on the farm bill: more sanity in the Senate?
So, we’re s’posed to be psyched about the $2.4 billion for renewable energy in the Farm Bill while the $42 billion in commodity subsidies remains (via treehugger).
Yikes! This ain’t gonna get’r done, folks.
For example, $1 billion will go to 13,000 California rice growers over the next 3 years while the state’s conservation programs only get $100 million.
Ahem, Mr. Senator, anyone on that side of the Capitol paying attention here?
In case you hadn’t noticed, the House passed its hotly contested version of the Farm Bill last week (by a vote of 231 to 191), and the Senate will take this up next month.
Much focus has been on dumping or seriously revising the decades-old subsidy system, which has become a boondoggle for corporate farms. Sadly, no vote was taken on the issue of the farm program payment limitations, which has been the most controversial aspect of the bill. Meanwhile, one amendment that had been offered up to cut subsidies and provide more funding for nutrition and conservation was roundly defeated by a 309 to 117 vote.
Deep concern has also been focused on the impact of these subsidies on America’s nutrition, as they will radically distort farming and food production and change the country’s rural landscape and diets in ways we cannot yet foresee.
Only because many farmers are now turning to energy crops, the Farm Bill has also become a focus for renewable energy advocates.
This is a complex piece of legislation, and we might have hoped it would be a vital instrument in turning the US toward more sustainable development.
Unless the Senate drastically modifies this bill, we must say it ain’t so.
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