignty.
And to achieve that we need social movements to work together and struggle together to put an end to the current false solutions that are today on the table at the climate negotiations. This is a must, otherwise we will face an even bigger tragedy worldwide. We, as social movements, have to bring our own agenda onto the table, because we are the first climate victims and climate refugees and therefore climate justice is in our hands.At the FAO Food Summit in 1996, governments committed themselves to reduce hunger by half by 2015. The reality is that the number of hungry people has recently increased dramatically. We do not want the same thing to happen with the climate talks and see the emissions increase even further regardless of what the governments negotiate within the UNFCCC.We invite all the movements present in Copenhagen to join together to bring climate justice to the table. Climate justice will only be achieved through solidarity and social justice.
Published on Sunday, November 15, 2009 by GRAIN
The New Farm Owners
Corporate Investors Lead the Rush for Control over Overseas Farmland
http://www.grain.org/
by GRAIN
With all the talk about "food security," and distorted media statements
like "South Korea leases half of Madagascar's land,"1 it may not be evident
to a lot of people that the lead actors in today's global land grab for
overseas food production are not countries or governments but corporations.
So much attention has been focused on the involvement of states, like Saudi
Arabia, China or South Korea. But the reality is that while governments are
facilitating the deals, private companies are the ones getting control of
the land. And their interests are simply not the same as those of
governments.
"This is going to be a private initiative."
- Amin Abaza, Egypt's Minister of Agriculture, explaining Egyptian farmland
acquisitions in other African nations, on World Food Day 2009
Take one example. In August 2009, the government of Mauritius, through the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, got a long-term lease for 20,000 ha of good
farmland in Mozambique to produce rice for the Mauritian market. This is
outsourced food production, no question. But it is not the government of
Mauritius, on behalf of the Mauritian people, that is going to farm that
land and ship the rice back home. Instead, the Mauritian Minister of Agro
Industry immediately sub-leased the land to two corporations, one from
Singapore (which is anxious to develop the market for its proprietary
hybrid rice seeds in Africa) and one from Swaziland (which specialises in
cattle production, but is also involved in biofuels in southern Africa).2
This is typical. And it means that we should not be blinded by the
involvement of states. Because at the end of the day, what the corporations
want will be decisive. And they have a war chest of legal, financial and
political tools to assist them.
"What started as a government drive to secure cheap food resource has now
become a viable business model and many Gulf companies are venturing into
agricultural investments to diversify their portfolios."
- Sarmad Khan, "Farmland investment fund is seeking more than Dh1bn", The
National, Dubai, 12 September 2009
Moreover, there's a tendency to assume that private-sector involvement in
the global land grab amounts to traditional agribusiness or plantation
companies, like Unilever or Dole, simply expanding the contract farming
model of yesterday. In fact, the high-power finance industry, with little
to no experience in farming, has emerged as a crucial corporate player. So
much so that the very phrase "investing in agriculture", today's mantra of
development bureaucrats, should not be understood as automatically meaning
public funds. It is more and more becoming the business of ... big
business.
The role of finance capital
GRAIN has tried to look more closely at who the private sector investors
currently taking over farmlands around the world for offshore food
production really are. From what we have gathered, the role of finance
capital -- investment funds and companies -- is truly significant. We have
therefore constructed a table to share this picture. The table outlines
over 120 investment structures, most of them newly created, which are busy
acquiring farmland overseas in the aftermath of the financial crisis.3
Their engagement, whether materialised or targeted, rises into the tens of
billions of dollars. The table is not exhaustive, however. It provides only
a sample of the kinds of firms or instruments involved, and the levels of
investment they are aiming for.
Private investors are not turning to agriculture to solve world hunger or
eliminate rural poverty. They want profit, pure and simple. And the world
has changed in ways that now make it possible to make big money from
farmland. From the investors' perspective, global food needs are guaranteed
to grow, keeping food prices up and providing a solid basis for returns on
investment for those who control the necessary resource base. And that
resource base, particularly land and water, is under stress as never
before. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, so-called alternative
investments, such as infrastructure or farmland, are all the rage. Farmland
itself is touted as providing a hedge against inflation. And because its
value doesn't go up and down in sync with other assets like gold or
currencies, it allows investors to successfully diversify their portfolios.
"We are not farmers. We are a large company that uses state-of-the-art
technology to produce high-quality soybean. The same way you have
shoemakers and computer manufacturers, we produce agricultural
commodities." Laurence Beltro Gomes of SLC Agrcola, the largest farm
company in Brazil
But it's not just about land, it's about production. Investors are
convinced that they can go into Africa, Asia, Latin America and the former
Soviet bloc to consolidate holdings, inject a mix of technology, capital
and management skills, lay down the infrastructures and transform
below-potential farms into large-scale agribusiness operations. In many
cases, the goal is to generate revenue streams both from the harvests and
from the land itself, whose value they expect to go up. It is a totally
corporate version of the Green Revolution, and their ambitions are big. "My
boss wants to create the first Exxon Mobil of the farming sector," said
Joseph Carvin of Altima Partners' One World Agriculture Fund to a gathering
of global farmland investors in New York in June 2009. No wonder, then,
that governments, the World Bank and the UN want to be associated with
this. But it is not their show.
From rich to richer
"I'm convinced that farmland is going to be one of the best investments of
our time. Eventually, of course, food prices will get high enough that the
market probably will be flooded with supply through development of new land
or technology or both, and the bull market will end. But that's a long ways
away yet."
- George Soros, June 2009
Today's emerging new farm owners are private equity fund managers,
specialised farmland fund operators, hedge funds, pension funds, big banks
and the like. The pace and extent of their appetite is remarkable - but
unsurprising, given the scramble to recover from the financial crisis.
Consolidated data are lacking, but we can see that billions of dollars are
going into farmland acquisitions for a growing number of "get rich quick"
schemes. And some of those dollars are hard-earned retirement savings of
teachers, civil servants and factory workers from countries such as the US
or the UK. This means that a lot of ordinary citizens have a financial
stake in this trend, too, whether they are aware of it or not.
It also means that a new, powerful lobby of corporate interests is coming
together, which wants favourable conditions to facilitate and protect their
farmland investments. They want to tear down burdensome land laws that
prevent foreign ownership, remove host-country restrictions on food exports
and get around any regulations on genetically modified organisms. For this,
we can be sure that they will be working with their home governments, and
various development banks, to push their agendas around the globe through
free trade agreements, bilateral investment treaties and donor
conditionalities.
