Tell?Congress: Co-sponsor the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act!
It’s clear that our country’s food system has its priorities in the wrong places. Millions of dollars are dedicated to subsidizing crops like corn and soybeans, which get turned into processed junk food, instead of being used to expand access to foods that are healthier for us and the planet. 
Now we have the chance to begin to reorient how our federal dollars are spent. The Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act?a proposal to improve the federal Farm Bill?will encourage greater production of sustainably produced fruits, vegetables, meats, and other healthy foods; make these foods more accessible for all consumers; and stimulate local economies. The bill will also expand access to healthy food for all by improving the ability for families and seniors to use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits at farmers markets and other outlets for local, healthy foods. These programs can create jobs and encourage healthier eating. Tell your members of Congress to cosponsor the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act today! Click here to learn more about the?Farm Bill.
Ramping Up Renewable Energy
Wind power provided more than 10 percent of the electricity produced in nine states in 2012, with Iowa and South Dakota leading the pack at 24 percent each. These nine states?Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, and South 
Dakota?are demonstrating that we can transition away from dirty, coal-burning power plants toward cleaner sources of electricity while maintaining a reliable and affordable electricity system. But what happens when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine? Electricity grid operators use a variety of tools to ensure a reliable electricity supply. And the good news is that today’s electricity system can handle a significant increase in wind and solar power across the country. Your state has taken a critical step by requiring a certain percentage of your electricity comes from renewable sources, but we have the technology and know-how to increase our use of renewable energy, now we need the policies that support it. Please write your state legislators today and ask them to support getting more of your electricity from clean, renewable resources.? Let’s send a strong message to lawmakers in your state that voters want more renewable energy!? Click here for more information on?ramping up renewables.
Take the Pledge: I’m Boycotting Food from Factory Farms!
Today, nearly 65 billion animals worldwide, are crammed into CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) and slaughtered annually. These animals live in unhealthy, unsanitary and unconscionably cruel conditions. Sickness is the norm for animals who are confined rather than pastured, and who eat GMO corn and soybeans, rather than grass and forage as nature intended. To prevent the inevitable spread of disease from stress, overcrowding and lack of vitamin D, animals are fed a steady diet of antibiotics. Those antibiotics pose a direct threat to the environment when they run off into our lakes, rivers, aquifers and drinking 
water. CAFOs contribute directly to global warming by releasing vast amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere – more than the entire global transportation industry. Yet despite these health and environmental hazards, the vast majority of consumers don?t realize that nearly 95% of the meat, dairy and eggs sold in the U.S. come from CAFOs. Nor do most people realize that CAFOs represent a corporate-controlled system characterized by large-scale, centralized, low profit-margin production, processing and distribution systems. Contrary to popular arguments, factory farming is not a cheap, efficient solution to world hunger. Our present factory farm system is not only unsustainable, it represents a very real threat to public health and damage to the environment, not to mention the cruelty it inflicts on animals.? By reducing or eliminating your meat consumption, and/or buying meat and dairy from local, sustainable farms, you are helping to combat the environmentally destructive and inhumane practice of factory farming. Click here to sign a pledge to boycott food from factory farms.
Dump the Monsanto Riders
With the ‘Monsanto riders,’ having quietly slipped into the multi-billion dollar FY 2013 Agricultural Appropriations bill, it is important that we continue to make it known to Congress that we do not support this amendment. The temporary permit allows for the planting 
or cultivation of a genetically engineered crop, even if a federal court has ordered the planting be halted until an Environmental Impact Statement is completed. All the farmer or the biotech producer has to do is ask. Despite receiving calls and emails from hundreds of thousands of citizens opposing the industry-driven rider and supporting the amendment to strike it, the amendment was ultimately never voted on. The rider will be alive for the six month duration of the temporary spending bill and?we are now working to ensure that this agribusiness handout is not included in any future Appropriations bills. Let?s keep the pressure on Congress to dump the Monsanto rider!?Write your Senators and Representative and urge them to keep the biotech rider out of upcoming spending bills.
Comments are closed.