Civil Eats

Americans now face the holiday season with rising food prices and troubled economic waters roiled by Congressional gridlock. Nearly 90 percent of Americans disapprove of Congress, according to Gallup polling, and 2011 is on track to be Congress’s worst year ever for Gallup public approval ratings.

Given this backdrop, you’d think the Congressional agriculture committees would have understood that writing a secret farm bill tailor-made for their friendly agri-lobbyists and tacking it on to the super committee recommendations would only add to the toxic atmosphere permeating Washington. Since they didn’t, here are five lessons to be re-learned before the 2012 farm bill debate. Read More

Nearly 70 environmental, public health, nutrition, food and farm groups–including EWG–are calling on California’s congressional delegation to take a stand in the current debate over food and agriculture policy.  In a letter sent on National Food Day (Oct. 24), the broad coalition urged California’s members of Congress to fight for healthy and sustainable food and farming policies.

The letter comes as big ag interests are working to short-circuit the 2012 farm bill process by pushing a secret farm bill through the deficit-reduction Super Committee. Read More