"When asked whether a transfer of foreign, 'superior', agricultural
technology would be welcome compensation for the acquisition of Philippine
lands, the farmers from Negros Occidental responded with a general
weariness and unequivocal retort that they were satisfied with their own
knowledge and practices of sustainable, diverse and subsistence-based
farming. Their experience of high-yielding variety crops, and the
chemical-intensive technologies heralded by the Green Revolution, led them
to the conclusion that they were better off converting to diverse, organic
farming, with the support of farmer-scientist or member organisations such
as MASIPAG and PDG Inc."
- Theodora Tsentas, "Foreign state-led land acquisitions and
neocolonialism: A qualitative case study of foreign agricultural
development in the Philippines", September 2009
Indeed, the global land grab is happening within the larger context of
governments, both in the North and the South, anxiously supporting the
expansion of their own transnational food and agribusiness corporations as
the primary answer to the food crisis. The deals and programmes being
promoted today all point to a restructuring and expansion of the industrial
food system, based on capital-intensive large-scale monocultures for export
markets. While that may sound "old hat", several things are new and
different. For one, the infrastructure needs for this model will be dealt
with. (The Green Revolution never did that.) New forms of financing, as our
table makes plain, are also at the base of it. Thirdly, the growing
protagonism of corporations and tycoons from the South is also becoming
more important. US and European transnationals like Cargill, Tyson, Danone
and Nestl, which once ruled the roost, are now being flanked by emerging
conglomerates such as COFCO, Olam, Savola, Almarai and JBS.4 A recent
report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development pointed out that a
solid 40% of all mergers and acquisitions in the field of agricultural
production last year were South-South.5 To put it bluntly, tomorrow's food
industry in Africa will be largely driven by Brazilian, ethnic Chinese and
Arab Gulf capital.
Exporting food insecurity
Given the heavy role of the private sector in today's land grabs, it is
clear that these firms are not interested in the kind of agriculture that
will bring us food sovereignty. And with hunger rising faster than
population growth, it will not likely do much for food security, either.
One farmers' leader from Synrgie Paysanne in Benin sees these land grabs
as fundamentally "exporting food insecurity". For they are about answering
some people's needs - for maize or money - by taking food production
resources away from others. He is right, of course. In most cases, these
investors are themselves not very experienced in running farms. And they
are bound, as the Coordinator of MASIPAG in the Philippines sees it, to
come in, deplete the soils of biological life and nutrients through
intensive farming, pull out after a number of years and leave the local
communities with "a desert".
"Entire communities have been dispossessed of their lands for the benefit
of foreign investors. (...) Land must remain a community heritage in
Africa."
- N'Diogou Fall, ROPPA (West African Network of Producers and Peasant
Organisations), June 2009
The talk about channelling this sudden surge of dollars and dirhams into an
agenda for resolving the global food crisis could be seen as quirky if it
were not downright dangerous. From the United Nations headquarters in New
York to the corridors of European capitals, everyone is talking about
making these deals "win-win". All we need to do, the thinking goes, is
agree on a few parameters to moralise and discipline these land grab deals,
so that they actually serve local communities, without scaring investors
off. The World Bank even wants to create a global certification scheme and
audit bureau for what could become "sustainable land grabbing", along the
lines of what's been tried with oil palm, forestry or other extractive
industries.
Before jumping on the bandwagon of "win-win", it would be wise to ask "With
whom? Who are the investors? What are their interests?" It is hard to
believe that, with so much money on the line, with so much accumulated
social experience in dealing with mass land concessions and conversions in
the past, whether from mining or plantations, and given the central role of
the finance and agribusiness industries here, these investors would
suddenly play fair. Just as hard to believe is that governments or
international agencies would suddenly be able to hold them to account.
"Some companies are interested in buying agricultural land for sugar cane
and then selling it on the international markets. It's business, nothing
more" Sharad Pawar, India's Minister of Agriculture, rejecting claims that
his government is supporting a new colonisation of African farmland, 28
June 2009
Making these investments work is simply not the right starting point.
Supporting small farmers efforts for real food sovereignty is. Those are
two highly polarised agendas and it would be mistaken to pass off one for
the other. It is crucial to look more closely at who the investors are and
what they really want. But it is even more important to put the search for
solutions to the food crisis on its proper footing.
References
1 - It was not South Korea, but Daewoo Logistics.
2 - See GRAIN, "Mauritius leads land grabs for rice in Mozambique", Oryza
hibrida, 1 September 2009. http://www.grain.org/hybridrice/?lid=221
(Available in English, French and Portuguese.)
3 - The table covers three types of entities: specialised funds, most of
them farmland funds; asset and investment managers; and participating
investors. We are aware that this is a broad mixture, but it was important
for us to keep the table simple: http://www.grain.org/m/?id=266
4 - COFCO is based in China, Olam is based in Singapore, Savola is based in
Saudi Arabia, Almarai is based in Saudi Arabia, and JBS is based in Brazil.
5 - World Investment Report 2009, UNCTAD, Geneva, September 2009, p. xxvii.
Most foreign direct investment takes place through mergers and
acquisitions.
2009 GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to
support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for
community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Their support
takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local,
regional and international levels, and fostering new forms of cooperation
and alliance-building.
******************************************************************************
From: George Naylor Iowa Farmer:
Dear Colleagues:
Despite campaign promises to the contrary, President Obama has nominated to two key posts “Big Ag” industry insiders who come straight from the chemical pesticide and ag biotechnology sectors.
- Islam Siddiqui -- current VP of science and regulatory affairs at CropLife (THE lobbying association for the pesticide/GMO industry). A former registered lobbyist, Siddiqui has been nominated to the critical post of U.S. Chief Agricultural Negotiator. This position will enable him to keep pushing chemical pesticides, inappropriate biotechnologies, and unfair trade arrangements on nations that do not want and can least afford them.
- Roger Beachy -- long-time head of Monsanto’s defacto nonprofit research arm -- has been installed as director of the USDA’s newly created National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). This office comes with a $500 million budget, and therein control over the U.S. ag research agenda for years to come.
Please join us* in signing this petition, urging President Obama to withdraw his Big Ag industry insiders nominations to vital agriculture posts.
We need 50,000 signatures to make an impact! and we have until Nov. 4th (when the Senate Finance Committee will vote) to make a difference.
Click Here (or paste this address in your browser) to read and sign the petition:
http://action.panna.org/t/5185/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2150
*We are a broad coalition of partner groups from around the country who have mobilized to block Siddiqui's nomination. Pesticide Action Network is joined by National Family Farm Coalition, Food & Water Watch, Farmworker's Association of Florida, Institute of Agriculture & Trade Policy, Food Democracy Now!, Greenpeace, and Center for Food Safety in calling on President Obama to live up to his promises to put people's interests ahead of special interests.
Thank you!
