Peter Shadzik the Intern

We ONE bloggers have been writing a lot about the Farm Bill these days,
and with good reason. The House of Representatives votes on changes to
the Farm Bill tomorrow. If substantial changes aren’t made to the bill,
small farmers will be out of luck until the next time it appears before
Congress in 2012.

With your help we can push Congress to make the right decision tomorrow,
and in the process help protect small farmers here and abroad from
subsidies that leave them unable to compete fairly. Please take a moment
to call your member of Congress and tell them to vote YES on the Fairness
Amendment. The ONE Campaign has set up a 1-800 number (1-800-786-2663)
to direct you to your congressional office.

“But Peter,” you may ask, “what if I’m not sure exactly what to say?” No
problem, loyal ONE member! We have a set of talking points to help you
with your call, as well as a form to register your call when you
finish. With just a few minutes of your time, you can lend
small farmers everywhere a much needed helping hand.

This coming Thursday the version of the Farm Bill coming out of the
Agricultural Committee will be considered by the full House of
Representatives. This bill contains the same problematic subsidies that
have for decades hampered the ability of small farmers here in America
as well as the developing world to compete with big business farms.

The ONE Campaign supports The Fairness in Farm and Food Policy Amendment
- Fairness Amendment for short – an amendment which aims to right the
wrongs of the Farm Bill in its current form. This amendment has seen a
considerable amount of support from both sides of the aisle, and with
good reason. The amendment reduces damaging subsidies, expands an
overseas school lunch program by $1.1B, implements a fair and modern
safety net to protect farmers from crop price reductions, and reduces
direct payments – a system enacted over a decade ago to wean farmers off
subsidies that has proven ineffective -overall this reform package will
save at least $10 billion.

Take advantage of this historic opportunity to tell your representative
that you support the Fairness Amendment. Right now, unfair
subsidies are distorting trade and hurting small farmers from the
Heartland to Sub-Saharan Africa. If enough ONE members like yourself let
their voices be heard, it won’t be long before we see real reform on
this issue.

UPDATE: Read the Fairness Amendment factsheet

As I’ve written recently here on the ONE blog, the Farm Bill working its way through Congress contains subsidies directed to big business farms that stifle competition from smaller farms. Some members of Congress would like the public to believe that these subsidies are designed to help American farmers. In reality, the vast majority of farmers are hurt by these subsidies. These subsidies allow the biggest 8% of farms to lower prices on their goods, leaving small American farmers – not to mention impoverished farmers in the developing world – struggling to compete. Take some time to read about the Farm Bill and why it needs to be reformed.

We know that many of our ONE members have already helped spread awareness of the need for Farm Bill reform by writing thousands of letters to their local papers all across the country. This effort has not gone unnoticed. Not only have numerous letters appeared in newspapers across the country – including sizable publications like the Chicago Tribune – but a proposed Fairness in Farm and Food Policy Amendment to the Farm Bill would provide many of those desperately needed changes, like putting a cap on the subsidies large farms receive. This provides us with a great opportunity to take desperately needed action.

Right now the bill is leaving the Agricultural Committee, and soon it will be presented to the full House of Representatives. Before they make their decision, let’s pull together as ONE to show them what voters really think about legislation that prevents small farmers the world over from competing fairly.

Take this opportunity to send a letter to your member of Congress to let them know you support the Fairness in Farm and Food Policy Amendment!

As our astute ONE members may already know, the Farm Bill is making its way through Congress. The bill only shows up once every five years, and is in major need of reform.

The agricultural subsidies contained within the bill use taxpayer money to allow large farms to out compete small farmers by driving down prices. Only the largest 8% of farmers receive these subsidies, leaving small farmers the world over unable to compete.

This legislation has a particularly strong impact on poor farmers living in extreme poverty, who rely on farming as their sole source of income. However, its negative effects don’t stop there. The other 92% of American farmers also struggle to compete with large subsidized farms.

The Farm Bill has been around for many years, and to reform such a deeply rooted piece of legislation, we will need to get the attention of Congress, the media, and the American public.

As the bill moves in front of the House of Representatives, we are presented a rare chance to take action on this legislation. Please help spread the word about this opportunity by sending a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Your letters are a crucial part of the effort to reform the Farm Bill.

With your help, we can send a message to Congress that the American public does not embrace damaging subsidies that prevent small farmers across the world from producing and selling their goods.