The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) must be replaced with a transparent trade agreement that ensures farmers in all three nations—Canada, Mexico, and the United States—receive fair prices for their production, that consumers are guaranteed the right to know the content and origin of their food, and that strong environmental protections are put in place to protect the sustainability of rural communities.
USFSA Joins It Takes Roots Coalition at DC Climate March
Food sovereignty is climate justice. We can cool the planet AND ensure adequate food and nutrition to the world’s human population by fighting the destructive and building the new.
Will Family Farmers and Ranchers Be Left Behind Again?
The Senate is expected to approve Perdue easily, but the question of his loyalty — to family farmers or to agribusiness — is imperative given the gravity of the economic situation facing rural America.
Dairy Farmers’ Concerns Not Addressed at House Ag Hearing
When I learned late last week that the United State House Agriculture Committee was having a hearing on March 22, I immediately made contact with members of the committee regarding the possibility of me testifying at the hearing.
De-pooling Dairy Farmers Is Not the Answer
These 900 dairy farmers deserve a chance to stay in business until a real solution is developed. Contact the Market Administrator’s office by phone in Albany at 518-452-4410, or in Boston at 617-737-7199.
Kathy Ozer, ¡Presente!
We are deeply saddened to report the passing of our beloved, courageous and steadfast leader and friend, Kathy Ozer. Her indefatigable optimism and resolve eventually were not enough to overcome her cancer, and she died peacefully on Sunday, January 22, 2017.
Let’s Make Parity Our National Policy
This speech by George Naylor was written as the keynote address to precede the panel, Farmers Leading the Food Movement, for the Food Tank Summit, Washington, D.C., April 21, 2016.
The Trans Pacific Partnership Will Not Help Struggling Farmers
TPP has very little to do with free trade, we already have trade agreements with 6 of the other 11 countries that are part of the TPP. Trade barriers are already very low, so if these countries wanted to import more US dairy products or anything else, there is little to stop them.
CAGJ & C2C Co-Host USFSA & Food Sovereignty Prize in Seattle
Last week, representatives of over 20 organizations gathered in Seattle and Bellingham for several days of dialogue, action, and celebration of the growing food sovereignty movement. The Encounter, co-hosted by Community Alliance for Global Justice and Community to Community Development was a national gathering of the US Food Sovereignty Alliance (USFSA). On Saturday, we honored Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa and Farmworkers Association of Florida as recipients of the 8th Annual Food Sovereignty Prize, awarded by the USFSA.
Farm Aid and Dairy Farmers Meet USDA Officials in DC
Several dairy farmers and staff of various farm organizations met on September 15, Thursday in Washington with officials of the USDA in meetings and events organized by Farm Aid. Introducing the events was the Farm Aid Executive Director, Carolyn Mugar.
Genetically engineered crops part and parcel of decline of rural communities
And don’t be surprised, as American consumers increasingly reject GE technology, corporate agribusiness and our government will force GE crops on the rest of the world. That, it seems, is one more aspect of American Exceptionalism.
RAFI-USA and Dudley Butler Describe the Ridiculous Nature of Contract Poultry Farming
NFFC member organization RAFI-USA offers in-depth analysis of the situation in which many contract poultry growers find themselves today. Sally Lee’s recent blog states: “In 2015, people consumed 112,000,000 metric tons of chicken globally. That’s an unfathomable quantity. So here’s one way to visualize it: That amounts [to] the weight of two-thirds of all the cars on the road today in the United States—in chickens.”