In Solidarity,
Marcia Ishii-Eiteman
Pesticide Action Network North America
[EXCERPT FROM PETITION]
Dear President Obama,
We urge you to withdraw the nomination of Islam Siddiqui as Chief Agriculture Negotiator and to reconsider your support of Roger Beachy as director of the new National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Siddiqui is CropLife’s current vice president of science and regulatory affairs, and until last month, Beachy was the head of Monsanto’s de facto nonprofit research arm. As two textbook cases of the “revolving door” between industry and the agencies meant to keep watch, Siddiqui and Beachy’s industry ties demonstrate that both men are too beholden to corporate agriculture to serve the public interest.
Appointing Siddiqui to this critical post within the U.S. Trade Representative’s office sends a clear signal to the rest of the world that the U.S. plans to continue down the worn and failed path of chemical-intensive industrial agriculture by pushing pesticides, inappropriate biotechnologies and unfair trade arrangements on nations that do not want and can least afford them. Siddiqui’s professional record is revealing on several points:
•Siddiqui was a paid lobbyist for 3 years for Croplife America, which represents the chemical pesticide industry. Members include Monsanto, Dow, DuPont and Syngenta.
•CropLife America's regional partner notoriously “shuddered” at Michelle Obama's organic White House garden, and launched a letter-writing campaign urging the First Lady to use chemical pesticides.
•CropLife America has consistently lobbied the U.S government to weaken and thwart international treaties governing the use and export of toxic chemicals such as PCBs, DDT and dioxins.
•Siddiqui’s past service at the USDA included overseeing the initial development of national organic food standards that would have allowed GMOs and toxic sludge to be labeled “organic”— until over 230,000 consumers forced their revision.
. . . While we appreciate your Administration’s recent gestures in support of local food systems, we fear these initiatives will not fulfill their potential unless the monopolistic power and political influence of the agricultural input industry is addressed and curtailed. We therefore respectfully ask you to withdraw your appointments of Siddiqui and Beachy, and replace them with candidates who have a sustainable vision for U.S. agriculture and trade.
As parents, farmers, advocates, scientists and people who eat food, we remember your promise on the campaign trail: “We’ll tell ConAgra that it’s not the Department of Agribusiness. It’s the Department of Agriculture. We’re going to put the people’s interests ahead of the special interests.”
We, the undersigned, are writing to hold you to that promise.
Click here (or paste this address in your browser) to read and sign the petition:
http://action.panna.org/t/5185/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2150
CropLife & Monsanto men have no place in Gov't
"We'll tell ConAgra that it's not the Dept. of Agribusiness. It's the Dept. of Agriculture. We're going to put the people's interests ahead of the special interests."
Dear Friend,
Despite President Obama's early promises that "lobbyists won't find a job in my White House," he just nominated two "Big Ag" industry insiders who come straight from the pesticide and biotech sectors to vital posts.
Take Action Now! http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=t0%2BY3xk6WtV03y8RmgVNDjJJsJEy9HHB We need to reach 50,000 signatures to have an impact and we're organizing with a broad coalition of partners to do it. Help us make the hinges on the 'revolving door' between corporations and government too squeaky to operate.
The facts:
Islam Siddiqui -- current VP of Science and Regulatory Affairs at CropLife USA and former lobbyist - must be approved by the Senate Finance Committee before taking his post as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative office.
CropLife is Big Ag's influence peddler -- it's among the most powerful lobbying groups in the world. CropLife Mid America are the folks who "shuddered" when Michelle Obama planted an organic garden at the White House.
Roger Beachy -- long-time president of the Danforth Plant Science Center, Monsanto's defacto nonprofit research arm - has been appointed as the first chief of the USDA's newly created National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Beachy's appointment has no public approval process despite the fact that this office comes with a $500 million budget, and therein, the power to set the U.S. agricultural research agenda for years to come.
Add your voice http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=wBmE6h79OteOyBK1CKKToTJJsJEy9HHB Let Obama know that putting a pesticide pusher in charge of U.S. ag trade and the former head of Monsanto's defacto nonprofit research arm in charge of the national ag research agenda is not "change you can believe in".
******************************************************************
With every passing day, the dairy crisis in the U.S. becomes more and more desperate. Dairy farmers across the country are losing their farms and their livelihoods.
If things don’t change -- and fast -- we may immediately lose up to 20,000 of our nation's dairy farmers. linda, we cannot stand by and watch as family after family in every corner of the country loses their livelihood -– we have to work together to solve this crisis.
Take action now by contacting the one person who can bring immediate relief for dairy farmers: Send a message to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack urging him to raise the price of milk paid to farmers to cover the cost of production.
On average, our farmers are currently being paid less than half of what it costs to produce their milk -- and Secretary Vilsack is the only person with the legal authority to set a fair price.
Unless Secretary Vilsack takes immediate action, huge areas of the United States may be left without any local dairy farms at all.
Click here to urge Secretary Vilsack to take swift action to help dairy farmers today. Sign our letter and we’ll make sure Secretary Vilsack gets the message.
Thanks for taking action for dairy farmers -- your response today will make a big difference and we’ll keep you updated on what’s happening in the coming days and weeks.
Sincerely,
Willie Nelson
This is about the emergence of training programs for new farmers. Here, for example, inLehigh County, PA. And here, inNew England. Now there’s a program starting up in Wisconsin, at Stoney Acres Farm in Athens. WSAW reports on the program in a videohere on their website.
“We teach them certain skills but we also teach them sort of record-keeping and financial planning and how to plan a farm and show them our spreadsheets and they’re part of the operation, which is a little bit different,” said Catrina Becker of Stoney Acres Farms.
Becker says her and her husband believe training new farmers is important for the future of agriculture.
She feels as people learn more about where their food comes from, that knowledge has the power to transform food systems and allow small farmers to stay in business.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: So. Co. Taxes Peace
APRIL 14, 2009
Larry Harper: 707-347-6716
Eszter Freeman: 707-823-9203
Farms Not Arms
Linda Speel: 707-765-0196
Tax Day Protest
War Tax Resisters Make Grant to Farm Program for Iraq War Vets
Sonoma County Taxes for Peace is granting $1,000 of resisted war taxes to Farms Not Arms, an organization that helps soldiers heal from the ravages of war.
Sonoma County Taxes for Peace is a group that believes that too much of our income taxes fund the military. Individuals in the group participate in civil disobedience by resisting paying all or part of their federal income taxes. These resisted taxes are then redirected toward organizations that serve the common good instead of the military budget.
One of the costs of war and especially the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is the psychic damage done to many of the soldiers who serve there. Farms Not Arms has brought farms and veterans together. Their goal is to put combat veterans on small scale farms where they can heal their mental and emotional wounds associated with their service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Resisting war taxes is a national movement and April 15 is a symbolic date when war tax resisters voice their protest over military spending.
