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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.
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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".
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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
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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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