The House Agriculture Committee has finished their version of the 2007 Farm Bill! The bill now goes to the full House for a vote. While several key provisions have been passed in the Agriculture Committee version of the bill - including mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for meats (we are pleased to report, without NAIS!), and there is unprecedented support for small and organic farmers, there is still the possibility of amendments to weaken the bill before it gets to the House floor, or during floor debates.

Please take a moment to tell your Representative to support implementation of mandatory COOL as Congress intended in the 2002 Farm Bill, and to protect programs that support organic agriculture, consumers, and family farmers and ranchers. You can call your House representative at the Capitol switchboard (202) 224-3121, or look up the direct line HERE.

The Farm Bill will likely go to the full House for a vote on July 26th – so make sure to send your comments right away!

Sample Letter for Campaign

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

The 2007 Farm Bill is said by many to be the single most important piece of legislation this Congress will see. I hope the House will continue to take this opportunity to pass the best Farm Bill possible. As such, I urge the House to address the following important points in the 2007 Farm Bill:

* Implement Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) Recent headlines about tainted food imports have made consumers more aware than ever of the importance of where their food comes from. Yet, with the exception of seafood, consumers don't have this basic information when they shop. Mandatory COOL would provide consumers their basic right to make informed decisions about the food they eat.

I urge the House to reject any amendments or provisions that tie COOL implementation to NAIS (National Animal Identification System, or mandatory ID); reject any attempts to weaken or further delay COOL, or make it voluntary; and pass mandatory COOL for meat and produce as Congress intended in the 2002 Farm Bill.

* Support Organic Agriculture, Local Foods and Nutrition Programs The Farm Bill rightfully supports organic certification cost share to help small farmers convert to and maintain organic status, and I hope the House will support this provision. Additionally, I urge the House to reject any amendments to cut certification cost-share funding for organic producers and processors, and to support increased funding for organic research and provide assistance for farmers transitioning to organic agriculture.

I also urge the House to support mandatory funding for the Community Food Project Grant Program, the Organic Research and Extension program, the Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program and the Healthy Enterprise Development Program that would help small and mid-sized farmers distribute their products to local markets. The bill should also include increased funding for the Food Stamp and Nutrition Program.

* Conservation Security Program The Conservation Security Program was authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill to provide on-going financial assistance to reward farmers for implementation of conservation practices on their farms. However, the current bill significantly cuts funding for the CSP program and prevents new CSP sign ups for the next 4 years. In addition, changes need to be made to make it easier for organic producers to participate in the program. I urge the House to support full mandatory funding as a national "entitlement" program, to be available in all watersheds; and to support an easy "crosswalk" between organic certification and CSP, so that a producer's certified organic farm plan can also provide eligibility for higher tiers of CSP benefits.

* No Federal Preemption in the Farm Bill In a previous House draft, the Livestock Subcommittee inserted section 123, broad language that would have preempted states or localities from passing regulations pertaining to food safety or GMO crops that were stricter than those put in place by Federal agencies. I thank the Committee for removing this section, and would like to again express my opposition to any such preemptive language being reinserted into the Farm Bill.

I appreciate you taking my views into consideration as you and your colleagues in the House debate this very important bill.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
July 23, 2007