Global Security.org reports that the United States spends more on our military than all other countries combined. War Resisters League reports that 51% of the 2009 discretionary budget goes to current and past military spending.
Resources:
National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee <http://nwtrcc.org> >
War Resisters League <http://warresisters.org> >
Farms not Arms <> >
Drought To Cut Off Federal Water To Calif. Farms
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Federal water managers said Friday that they plan to cut off water, at least temporarily, to thousands of California farms as a result of the deepening drought gripping the state.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said parched reservoirs and patchy
rainfall this year were forcing them to completely stop surface water
deliveries for at least a three-week period beginning March 1. Authorities
said they haven't had to take such a drastic move for more than 15 years. read more...Tom Vilsack's Kind of Agriculture Another Shill for Monsanto
http://www.counterpunch.org/cummins12182008.html
By RONNIE CUMMINS
Yesterday's announcement that former Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack, has been selected as the new Secretary of Agriculture sent a chill through the sustainable food and farming community who have been lobbying for a champion in the new administration.
"Vilsack's nomination sends the message that dangerous, untested, unlabeled genetically engineered crops will be the norm in the Obama Administration," said Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director of Organic Consumers Association. "Our nation's future depends on crafting a forward-thinking strategy to promote organic and sustainable food and farming, and address the related crises of climate change, diminishing energy supplies, deteriorating public health, and economic depression.”
The Department of Agriculture during the Bush Administration failed to promote a sustainable vision for food and farming and did not protect consumers from the chemical-intensive toxic practices inherent to industrial agriculture. While factory farms and junk food have been subsidized with billions of tax dollars, the US industrial farm system has released massive amounts of climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and increased our dependence on foreign oil.
The Secretary of Agriculture is responsible for directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its $97 billion annual budget, including the National Organic Program, food stamp and nutrition programs, agriculture subsidies, and the Forest Service.
While Vilsack has worked to restrain livestock monopolies, his overall record is one of aiding and abetting Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs, also known as factory farms). Vilsack’s support for unsustainable industrial ethanol production has already caused global corn and grain prices to skyrocket, literally taking food off the table for a billion people in the developing world.
Over the past month, Organic Consumers Association members have sent over 20,000 emails to President-Elect Obama’s Transition Team, calling for the appointment of a Secretary of Agriculture who would develop and implement a plan that promotes family-scale farming, a safe and nutritious food system, and a sustainable and organic vision for the future.
"Obama's choice for Secretary of Agriculture points to the continuation of agribusiness as usual, the failed policies of chemical- and energy-intensive, genetically engineered industrial agriculture," said Cummins. "Americans were promised ‘change,’ not just another shill for
Monsanto and corporate agribusiness. Considering the challenges we collectively face as a nation, from climate change and rising energy costs to food insecurity, we need an administration that moves beyond ‘business as usual’ to fundamental change—before it’s too late,” concluded Cummins.
Vilsack’s business as usual positions have included the following:
- Vilsack has been a strong supporter of genetically engineered pharmaceutical crops, especially pharmaceutical corn.
- The biggest biotechnology industry group, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, named Vilsack Governor of the Year. He is also the founder and former chair of the Governor's Biotechnology Partnership.
- When Vilsack created the Iowa Values Fund, his first poster child for economic development was Trans Ova and their pursuit of cloning dairy cows.
- The undemocratic 2005 seed pre-emption bill was the Vilsack’s brainchild. The law strips local government’s right to regulate genetically engineered seed.
- Vilsack is an ardent supporter of corn and soy based biofuels, which use as much or more energy to produce as they generate and drive up world food prices, literally starving the poor.
The OCA has launched an online petition campaign at www.stopvilsack.org to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people to oppose Vilsack's Senate confirmation.
Additionally, OCA's nationwide network of 850,000 organic consumers are urging members of Congress to move beyond business as usual and implement a comprehensive strategy for organic food and farming in 2009 and beyond.
Ronnie Cummins is director of the Organic Consumers Alliance. He can be
reached at: ronnie@organicconsumers.org.
12 Reasons Why Farmers Need to Speak Out Against War
All farmers of the world share the unique privilege and the daunting responsibility of making sure everyone is fed and the land is protected to feed the future generations. War, and the enormous waste of resources spent in preparing for it, threaten our work. We come from different political, religious and social backgrounds but share a common concern that this great country of ours, founded by small farmers and craftsmen, return to the spirit and ideals on which we were founded. We strive for a world that reduces the risk of war by eliminating its causes poverty, injustice and religious intolerance. We call for all countries to stop misappropriating their resources on war and to focus rather on fighting hunger, disease and protecting our environment and our farmland.
Co-chairs, Farms Not Arms
Will Allen and Kate Duesterberg, Cedar Circle Farm, East Thetford, VT
Jim Cochran, Swanton Berry Farm, Davenport, CA
John Kiefer Rosebud Ranch, Sauk City, WI
Michael O'Gorman, Just Farms Consulting, San Diego, CA
Family Farm Defenders,familyfarmdefenders.org
Peaceroots Alliance, initiating organization,peaceroots.org
Organic Consumers Organization, organicconsumers.org
Veritable Vegetable, veritablevegetable.com
Goodness Greeness, goodnessgreeness.com
Global Exchange, globalexchange.org
Chelsea Green Publishing, chelseagreen.com
Berkeley Farmers’ Markets, ecologycenter.org
Pacific Bio-fuel, Inc., pacfuel.com
Midwest Organic Dairy Producer’s Alliance
Small Planet Institute, smallplanetinstitute.org
Jim Hightower, retired Texas Agriculture Commissioner, author and commentator, Austin, TX
Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, former US Senator, organic farmer, Union Springs, AL
Ben Burkett, President, National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC),vegetable farmer, Petal, MS
George Naylor, past President, NFFC, corn and soybean farmer, Jefferson, IA
Dena Hoff, Vice-President NFFC, sheep, cattle and grain farmer, Glendive, MT
Dolores Huerta, President, Dolores Huerta Foundation,co-founder of UFW, Bakersfield, CA
John Kinsman, President, Family Farm Defenders and dairy farmer, Lime Ridge, WI
Ralph Paige, Executive Director, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Epes, AL
Ronnie Cummins, President, Organic Consumers Association
Medea Benjamin, Co-founder Global Exchange, San Francisco, CA
Kevin Danaher, Co-Producer, Green Festival, Executive Director, Global Citizen Center
Mary Mecartney, National Vice-President, United Farm Workers (UFW), Salinas, CA
Ron Strochlic, Executive Director, California Institute for Rural Studies, Davis, CA
Brett Melone, Executive Director, Agriculture & Land-Based Training Asoc. (ALBA), Salinas, CA
Ken Dickerson, President, Ecological Farming Association., Watsonville, CA.
