The 2007 U.S. Farm Bill: Building the Movement for Food Sovereignty
An Interactive Panel Discussion with Farmers, Farmworkers, Consumers, and Environmentalists

Grassroots International (lead organization presenting this proposal), the National Family Farm Coalition*, the Rural Coalition*, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives*, Food & Water Watch, Food First, World Hunger Year, Friends of the Earth-USA, the Institute for Trade and Agriculture Policy, and Action Aid-USA are pleased to submit this proposal for a panel on the 2007 U.S. Farm Bill and Building the Movement for Food Sovereignty. This is one of a slate of 4 related proposals on food sovereignty.

* Includes member organizations.

The panel will be facilitated by Corrina Steward (Grassroots International) with participation by Dena Hoff (National Family Farm Coalition and La Via Campesina), Alberto Gomez (UNORCA-Union Nacional de Organizaciones Regionales Campesinas Autonomas, Mexico and La Via Campesina), Rudy Arredondo (Rural Coalition), Ben Burkett (Federation of Southern Cooperatives), Dennis Olson (Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy), and Patty Lovera (Food & Water Watch.

The U.S. Farm Bill is a broad piece of legislation that regulates everything from agricultural subsidies to conservation programs to food stamps and rural development programs. Its impacts are felt not only by our nation’s farmers and farmworkers, but by all of us who care about rural livelihoods, the environment, and the food we eat. Additionally, the effects of our farm policy are directly felt around the world, as our overproduction leads to dumping and low food prices for small farmers around the world.

The Farm Bill is up for renewal every five years and the 2007 renewal is being negotiated in Congress this summer! With so much at stake for so many people around the world, it is an urgent and timely issue. This panel will provide background on the Farm Bill debate and outline specific policy recommendations around five key themes that are essential to fixing our broken food system. We’ll delve into the issues and follow up with a discussion of how to get involved – talking points to meet with your member of Congress, materials to share with friends and family, consumer tips, and more.

The issues:
Commodity Reform – Addressing low prices and overproduction in U.S. agriculture
Small Farms & Diversity – Supporting the needs of socially disadvantaged and historically marginalized farmers to create more diversity in the food system
Sustainable Bioenergy – Promoting local control and sustainable production of biofuels crops
Farmworkers – Supporting the rights of farmworkers to make a decent living in a food system that depends on them
Food Aid – Calling for an approach to U.S. food aid that doesn’t undermine regional food systems in the global South

The goal of the panel is to:

Educate people about the concept of food sovereignty as an alternative vision rooted in social justice and sustainability
Reflect on how U.S. agriculture and trade policies undermine food sovereignty in the U.S. and around the globe
Envision collectively how we can act together to change those policies and build the movement for food sovereignty
Discuss specific action steps for advocacy and lobbying on the shape of the soon-to-be-decided 2007 U.S. Farm Bill.

The panel directly addresses many of the cross-cutting themes of the USSF including neoliberalism and corporate globalization by focusing on U.S. agricultural and trade policies that are neoliberal and support corporate globalization. It provides an internationalist and solidarity perspective by focusing on the challenges faced by U.S. and global South producers including family farmers and farmworkers. It supports movement building by seeking to educate U.S. audiences and enlisting their support for the global movement for food sovereignty which is rooted in social justice and sustainability.

We seek to reach out to an audience that comprises various sectors including family farmers and farm workers, consumers’ organization members and food activists, hunger activists including members of faith-based and international development organizations, and members of environmental and sustainable agriculture organizations, students and others who are interested in learning more about these issues.

The organizations and panelists bring different perspectives to the issue. The National Family Farm Coalition represents the perspective of small farmers and has taken the lead in drafting the Food from Family Farms Act as an alternative to the U.S. Farm Bill. The Rural Coalition and Federation of Southern Cooperatives have worked extensively on minority farmer and farmworker legislation. UNORCA has worked extensively in Mexico on agricultural provisions of NAFTA and U.S. agricultural policy. Food & Water Watch provides a consumer perspective and IATP brings an environmental perspective on biofuels.