The US Food Sovereignty Alliance (USFSA) is honored to name the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) of Palestine, based in Gaza and the West Bank, and Community to Community Development /Comunidad a Comunidad (C2C) of Bellingham, Washington, as co-recipients of the 2014 Food Sovereignty Prize.
NFFC Advocates for Agroecology at NYC Climate Summit
NFFC members and staff joined the multitudes participating in various events at last weekend’s Climate Summit.
NFFC Disappointed in USDA Support of Dow’s 2,4-D Crops
Despite many months of working to the contrary, the National Family Farm Coalition learned last Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had determined that Dow’s Enlist corn and soy were safe for release to the public for planting. Enlist corn and soy have been genetically engineered to resist both glyphosate (or Roundup) and 2,4-D, a component of agent orange used to defoliate Southeast Asia during the Vietnam war. We are extremely disappointed that USDA ignored the concerns of farmers and consumers around these two GMOs that could (and likely will) contaminate fields of non-GMO and organic corn and soy. We are even more disturbed about the likelihood of drift of the pesticides 2,4-D and glyphosate.
Press release: TTIP bad for agriculture, health and the environment says U.S. and EU civil society
BRUSSELS – The next round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will take place July 14–18 in Brussels, almost exactly a year since the first round in Washington, DC. Since that time, movements for local and regional farming and food systems and public health advocates on both sides of the Atlantic have coordinated efforts to raise their concerns around the agreement. Civil society groups from the U.S. and EU are deeply concerned that the agreement could serve to lower standards on food safety and public health.
Comments on the released Farm Bill
Read our official statement on the Farm Bill released by the Conference Committee last night. NFFC Responds to 2014 Conference Committee Farm Bill
NFFC Joins CIW and Labor Demanding Better Treatment and Pay
As Federal Labor Board Confirms Walmart Broke the Law and California Court Names Walmart in Massive Wage Theft Lawsuit, Group Calls Walmart’s Sign on to Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program a Win for Workers; Demands Company Do More to Improve Wages and Treatment of Workers
Peasants of the world mobilize against green capitalism in Rio
About 3000 people from around the world will mobilize to say NO to the commodification of life and nature at the Peoples Summit for Social and Environmental Justice and in Defense of the Commons. Read the full press release here.
Organization Oppose Pending Free Trade Agreements
Fair Trade, Not Free Trade, Should Be Basis of Food and Agriculture System. The National Family Farm Coalition and 56 allied organizations representing family farmers, ranchers, fishermen and advocates signed a letter to Congress condemning the pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. As the letter states, more FTAs will only accelerate the economic disasters in agriculture already at hand, including industrial farms dependent on massive amounts of petroleum-based inputs, low-paying, exploitative jobs in processing and packing plants, and increased consolidation throughout the agricultural supply chain.
Dairy Farmers Press for Emergency Action
America’s dairy farmers confront economic ruin as they face another year of 1970s prices for their milk. In the past year alone, thousands of dairy farmers have gone out of business and thousands more are on the brink of economic collapse as projections for 2010 show continued low prices. These losses hurt not just dairy farmers and their families but the thousands of farm-related jobs, including feed mills, fuel suppliers, and veterinarians along with the tax base of our communities.
Concentration in Seed Industry – Less Choice, Higher Prices
American farmers are feeling the effects of a concentrated seed industry. Seed options are diminishing while prices increase at historic rates. A new report, Out of hand: Farmers face the consequences of a consolidated seed industry, examines these troubling trends, substantiating the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into alleged anticompetitive conduct in the seed industry.
Obama’s Change Mandate in Question
With Copenhagen around the corner and failure of this week’s WTO negotiations, the Obama administration’s international agenda and leadership style are coming under scrutiny. The potential confirmation of controversial former pesticide lobbyist Islam Siddiqui as the U.S. trade representative for agriculture threatens to further undermine this administration’s credibility in international forums by privileging U.S. corporate interests over the global public interest and common good.
Siddiqui Fails to Answer for Record
NFFC and Pesticide Action Network North America expressed disappointment today with Islam Siddiqui’s testimony and answers during the Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to become the next USTR Chief Agriculture Negotiator.