Paul Dolan, Dark Horse Winery, and member, California Wine Board, Healdsburg, CA
Nadia McCaffrey, Gold Star Mother and founder of Veterans Village project, Tracy, CA
Mary Ann Wright, retired U.S. Army Colonel, retired U.S State Dept., Honolulu, HI
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, San Rafael, CA
Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Cleveland, Ohio
View our list of Farms and other Supporters
Register as a Farmer Now!
Register as a Supporter for Farms Not Arms Now!
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
ISAIAH 2:4
Will Allen, Cedar Circle Farm East Thetford VT
Raje Anand, Lilinoi Farm Makawao HI
Audrey Arner, Moonstone Farm Montevideo MN
Robert Roy Atkinson C. M., Windy Hill Organic's Saskatoon SK
John Bailey, Middle Mountain Farm Ukiah CA
Lon Ball, Trout Lake Farm Trout Lake WA
Cristof Bernau, UCSC Farm and Garden Santa Cruz CA
Kwamina Biney, 4H Worcester MA
Linda Borghi, Abundant Life Middletown NY
Dory Brown, Sunswept Farm Hot Springs NC
Janet Brown, AllStar Organics Woodacre CA
Thomas Broz, Live Earth Farm Watsonville CA
Linda Butler, Lindencroft Organics Ben Lomond CA
Sam Cantrell, Maycie's Farm Conservation Center Glenmoore PA
Nevin Christensen, Flamig Farm Inc. West Simsbury CT
Norman Coates, Coates Vineyards Orleans CA
Jim Cochran, Swanton Berry Farm Davenport CA
Jamie Collins , Serendipity Farms Monterey CA
Wallace Condon, Small Potatoes Lodi CA
Ned Conwell, Blue House Farm Pescadero CA
Amy Courtney, Freewheelin' Farm Santa Cruz CA
Philip Davis, Eisele Davis Farm Hotchkiss CO
Mariko Davis , Moringa Farms Vista CA
William Dellinger, Dellinger Farm Sturgeon MO
Bill Denevan, Denevan Apple Santa Cruz CA.
Pascal Destandau, Pugs Leap Farm Healdsburg CA
Kate Deusterberg, Cedar Circle Farm East Thetford VT
Paul Dolan, Dark Horse Winery Healdsburg CA
Shawn Douglas, Douglas Family Farms St. Augustine FL
Jim Dumas, RichCrest Farms Cochise AZ
Peter Elchorn, Country Flat Farm Carmel CA
George Elfie, SunMt Environmental & Media Center CA
Anita Figallo, Anita Figallo Farm Foley MN
Jeff Fiorovich, Crystal Bay Farm Freedom CA
Lori Fiorovich, Crystal Bay Farm Watsonville CA
Mike Fisher, Northdown Orchard United Kingdom
Brian Fitzpatrick, Fitzpatrick Winery & Lodge Fair Play CA
Lynda Flores de dyken, Garden of Adam San Andreas CA
Marco Franciosa, Soil Born Farm Sacramento CA
Katrina Frey, Frey Vineyard Redwood Valley CA
Sally Gale, Petaluma CA
John Gary, 'G' Farm Blue Lake CA
Hassan Ghamlouch, The Grove Altadena CA
Harjinder Gill, Nuvjug Farms Delano CA
Shonda Godley, Godley Farm
Leo Goldsmith, Sol Food Farm Sebastopol CA
Jim Goodman, Northwood Farm Wonewoc WI
John Graham, Agroproductos Del Cabo San Jose Del Cabo BCS, MEXICO
Nancy Groth, Summer Jo's Farm, Garden, and Restaurant Grants Pass OR
Lena Hahn-Schuman, Oldies & Goodies! Organic Plants Sebastopol CA
Chris Hatfield, Knoll Farms Oakland CA
Mark Inman, Taylor Maid Farms Sebastopol CA
Michael Jacobs, Easy Bean Farm Milan MN
Kris Jacoby, Kris Jacoby Farm Castleton VT
Randy Jasper, Jasper Farms Muscoda WI
Brook Jensen, Early Bird Farm Berkeley CA
Glen Johnson, Mother Flight Farms Mt. Vernon WA
Julie Johnson, Tres Sabores Ranch Winery Rutherford CA
Bryan Kaminsky, The Natural Trading Co. Penryn CA
Lisa Kelz, Magic Forest Farm Takilma OR
Hansel Kern, Kern Family Farm Northfork CA
Eric Kindberg, Festival Organic Base Hainan CHINA
Kristie Knoll, Knoll Farms Brentwood CA
Todd Koons, Epic Roots Mill Valley CA
Wendy Krupnick, Santa Rosa Jr. College Shone Farm Santa Rosa CA
Philip LaRocca, LaRocca Vineyards Forest Ranch CA
Cynthia Lashbrook, Riverdance Farms Livingston CA
(Mr.) Sandy Lejeune, avocado and citrus producer Santa Barbara CA
Christine Lester, Dixon Ridge Farms New York NY
Russ Lester, Dixon Ridge Farms Winters CA
Mark Lipson, Molino Creek Farming Collective Davenport CA
Dave Maize, Magic Forest Farm Takilma OR
Umesh Mallery, Sharan Farms Santa Cruz CA
Jason Mark, Alemany Farm San Francisco CA
David Markham, 3 Docs Almond Ranch Guinda CA
Scott Mathieson, Laguna Farm Sebastopol CA
William and Lynn McLean, Blueberry Peace Farm Magee MS
Dahinda Meda, Royal Blueberries & Cafe Mam Eugene OR
Harlyn Meyer, Wag the Dog Farm Rockport WA
Jim Meyer, Cascadian Home Farm Rockport WA
Eric Michielssen, Clark Valley Organic Farm Los Osos CA
John Mitchell, Heirloom Harvest Community Farm and CSA Westborough MA
Steven Mitzel, Mitzel Farms Leiter WY
