wfn.org | Lutherans Join Several Groups to Endorse 'Family Farmers' Agenda'

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 12, 2000

LUTHERANS JOIN SEVERAL GROUPS TO ENDORSE 'FAMILY FARMERS' AGENDA'
00-132-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- At least 36 organizations representing farm,
union and religious groups endorsed a "Family Farmers' Five-Point
Agenda" for replacing the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act
of 1996, commonly known as the 1996 Farm Bill.  The Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA), through its Lutheran Office for Governmental
Affairs (LOGA), Washington, D.C., is among the groups that endorsed the
recommendations.
     LOGA works for social justice on domestic policy issues and
represents the ELCA within the arena of federal public policy debate.
It is a program of the ELCA Division for Church in Society.
     The 36 groups reached a consensus on the family farmers' agenda
earlier this year, said Sandra A. LaBlanc, ELCA director for rural
ministry resources and networking.  Since then the recommendations have
been used for educational purposes, she said.
     The family farmers' agenda calls for adoption of a new Farm Bill,
restoring competition through enforcement of anti-trust laws, protecting
consumers and the environment, holding referenda on mandatory commodity
"checkoff" program; and negotiating fair trade agreements.
     The agenda was part of the discussions during the March 20-21
Rally for Rural America in Washington, D.C., LaBlanc said.  The ELCA was
a rally sponsor.
      In its social statement on economic life, "Sufficient,
Sustainable Livelihood for All," the ELCA called for changes to assure
that farmers receive a greater proportion of the retail food dollar.
The statement also called for adequate prices for agricultural products
so that farmers can be compensated fairly for labor and production
costs.  The 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted the statement.
     In the current farm economy in the United States, thousands of
farmers and their surrounding communities have gone out of business or
face that as a possibility in the future, said the Rev. Russell O.
Siler, LOGA director.
     "Growing numbers [of concerned citizens] point to the 1996 Farm
Bill and its actions, magnified by the collapse of the global food
market, terrible weather conditions and a growing concentration of power
and control of our entire food supply in the hands of a few
multinational corporations," he said.   Congressional leaders seem more
receptive now to the possibility of reopening the Farm Bill for more
discussion, Siler added.
     Possible strategies addressed by the family farmers' agenda are:
     +Passage of a new farm bill that will establish non-recourse loans
at "near cost" of production levels to ensure farm income comes from the
marketplace; enacting short-term conservation measures to avoid
overproduction; creating a farmer-owned reserve to ensure food security
at all times; maintaining planting flexibility; and establishing a
national dairy policy to ensure a farmer's cost of production and a
return on investment.
     +Restoring market competition by placing a moratorium on mergers
and acquisitions in agribusiness, transportation, food-processing
operations and retail companies; requiring strict enforcement of the
federal "Packers and Stockyards Act" to end price discrimination; and
enacting a ban on packer ownership of livestock.
     +Protecting consumers and the environment by requiring stricter
labeling of imported meats and others foods; stopping expansion of
large-scale factory farms; and protecting environmentally fragile lands
and habitats.
     +Holding referenda on the mandatory pork and beef checkoffs as
petitioned by independent producers.
     +Negotiating fair trade agreements that ensure all countries
retain the right to develop farm programs that respond to the needs of
their farmers and consumers; putting an end to export "dumping" at below
the cost of production, which undermines the domestic economy; and
ensuring environmental protection, fair wages and worker rights are part
of every trade agreement.
     LaBlanc said she hopes the five-point farm agenda will motivate
ELCA members and others to voice rural concerns to their elected
representatives, and encourage use of "Sufficient, Sustainable
Livelihood for All."
     Religious organizations that joined the ELCA to endorse the farm
agenda were the Mennonite Central Committee, Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), United Methodist Board of Church in Society and the National
Catholic Rural Life Conference. Other groups endorsing the agenda
include the AFL-CIO, Farm Aid, Institute for Agriculture and Trade
Policy, National Family Farm Coalition, National Farmers Union, National
Milk Producers Federation and Partners for Rural America.
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     The text of "Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All" is
available on the World Wide Web at www.elca.org/dcs/economiclife.html.
Additional resources from LOGA are available at www.loga.org.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html