To make our coalition effective, we need to take action –
on the local, state, and national level. Whether it be a phone call to your representative or a conversation with another shopper at the grocery store, YOU make the difference in the vitality of our family farms across the nation.
Lead by example! Every time you go to the grocery story, eat at a fast food restaurant or pop open a can of soda, you are shaping our children's future. Your dollar is a vote for the future determining whether rural landscapes prosper or wilt under the dominant industrialized system.
This section of our web site will be updated to reflect actions
requested by our members and our allies in our fight to change
our nation’s farm and food policy.
1) Schedule meetings with your representative or Senators to discuss the issues family farmers and rural communities need to see action.
2) Contribute your thoughts and input on future farm policy! There is now a web-based farm bill feedback form on the House Committee on Agriculture website. The 2002 Farm Bill expires in September 2007 and field hearings are happening all across the country to gather feedback from producers so please utilize the online form in addition to participating in the regional sessions.
Read on about NFFC's position on the 2007 Farm Bill.
3) The National Family Farm Coalition and the Farmer to Farmer Campaign, together with a number of farm, environmental and consumer groups filed a lawsuit on February 16, 2006, alleging that the USDA's deregulation of GE alfalfa was based on a fatally flawed Environmental Assessment and demanded that the agency's action to permit commercialization of Monsanto's Roundup Ready (RR) Alfalfa be rescinded.
It is imperative that in the weeks ahead we do our best to raise the visibility of the problems associated with GE alfalfa. GE Alfalfa seed has been distributed to seed dealers although there is not a clear understanding of which states were targeted for the release. We will be preparing model op-eds and letters to the editor which we encourage you to submit to newspapers and ag publications. It is our hope that by publicizing the issue, farmers who are considering planting RR Alfalfa will have second thoughts. We are also looking for farmers interested in providing statements in support of the lawsuit which focus on problems that they anticipate if GE Alfalfa is planted in their area. If you are interested, read on.
Helpful Hint: If you want to find out who staffs your members, go to www.congress.org, click U.S. Congress under Elected Officials on the left bar, search for your member, click on his/her name when it appears, click on Staff Members (under the member's picture), and you will get a list of all the lead staff in addition to the general phone line and location of their office. Please call the NFFC office if you need help with your search: 202-543-5675.