Jenny Moffitt, Dixon Ridge Farms Davis CA
Tim Mountz, Happy Cat Organics West Chester PA
George Naylor, Naylor Family Farm Jefferson IA
Laura Neale, Sol Food Farm Sebastopol CA
Mike Noltner, Primrose Community Farm Middleton WI
Michael O''Gorman, Agroproductos Del Cabo Ensenada BC, MEXICO
Skye Ogden, Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo Watsonville CA
Ken Orchard, Orchard Farms Sebastopol CA
Kay Panek, Soil Born Farm Rancho Cordova CA
Bryan Parham, Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo Watsonville CA
Alvaro Peralta, M & M Heath Farms Buhl ID
David Pinkham, David Pinkham Farm Fort Bidwell CA
Diane Price, The Farm at Mollies Branch Todd NC
Craig Ramsay, Goatberrycreek Farm Newark OH
William Reynolds, Eel River Produce Scotia CA
Ryan Rich, Four Elements Organics Atascadero CA
Linda Riggle Davis, Rancho R Farm Corralitos CA
Michelle Ritter-Taylor, Winddana Farm Avila Beach CA
Dru Rivers, Full Belly Farm Guinda CA
Beth Ruman, Youngs Mill Farm Kingston GA
Devon Sampson, Blackberry Farm Bainbridge Island WA
Alejandro Sancen, ALBA Salinas CA
Herschel Schuman, Sweetwater Farm Sebastopol CA
Andrew Scott, Hidden Valley Farm & Wilderness Los Altos CA
Eric Smith, Pugs Leap Farm Healdsburg CA
Betty Smith-Roberts, Roberts Farm Syracuse IN
Ana Stayton, Golden Nectar Farm Windsor CA
Elinor Stein, Califanya Farm Moreau NY
William Steiner, Stonehaven Farm Hartsurg MO
John Teixeira, Lone Willow Farm Firebaugh CA
Luane Todd, retired farmer Harrison AR
Kalita Todd Cantisano, Heaven and Earth Farm North San Juan CA
Katrina Becker and Tony Schultz, Stoney Acres Farm Athens WI
Trevor Tyler, Cal Poly Organic Farm Los Osos CA
Libby Uhuru, Ukiah Natural Foods Coop Ukaih CA
Pankaj Uttarwar, Straus Family Creamery Marshall CA
Nora Vincent, And Then There`s Life Monterey Park CA
Bruce & Lisa Walker, Starwalker Farms Fort Jones CA
Tiffany Wildharber, College of the Redwoods Organic Farm Samoa CA
Denesse Willey, T and D Willey Farms Madera CA
Alice Brooke Wilson, Maverick Farms Banner Elk NC
John Wise, Sespe Creek Organics Fillmore CA
Patricia Damery and Donald Harms , Harms Vineyards & Lavender Fields Napa CA
Margo Baldwin, Chelsea Green Publishing Company White River Junction VT
Mary Barclay, Classic Greenscapes Healdsburg CA
Timothy Bean, Harmony Farm Supply & Nursery Sebastopol CA
Deborah Beebe Kastor, Good Day Produce Santa Cruz CA
Elizabeth Bretko, Heartsong Herbal Brewing Company Jacksonville OR
Bert Brown, New Leaf Community Markets Felton CA
Deb Burns, Storey Publishing North Adams MA
Kate Burroughs, Harmony Garden Supply Graton CA
Amigo Bob Cantisano, Organic Ag Advisors No. San Juan CA
Rick Christianson, Co-op Partners Warehouse St. Paul MN
Jesse Cool, Cooleatz Restaurant and Catering Menlo Park CA
Philip Coturri, Enterprise Vineyards Sonoma CA
Allison Day, Santa Barbara Olive Santa Barbara CA
Ian Diamond, Organic Connection Brewster NY
Francis Dunham, Veritable Vegetable San Francisco CA
Richelle Elder, La Montinita Coop Santa Fe NM
Mary Jane Evans, Veritable Vegetable San Francisco CA
Joanna Garaventa, Garaventa's Gourmet Garlic Concord CA
Mike Gold, Johnny's Selected Seeds Winslow MA
John Hamilton, JL Landscaping Santa Cruz CA
Kathleen Hanson, The Flower Basket Collingswood NJ
David Henry, Aloha Aina Tropicals Laupahoehoe HI
Dale Hodges, Everybody Cycles Lincoln CA
Stella Johnson Mestre, Nash''s Organic Produce Sequim WA
Jason Karnezis, Sauvie Island Organics Portland OR
Peter Kettler, Holland Coffee Midwest Madison WI
Kia Kozun, Nash's Organic Produce Sequoia WA
Meghan L. Krueger, Cafe Mam Portland OR
Mary Leatherman, Veritable Vegetable San Francisco CA
Jessica Lilga, General Hydroponics Sebastopol CA
Melinda Lundgren, Sprout Photography Santa Cruz CA
Marty Mathis, Kathryn Kennedy Winery Saratoga CA
Michele Maxwell, New Leaf Community Market Felton CA
Michael Miltner, Kalanu Studio Franklin NC
Jana Muhar, Mariposa Landscapes & Music Santa Rosa CA
Jennifer Neal, Santa Cruz CA
Ray Newkirk, Pacific Bio-Fuel Santa Cruz CA
Rebecca North, The Fruit Guys San Francisco CA
Bu Nygrens, Veritable Vegetable San Francisco CA
Greg Petersen, Big Island Organics Captain Cook HI
Patricia Prinz, Veritable Vegetable San Francisco CA
Pilar Reber, Sunnyside Organic Seedlings LLC San Francisco CA
Burton Ring, Rainbow Grocery San Francisco CA
Kristal Roach, Big Island Organics Captain Cook HI
John Roulac, Nutiva Ojai CA
Robert Scaman, Goodness Greeness Chicago IL.
