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Urgent: Farm Bill Can Help End Food Crisis

Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: Oxfam America

BREAKING NEWS, 16 MAY 2008: The Farm Bill has now passed both in the House and Senate. Thank you to everyone spoke out on this issue.

The world is faced with a global food crisis. The prices of wheat, rice, and maize are skyrocketing.

Don't let Congress pass up a major opportunity to help address the food crisis by shifting payments for wealthy farmers to desperately needed funding to help the hungry around the world. Congress is in final negotiations on the Farm Bill and this legislation could make a difference. Some farmers making up to a million dollars a year receive support from the farm bill, but the poor affected by the food crisis do not. Does that sound right to you?

The farm bill could come to a final vote as early as Wednesday, May 14. Your urgent action is required!

Even a small cut in subsidies to rich farmers could provide funds to help millions who are hungry. Poor people around the world cannot wait any longer. Please tell Congress to address the food crisis today.

deadline: Ongoing...
goal: 10,000

9,731
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I am writing to request your urgent action to address the spiraling food crisis affecting poor countries around the world. Recent food price shocks highlight the need for immediate actions to address the growing food insecurity in developing countries.

As the donor for nearly half the world's food aid, the US has a special role to play in responding to the current situation. That is why we urge you to make the Farm Bill a more effective vehicle to help address world hunger. We would like to draw your attention to two issues that would help address the global hunger crisis.

First, support the Administration's initiative to shift one quarter of US food aid to local and regional procurement. Making the US food aid program more flexible and faster will save taxpayer dollars and feed more hungry people.
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Second, remove the so-called "hard earmark"-or provide a workable waiver-so that food aid funds can be shifted from non-emergency aid in the event of emergencies. Both the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill included measures to prohibit the shifting of funds within the food aid budget. While the rationale behind this measure is fundamentally sound, to protect development oriented food aid programs, the impact could be disastrous if it means that funds would not be available in the case of emergencies.

Tens of millions of people rely on American food aid to survive. Americans should be proud of this critical contribution to addressing global hunger. But Congress needs to ensure that our food aid programs are as efficient and effective as possible. Permitting the use of local purchase and shifting of funds within the food aid budget would help in this regard.

I thank you for your consideration.
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Sincerely,
[Your name here]

We took action on “Urgent: Farm Bill Can Help End Food Crisis”!

# 9,700:

8:38 am PDT, May 16, Nancy Knott, Rhode Island
In a time of record profit for oil companies, hunger is rampant. No one wants gluttonous waste of money for the well off. Everyone wants a program that will use our resources to stop starvation, use our wealth,powerand creativity to speed aid where it is most needed. Please help make it our legacy-a future of self respect.

# 9,699:

8:37 am PDT, May 16, Carole McAuliffe, Massachusetts

# 9,698:

8:35 am PDT, May 16, Kathryn Stark, California

# 9,697:

8:33 am PDT, May 16, Susan Beasley, Texas

# 9,696:

8:32 am PDT, May 16, Estella Frazer, Delaware

# 9,695:

8:29 am PDT, May 16, Name not displayed, California

# 9,694:

8:25 am PDT, May 16, PauLa Doty Katz, Virginia
The aid to farmers was started to support small family farmers who were struggling to make a living for their families. As small farms got gobbled up by large farm conglomerate groups, the need for the subsidies became a parody of paying money to the wealthy land owners who had never sat on a tractor nor planted crops. I was very distressed to read some years ago that this money was being paid to people living in luxury, not in farm houses, who were not needy... these funds need to be used to do what they were set up to do, help those who are hungry, poor, and low income families... Pouring milk out, and burning crops to keep prices high when there are starving people around the globe and hungry people in our own country is dispicable and should be outlawed.

# 9,693:

8:24 am PDT, May 16, Beth Miller, Texas

# 9,692:

8:24 am PDT, May 16, Heather Keller, Indiana
They can't help themselves. Their government works against them, sound familiar?

# 9,691:

8:20 am PDT, May 16, Estella Moore, Colorado

# 9,690:

8:18 am PDT, May 16, Allison Carruth, California
I am writing to urge you to vote against the current Farm Bill, which provides subsidies for industrial and large-scale farming of crops that are currently being overproduced while it does very little to address the following critical issues (1) famine (2) organic and sustainable agriculture and (3) responsible management of grasslands, wetlands, and other ecosystems, and (4) the humane and healthy raising and processing of animals. I will be voting in November based on how my representatives vote on this bill.

# 9,689:

8:15 am PDT, May 16, Dorrine Paynter, New Jersey
No one should go hungry.You need to help and it also must start at at home.Walk a mile in others shoes.

