wfn.org | CWS - Church World Service Statement on the 2007 Farm Bill

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Church World Service Statement on the 2007 Farm Bill

NEW YORK, May 21, 2008--Our lawmakers in Washington are sending
President Bush a Farm Bill that he's already threatened to veto.
Enough of them support the bill that Congress will probably override
this veto and enact the legislation

Some people like the bill.  Church World Service doesn't, because it
only fixes part of what is wrong with the nation's food policy. It
leaves intact an unjust system that harms family farmers here and abroad
and undermines food security in developing countries.

The bulk of the spending in the bill - estimated to cost $300 to $325
billion over the next five years -- goes to improve nutrition programs
like food stamps, school meals and elderly food assistance.  That's
good.

Church World Service has spent several years now advocating for a food
bill that actually helps feed the people who need it most.

Another chunk of money goes to perpetuate, at least for the next five
years, subsidies that primarily benefit huge agricultural businesses.
That's bad.

As Church World Service has said in its ongoing advocacy campaign, it
is not the corporate agri-businesses that need help from the government.

It is small-holder American farmers struggling to survive.

And it is small-holder farmers abroad who are finding it impossible to
make a living because they canâ??t price their own locally-grown  produce
low enough to compete with the U.S. government-subsidized produce
exported to their countries.

This has helped undermine agriculture in some developing countries,
contributing to the current food crisis.

"Our vision for the 2007 farm bill is embodied in the title of our
campaign, Sow Justice," says Church World Service Executive Director
and CEO John McCullough.

"We are sad to say that the bill sent out of Congress is sorely
lacking in justice for a substantial number of people-small-holder
farmers, their families and the rural communities in which they
live-here in the United States and in developing countries around the
world.

"This legislation was far from the best effort our lawmakers could
have made this year. CWS will not stop advocating to reshape this
nation's food policy until we are assured that it is not just a policy
but a policy rooted in justice."

> Media Contacts

Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org

Jan Dragin - 24/7 - (781) 925-1526, jdragin@gis.net