B A M B O O S O N G

Okay, so I’ve been doing a little bit of research. My previous post about Telling congress to fix our food policy - is just one of the issues that has come out of this thing called the Farm Bill. Wikipedia says that:

The U.S. farm bill is the primarily agricultural and food policy tool of the Federal government of the United States. The comprehensive omnibus bill is passed every several years by the United States Congress and deals with both agriculture and all other affairs under the purview of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Congress and the executive branch are currently considering proposals for the 2007 U.S. Farm Bill to replace the current farm bill, which expired in September 2007. Farms bills can be highly controversial and can impact international trade, environmental preservation, food safety, and the well-being of rural communities. The agricultural subsidy programs mandated by the farm bills are the subject of intense debate both within the U.S. and internationally.

That certainly makes sense now. I have just scanned a few articles…and I am sensing a strong theme throughout. Take a look at these titles:

• Farm Bill feeds greed (la times)
  
• Stuck on the Farm (washington post)
• Bush says ‘Bloated’ Farm Bill Rewards Millionaires (bloomberg)

Here is the link to the USDA page about the Farm Bill:

So….it has a wide range of who it affects, both domestically and internationally. Any further thoughts? I’m sleepy…