# 9,688:

8:13 am PDT, May 16, Sawkat Hossain, New York
County I am from needs help and I believed USA not only superpower, it's also has supper heart...please help the poor countries!!!!!

# 9,687:

8:11 am PDT, May 16, Jenna Zagoren, Massachusetts

# 9,686:

8:11 am PDT, May 16, David Schulz, Illinois

# 9,685:

8:10 am PDT, May 16, Aleksandra Lachcik, Poland

# 9,684:

8:09 am PDT, May 16, Hannah Leucht, Germany

# 9,683:

8:05 am PDT, May 16, Hazel Tomim, Florida

# 9,682:

8:04 am PDT, May 16, John Stelling, Minnesota

# 9,681:

8:04 am PDT, May 16, Patricia Clore, Indiana

# 9,680:

8:03 am PDT, May 16, John Mckiernan-gonzalez, Texas

# 9,679:

8:02 am PDT, May 16, Heather Prine, Utah

# 9,678:

8:00 am PDT, May 16, Eleanora Jacobsen, Florida
Food instead of weapons is the answer to many of our Worlds Ills. If you fund feeding hunger with the same $$$ you provide for bullets no one on this Earth would starve or die because of lack of food.

# 9,677:

7:56 am PDT, May 16, Kevin Leecaster, Idaho

# 9,676:

7:56 am PDT, May 16, Mscsrrr Program, New York

# 9,675:

7:55 am PDT, May 16, Debra Baker, Texas

# 9,674:

7:54 am PDT, May 16, Grace Sullivan, Massachusetts

# 9,673:

7:54 am PDT, May 16, Julie Johnson, South Dakota

# 9,672:

7:54 am PDT, May 16, Sharon Wilson, New York

# 9,671:

7:54 am PDT, May 16, Natalie Van Leekwijck, Belgium

# 9,670:

7:53 am PDT, May 16, Janice Metelak, Wisconsin

# 9,669:

7:51 am PDT, May 16, Elena DeBold, Maryland

# 9,668:

7:48 am PDT, May 16, Ray Mowery, Pennsylvania

# 9,667:

7:44 am PDT, May 16, Daryl Black, New Mexico

# 9,666:

7:43 am PDT, May 16, Breeze Kinnett, North Carolina
With gas and food prices soaring and the housing crisis leaving many homeless as well, a major crisis is developing for many American families. Many of us can no longer afford gas to go to work, food to feed our children, and keeping a roof over our heads. In a country where many the wealthy end of society can spend more than a thousand dollars a plate on fancy dinners, there is no excuse for poor families all over the country to struggle to feed their children. Something must be done about this inequality in standards of living NOW.

# 9,665:

7:41 am PDT, May 16, Ginger Brinlee, California

# 9,664:

7:38 am PDT, May 16, Lori Reeves, Rhode Island

# 9,663:

7:36 am PDT, May 16, Nancy Ahonen, Massachusetts

# 9,662:

7:34 am PDT, May 16, Christopher Meister, California

# 9,661:

7:32 am PDT, May 16, Susan Dunbar, Massachusetts
As the daughter of a former farmer, I feel the entire subsidy system needs an overhaul. This seems a very good place to start.

# 9,660:

7:32 am PDT, May 16, Lora Price, Colorado

# 9,659:

7:32 am PDT, May 16, G Ranen, New York
Someone needs to be told why poor people around the world need food???

# 9,658:

7:30 am PDT, May 16, Name not displayed, Texas

# 9,657:

7:24 am PDT, May 16, Diana Dandeo, New Jersey

# 9,656:

7:23 am PDT, May 16, Janis Totham-Davies, Maryland
Let's make the Farm Bill work for the people who need it most in the world.

# 9,655:

7:22 am PDT, May 16, Jack Hobbs, Florida

# 9,654:

7:19 am PDT, May 16, Lisa Harmon, Tennessee

# 9,653:

7:17 am PDT, May 16, Marian Lynn, Montana
I am proud as an American citizen to know that we can be generous to the hungry in our country and the world. I understand the bill has been critisized for the huge cost. It is a complicated bill and I do want money to go to the needy not wealthy farmers. We seem to be facing a food crisis for all hard working American families too. I would like our government to keep safe, healthy affordable food a priority. We must always feed the hungry.

# 9,652:

7:16 am PDT, May 16, Todd Catto, California

# 9,651:

7:14 am PDT, May 16, Jennifer Woolums, Indiana
Please help restore the US's reputation as a leader (in every sense of the word) to others around the world. Support those who need help the most.

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