6/20/05

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1.  WORC Calls for Action on CAFTA 
2.  Conservation Supporters Needed at Farm Bill Forum 
3.  AFT Seeking Nominations For Stewardship Award 
4.  Palm Oil Production Harms Endangered Species

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W.O.R.C. CALLS FOR ACTION ON CAFTA 

The North American Free Trade Agreement was pushed through Congress in the 1990's under the ruse of helping agriculture, improving labor standards and raising the bar for environmental protections.  None of the above has occurred.  In fact, farm gate prices have dropped, environmental laws are attacked as "trade distorting" and countless American jobs have been lost.  The only thing that has improved are the profits reaped by increasingly consolidated multi-national corporations.  Now, in Washington D.C., the same misguided rhetoric is pushing the Central American Free Trade Agreement through Congress and the Western Organization of Resource Councils is asking you to get involved.  It only takes a second to go to their web and learn about what you can do to make rural economies and environments better. Exercise your democratic rights.  Act today!  Visit: http://www.worc.org/involved/aa-CAFTA_senate-update.html  

CONSERVATION SUPPORTERS NEEDED AT FARM BILL FORUM 

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced yesterday that there will be a Farm Bill Forum next month with the USDA seeking input from America's farmers, ranchers and rural residents.  "The next farm bill (2007) will affect America's entire agricultural community," said Johanns.  "That's why I want to ask America's farmers and ranchers how our farm policy is working and how we can make it better." The first forum will be held in Nashville, Tennessee on July 7 from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. CDT at RFD-TV Northstar Studios. The public is invited to attend and participate in the forum, which will be broadcast live on RFD-TV.  In addition to accommodating approximately 300 in the audience, the forum also will accept calls from across the nation.  The public will be invited to provide comments on six specific questions based on these policy considerations: 1. How should farm policy be designed to maximize U.S. competitiveness and our country's ability to effectively compete in global markets?  2.  How should farm policy address any unintended consequences and ensure that such consequences do not discourage new farmers and the next generation of farmers from entering production agriculture?  3.  How should farm policy be designed to effectively and fairly distribute assistance to producers?  4.  How can farm policy best achieve conservation and environmental goals?  5.  How can Federal rural and farm programs provide effective assistance in rural areas?  6.  How should agricultural product development, marketing and research-related issues be addressed in the next farm bill?  Supporters of family farms, rural development and conservation programs are strongly encouraged to weigh in! More information is available at: http://www.usda.gov/2005/06/0215.xml  

AFT SEEKING NOMINATIONS FOR STEWARDSHIP AWARD 

American Farmland Trust is seeking nominations for its 2006 Steward of the Land Award. The $10,000 prize is presented annually to a farmer or rancher that best exemplifies American Farmland Trust's mission of stopping the loss of productive farmland and promoting farming practices that lead to a healthy environment.  AFT is seeking nominees are actively farming and who a) use farming practices that lead to a productive farm in a healthy environment, b) work to develop policies and programs for farmland protection at the local, state and regional level, and c) demonstrate leadership by protecting their own farm or ranch from development.  Entering a landmark tenth anniversary year, the Steward of the Land Award is also working to raise awareness of the public benefits agriculture provides as discussions about changing farm policies in the 2007 Farm Bill begin.  Nomination kits can be requested by calling (800) 886-5170 x3044 or downloaded at: http://www.farmland.org/steward/nomination_instructions.pdf  

PALM OIL PRODUCTION HARMING ENDANGERED SPECIES

In a new report, Cruel Oil: How Palm Oil Harms Health, Rainforest & Wildlife, the Center for Science in the Public Interest reveals that production of palm oil has dramatically increased in the last 10 years, contributing to the ongoing destruction of the rainforests of Southeast Asia. The increase is driven from the perception that the oil is a heart-healthier alternative to partially hydrogenated oil.  But CSPI's executive director Michael F. Jacobson cautions, "Consumers and food processors should realize, though, that palm oil still promotes heart disease and that producing palm oil has a devastating impact on rainforest and endangered wildlife."   More than 80 percent of the world's palm oil is produced in Malaysia and Indonesia, which are home to the endangered Sumatran tiger, Bornean and Sumatran orangutans, Asian elephant, and Sumatran rhinoceros. Along with timber harvesting and other forms of agriculture, palm oil production is now a major contributor to destruction of the rainforest habitat. CSPI is calling for the World Bank, IMF and other international aid agencies to end funding of oil palm development projects. Read the report: www.cspinet.org/palmoilreport

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Scotty Johnson and Aimee Delach
National Rural Community Outreach Campaign
sjohnson@defenders.org