That’s Natural! Volume 5, Issue 4 July/August 2008
Free What we’re about...
Vision Statement We believe that every human being has a right to health, education, the arts, and to be a part of the local economy. We believe that entities and products that encourage this should be promoted. We believe that educating the public about the inherent truths of our health, our education, our culture, and our economy is paramount to our rights as citizens.
The U. S. Farm Bill, It’s Not Just For Farmers Anymore By David A. Martin and Kimberly Schaub
The Farm Bill is not just a welfare program for farmers and ranchers; it affects the consumer as much as our neighbor farmer and rancher. Consumers must pay attention to this Bill to understand how an large portion of their taxes are contributing to the income and practices of the American farmer and because additional programs for conservation of vulnerable lands like wetlands, provision of food stamps, creation of additional nutritional programs, and provision of international food aid are all covered by this singular Bill. The Bill has both excellent programs and some raising controversy, and it’s important to know how it affects farmers, ranchers and taxpayers as well as our soil, water and personal health. For better or for worse, this taxpayer funded Bill, with it’s 25 billion dollars in farm subsidies will soon go into effect. Consumers paying attention to this Bill will notice some changes in funding. The Food Stamp program will be renamed and updated to an electronic system using up $3 billion per year, and $1 billion will be spent on the Food for Peace program. The Bill also has very positive elements. Some money has been allotted for the support of
a new generation of farmers and ranchers, and assistance is being offered to farmers and ranchers transitioning to organic production. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Resources have also been given a little more money to provide resources and funding for our farmers and ranchers. But it is not the new funding for progressive programs which draws the most attention to this Bill, but it’s perpetuation of the controversial status quo. For this, the current proposed U.S. Farm Bill has become known by many as a bloated Bill full of tax dollar spending which does not address the Bills originating issues and referred to by some as a failure of leadership. The U.S. Farm Bill was created in the 1930’s during the Great Depression and intended to be a consumer and tax-payer friendly means to alleviate the poverty of struggling family farmers by increasing their income to make up for low crop prices. The extremely low prices for crops was hurting the American economy enormously and seen as an emergency situation because at the time of the Bills’ inception, 25 percent of Americans were farmers. (Continued Page 7)
We believe in hope, change, and the power of a free market economy. We believe in the power of a consumer. And we believe all of THAT is very NATURAL!
Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo (HARP)
Putting the Power in the Consumer’s Hands - That’s Natural!