NEWS
The farmer and the bill
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by Cara Harshman
Thursday, November 8, 2007
On Saturday, some students will have a red Solo cup of
freshly tapped keg beer in one hand and a brat in the other, partying before
the football game against Michigan.
However, these students will not be thinking about which
processing plant inspected their recently grilled brat. But if they breathe,
eat or drink, agricultural policy determining where that brat came from
directly impacts them.
About 65 million people live in rural America, but only 2
million of them work in the farming industry. The majority of those farmers are
currently following the progress of the 2007 farm bill as it makes its way
through Congress.
"Policies like the farm bill are not sexy, but they have
drastic consequences for poor communities here in the U.S. and abroad," said
Laura Rusu, spokesperson for Oxfam America, a nonprofit organization working
nationally and internationally to solve poverty, hunger and injustice.
The idea of a farm bill arose during the Great Depression.
In 1949, the first farm bill was designed to protect farmers and stabilize the
rural economy. More than half a century later, the goal is still the same.
"It's something everyone should know because policies
trickle down to cafeterias at Gordon Commons and dinner tables," said Anne
Lupardus, spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis.
The farm bill is revised every five years, evolving with the
changing face of the American farmer and fluctuating international economy.
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