Matthew Schmit, Tofu Shop Specialty Foods, Inc. Arcata CA
Steven Schuman, NV Produce Chico CA
Brenda Scoon, Rainbow Java Frankford DE
Yvonne Scott, Environmental Enhancers Albuquerque NM
Ruby Sheffer, Antelope Gap Chandler AZ
Dan Smith, French Garden Restaurant Sebastopol CA
Brad Stark, Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo Santa Cruz CA
Tim Stemwedel, California Organic Fertilizers CA
George Stevens, Synergy Seed Exchange Orleans CA
Robert Tepper, Sunrise Management Sebastopol CA
Rachel Vanderwerff, Veritable Vegetable San Francisco CA
Cathy Verret, Product Awareness Consulting, LLC Eugene OR
David Visher, David Visher Davis CA
David Weinstein, Heath & Lejeune Los Angeles CA
Thomas Wittman, Gophers Unlimited Ben Lomand CA
Cato Corner Farm , Cato Corner Farm Colchester CT
Carol Lillith Andrews, Moonmist Mountains Caffreys Flat NSW
Joe Barber, Cool Creek Ranch Enumclow WA
Tim Bates, The Apple Farm Philo CA
Shepherd Bliss, Farmer and Veteran Sebastopol CA
Ted and Jan Blomgren, Windflower Farm Valley Falls NY
Jeff Bodner, Ecological Farms Dexter OR
Manuel Boehmer, Dawn Gardens Crescent Mills CA
Anthony Bono, Flora Ridge Farm Mt Airy NC
Carissa Brands, Quetzal Farm Point Reyes Station CA
Jenny Burnstad, Burnstad Farms Ukiah CA
Ralph & Roberta Diaz, Roc-n-Bear Ranch Cascade MT
Brian Farmer, Farmers Table Farm Rosendale NY
Christopher Fenton, Flying F Farm Havana FL
Lori Fiorovich, Crystal Bay Farm Freedom CA
John Fonteyn, Rio Gozo Farms Ojai CA
Paul Glowaski, Homeless Garden Project Santa Cruz CA
Karalee Greenwald, Homeless Garden Project Santa Cruz CA
Michael Halperin, Frazier Lake Farms Hollister CA
Rick and Heather Hinton, Lasting Laughter Asylum Farm Winston OR
Lloyd Johnson, Lloyds Produce Davis CA
Wendy Johnson, Green Gulch Farm/SF Zen Center Muir Beach CA
Leslie Kline, Good Egg Farm Ronan MT
Ken Kuhns, Jr, Peach Valley CSA Farm Silt CO
Daschiell Kuhr, La Milpa Organica Escondido CA
Bryce Lundberg, B & E Lundberg Richvale CA
Mas Masumoto, Masumoto Family Farm Del Rey CA
Brett Melone, ALBA Salinas CA
Joyce Montenegro, Laishin`s Herbs Thomasville NC
Nicholas Mooers, Brooktrail Farm Gorham ME
Molly Nakahara, Tennyson High School Farm Berkeley CA
Kephas Neuhs, Living Soil Organic Farm Cayucos CA
Jenyz Nougorodskzyz, Erda Gardens Biodynamic Farm Alburquerque NM
Craig & Karen Ohmart, C.K.&J. Beekeeping Danvers IL
Haley Olson-Wailand, Dharma Ridge Farm Chimacum WA
Willow Rainchild, Crooked Fence Farm Corbett OR
Ginny Rigney, Rigney Farms Louisburg KS
Paul E. Romero, Manos En La Tierra Velarde NM
Balyn Rose, Wild Rose Ranch Santa Rosa CA
Charilyn Rudolph, Herb-n-Art Oasis Rio Rancho NM
Ken & Marbeth Schiff, Laughing Rocks Jacksonville OR
Rachel and Steffen Schneider, Hawthorne Valley Farm Harlemville NY
Patty Seereiter, Thompson Creek Organics Oregon OR
Jennifer Segale, Wildflower Farms Half Moon Bay CA
Kit Siemion, Coastal Gardens Quilcene WA
Geoffrey Smeltzer, Harford Farm organic produce and flowers New Milford PA
Marcey & Blair Smith, Thompson Creek Organics Oregon OR
Deborah Stiles, Limestone Mountain Farm Parsons WV
Bonnell Stone, Roberts Farm Valdosta GA
Brian Thompson, The Garden Bridgeton NJ
Dr Marco Turco, KwaGoma Farm Essex NY
Felix Velarde, Tierra Chulada Farms Chula Vista CA
Angie Villarreal, Thompson Creek Organics Applegate OR
Paul Weubbe, Billy`s Farm and Star Fresh Organics Wilton CA
Daniel Woodham, NIMBY (Naturally In My BackYard) Gardens Greensboro NC
Stephanie van Adelsberg, Glenbrook Garden Concord CA
Berkeley Farmers' Markets , Berkeley Farmers' Markets Berkeley CA
Davyd and Marie , FinnGael Forest Farm Mountain View HA
Starhawk , Earth Activist Training San Francisco CA
Shane Aikins, VINES Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Envionments Binghamton NY
Brian Baker, PhD, OMRI Eugene OR
Maia Ballis, SunMt Environmental CA
JoAnn Baumgartner, sustainable food advocate Watsonville CA
Phil Boise, Urban - Ag Ecology Gaviota CA
Lisa Bunin, PHD, Environmental Policy Consultant Santa Cruz CA
Don Burgett, Organic Farming Research Foundation Santa Cruz CA
Tana Butler, www.iheartfarms.com Soquel CA
Leslie Cagan, United for Peace and Justice New York NY
Kathleen Mary Caren, Passaic County Agricultural Development Bd. West Milford NJ
Ildi Carlisle-Cummins, California Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) Watsonville CA
Kate Casale, Alameda Point Collaborative, Growing Youth Project Alameda CA
Paul Cheatham, No Enemy Santa Cruz CA
Bryan Cherry, Cider Cycle Farm Worcester MA
Doron Comerchero, ''Food, What?'' Santa Cruz CA
Scott Davidson, Marin Organic Point Reyes Station CA
Diane Dempster, Shoreline WA
Emily Dietzman, GRUB Olympia WA
Radha Divine, Divine Consciousness Kailua HI
Kelly Dougherty, Iraq Veterans Against the War Denver CO
Sam Earnshaw, Community Alliance with Family Farms Watsonville CA
Craig Ficenec, ALBA Salinas CA
Hunter Francis, Sustainable Agriculture Research Consortium San Luis Obispo CA
Joseph Gainza, American Friends Service Committee VT
Tim Galarneau, CASFS Santa Cruz CA
Johnathan Gettleman, CRLA Santa Cruz CA
Bob Gregory, Berea Gardens Agriculture Ministries Rapidan VA
Bob Gregory, Berea Gardens Agriculture Ministries Rapidan VA
Miguel Guerrero, OMRI Eugene OR
Scott Hawkins, Ecological Farming Association
Liana Hoodes, National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture Pine Bush NY
Reggie Knox, California FarmLink Santa Cruz CA
Jodi Levine, Earthroots Field School San Juan Capistrano CA
Leslie Lightfoot, Veteran Victory Farm Fitchburg MA
Mary Mecartney, United Farm Workers Salinas CA
Chad Morse, UCSC CASFS Santa Cruz CA
Mark Mulcahy, Organic Options Glen Ellen CA
Gael Murphy, Co-founder, Code Pink Washington DC
Katie Peck, California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) Santa Cruz CA
Paige Phinney, Marin Organic Lagunitas CA
Bonnie Powell, The Ethicurean Oakland CA
Carson Price, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center Occidental CA
Carolyn Reuman, California FarmLink Sebastopol CA
Mark Ritter, Professor of Biology, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo CA
Molly Rockamann, The Fiji Organic Project St. Louis MO
Nancy Romer, Labor Against War
Chris Roth, Lost Valley Educational Center Dexter OR
Jan Saxton, California State Grange Aromas CA
Jane Sooby, Organic Farming Research Foundation Santa Cruz CA
Leah Sourbeer, Bay Point Garden Project Oakland CA
Douglas Stevenson, The Farm Summertown TN
Elizabeth Stinson, Santa Rosa Peace and Justice Sebastopol CA
Ron Strochlic, California Institute for Rural Studies Davis CA
Michael Traugot, clean food advocate Sebastopol CA
Kristin Van Huysen, WELLsville Veterans Project Seattle WA
David Visher, Food Alliance Davis CA
Lisa Wartinger, Plenty International Salinas CA
Elizabeth Whitlow Inman, CCOF North Coast Sebastopol CA
Sandra Wolf, Friends of the Merced River Merced CA
Rita de Queros, Food Democracy Alliance of Nevada County Nevada City CA
Mark Bennet, New York NY
Lena Rothman, Richcrest Dragoon AZ
Marisol Asselta, Watsonville CA
Joseph Brown, Redwood City CA
Francesca Campbell, Mendocino CA.
