My Forbidden Fruits (and Vegetables)

[jpak]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/opinion/01hedin.html?_r=1&em&ex=1204606800&en=dd5832c47ea07bc0&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

IF you’ve stood in line at a farmers’ market recently, you know that the local food movement is thriving, to the point that small farmers are having a tough time keeping up with the demand.

But consumers who would like to be able to buy local fruits and vegetables not just at farmers’ markets, but also in the produce aisle of their supermarket, will be dismayed to learn that the federal government works deliberately and forcefully to prevent the local food movement from expanding. And the barriers that the United States Department of Agriculture has put in place will be extended when the farm bill that House and Senate negotiators are working on now goes into effect.

As a small organic vegetable producer in southern Minnesota, I know this because my efforts to expand production to meet regional demand have been severely hampered by the Agriculture Department’s commodity farm program.

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[JDPriestly]

1. Kicked and recommended!

Thanks for posting something important -- something other than the Hillary/Obama squabble.

The dominance of agriculture by the interests of the large agri-corporations is affecting American health as we eat corn, corn, corn, corn, corn and don't even know it. Corn is great, but we need good, fresh vegetables that are picked when they are ripe, not when they are green.

[rosesaylavee]

2. K & R

Time we take back our groceries too.

[Egalitarian]

3. Too late to recommend, but ...

This is important folks. I'm taking a an organic farming course at our local community college and one of our assigned readings is a book called "Food Fight", which discusses the Farm Bill.

It's eye opening.

[northernsoul]

4. too late to R, so just a K

Thanks!