Maria Kovacs, Monterey CA
Elise LeClair, Lincoln MA
Paul Martin, Turlock CA
Rachel Mencher, New York NY
Stephanie Ricceri, Oceana CA
Lisa Ritterbuck, Reno NV
Jim & Judy Tischer, Woodland CA
Andrea Vaughn, Bayside CA
Terrence Welch, Aptos CA
Kasey Wierzba, St. Helena CA
Angus Wright, Sacramento CA
Randy Zigler, Santa Monica CA
Celia Alario, Torrance CA
Bob Alpern, Petaluma CA
Ted Baer, Santa Cruz CA
Jessica Beckett, Bronxville NY
Mark Bennett, New York NY
Jacqueline Betz, Gainesville FL
Loris Boutwell, Tiger GA
Susan Braverman, Brooklyn NY
Carissa Chiniaeff, Willits CA
Alissa Coenen, Sebastopol CA
Whitney Cohen, Santa Cruz CA
Demi Colby, Augusta ME
Nanda Coleman, Pescadero CA
Nanda Coleman, Oakland CA
Sherry Conable, Santa Cruz CA
Taylor Cope, Ethridge TN
Shielding Cournoyer, Holyoke MA
Mary Ann Crayton, Chesterton IN
Devere Cudo , Carbondale PA
Julie Deal, Atlanta GA
Mary DiMatteo, Olympia WA
Kenji Dickerson, Santa Cruz CA
Nancy Dudney, Wenatchee WA
Rebecca Duff, Milford NJ
Laura Ebmeier, Bertrand NE
Anne Eschenroeder, Portland OR
Nora Fanshel, Sebastopol CA
Mimi Feicco, Putnam Valley NY
Jenna Fiaramella, Harwinton CT
Sarah Fisher, Oak Creek CO
Arlone Folkers, Mountain View AR
MaryAnna Foskett, Arlington MA
Lloyd Foust III, Cleveland OH
Noah Freitas, Rohnert Park CA
Joshua Gambrel, Denver CO
Joe Garcia, Las Lunas NM
Stan Goff, Raleigh NC
Dale Hadler, St.Paul MN
John Hale, Pittsburgh PA
Carla Hall, Indianapolis IN
Donna Hansen, Grants Pass OR
Chuck Haren, Austin TX
Tymberly Harris, Brooklyn NY
Michael Hartigan, Palos Heights IL
Katherine Hendricks, Healdsburg CA
Stephanie Hicks, Gray TN
Denis Howard, San Bruno CA
Emily Jackson, Marshall NC
Lynne Jaffe, Hillsborough NC
Leslie Jordan, Spring Valley CA
Alice Karakas, Sauk Centre MN
Michael Keith, Lincoln Univ. PA
Loni Kemp, Canton MN
Wendy Krupnick, Santa Rosa CA
Danna Lamb-Vines, Lubbock TX
Rob Lang, Rancho Cordova CA
Robin Latham-Ponneck, Sebastopol Ca
Penny Leff, Davis CA
Chloe Lieberman, Santa Cruz CA
Neill Lisa, Mechanicsville MD
Paul Mandelstein, Jupiter FL
John Masiunas, Savoy IL
D. Meier, Cedar Falls IA
Rachel Mencher, Schererville IN
Liz Milazzo, Pt. Reyes Station CA
Sarah Miller, Nashville TN
Tom Mohan, Cedar Rapids IA
Tessa Molinari, Angwin CA
James Napier, Ft. Wayne IN
Sidney Nelson, Olympia WA
Karen Nordstrom, Santa Cruz CA
Jill Overdorf, Hermosa Beach CA
Lisa Pambid, Clarkston MI
Joyce Pear, Yorktown NY
Raquel Perez, Santa Cruz CA
MaryLouise Perkins, Forestville CA
Robert Petersen, Monterey CA
Arlo Peterson, Limon CO
Olivia Rathbone, Berkeley CA
Heather Reiners, Somers NY
Irene Reti, Capitola CA
Heather Rickard, Oakland CA
Jasmine Roohani, Santa Cruz CA
Val Sanfilippo, San Diego CA
Roger Santerre, New Paltz NY
Alice Sardell, Port Washington NY
Rox Schliesmann, Holmen WI
Lauren Schowe, Vista CA
Celia Scott, Santa Cruz CA
Erin Shea, Santa Rosa CA
Cumba Siegler, Aptos CA
John Sieh, Stanford CT
Rita Sims, Middleton TN.
John Smart, Park Falls WI
Marti Smith, Riverside CA
Mark Spencer, Mesquite TX
Richard Steingruben, Vietnam Vets - Petaluma Chapter Sebastopol CA
Betty Steinmetz, Santa Cruz CA
Melvyn Stiriss, Warwick NY
Megan Stojcevski, Allen Park MI
Autumn Sun, Santa Cruz CA
Laura Thomas, Alameda CA
kate Thomas,
Karen Turgeon, Calgary AB
John Vars, Corvallis OR
Dan Vernau, Chico CA
Stephen Vodantis, Santa Monica CA
Angie Vorhies, San Diego CA
Danielle Wallingsford, Woodville AL
Dusty Washburn, Jacksonville fl
Erin Watson, San Diego CA
Stephanie Weigel, Calistoga CA
Carley Williams, Olympia WA
joan Williams, Bethesda MD
David Wynn, Harrisburg NC
John Amidon, Veterans for Peace, Albany Albany NY
Rochawn Clark, Baton Rouge LA
Danielle Clarke, Springfield PA
Michael Hartigan, Palos Heights IL
Dan Kirk, Rockaway Park NY
Ramon Leal, Sunnyvale CA
William 'Dirt' C. McLean McLean, Magee MS
Matthew Mccue, Jax Beach FL
Philip Northcutt, Long Beach CA
Daniel Rudolph, Rio Rancho NM
Kristopher Wallin, Windsor Ca
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