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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

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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”!

# 150:

3:39 pm PDT, May 9, Amanda Richards, Indiana

# 149:

3:37 pm PDT, May 9, Myindians JK, South Carolina

# 148:

3:37 pm PDT, May 9, Flor Valle, Texas

# 147:

3:35 pm PDT, May 9, Linda Reiss, Minnesota

# 146:

3:34 pm PDT, May 9, Brian Reynolds, New Jersey

# 145:

3:34 pm PDT, May 9, Ivonne Maldonado, Florida

# 144:

3:32 pm PDT, May 9, Gerry Song, Connecticut

# 143:

3:30 pm PDT, May 9, Name not displayed, North Carolina

# 142:

3:30 pm PDT, May 9, Alan Flood, Massachusetts

# 141:

3:28 pm PDT, May 9, Bill Digiglio, Pennsylvania

# 140:

3:28 pm PDT, May 9, Alex Snydman, Massachusetts

# 139:

3:25 pm PDT, May 9, Anika Brown, California

# 138:

3:22 pm PDT, May 9, Elizabeth Dunn, New York

# 137:

3:21 pm PDT, May 9, Daniel Herman, California

# 136:

3:19 pm PDT, May 9, John Hatton, Vermont

# 135:

3:16 pm PDT, May 9, Ali Khan, Illinois

# 134:

3:14 pm PDT, May 9, Leslie Washington, Georgia

# 133:

3:12 pm PDT, May 9, Karen Brooks, California

# 132:

3:12 pm PDT, May 9, Claire Decock, Oregon

# 131:

3:08 pm PDT, May 9, Cyndi Lauritsen, Florida

# 130:

3:06 pm PDT, May 9, Brian JP Craig, New Jersey

# 129:

3:06 pm PDT, May 9, Jeff Salvaryn, California

# 128:

3:05 pm PDT, May 9, Teresa Campos, Portugal

# 127:

3:04 pm PDT, May 9, Mike Cohn, Michigan

# 126:

3:03 pm PDT, May 9, William Weaver, Michigan
People should not have to go to bed hungry.

# 125:

3:03 pm PDT, May 9, Pinkyjain Pan, California

# 124:

3:02 pm PDT, May 9, John Sedia, Pennsylvania

# 123:

3:01 pm PDT, May 9, Anna Santucci, Texas

# 122:

2:59 pm PDT, May 9, Enrique Machare, New York

# 121:

2:59 pm PDT, May 9, JoAnne Perdue, Florida
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

# 120:

2:58 pm PDT, May 9, Name not displayed, Italy

# 119:

2:57 pm PDT, May 9, BRANDI CREAMER, Alabama

# 118:

2:56 pm PDT, May 9, Richard Cedor, Texas
We need to do all that we can as a Nation to help those less fortunate than us. We are a Nation of caring and compassion, let's prove it.

# 117:

2:55 pm PDT, May 9, Pat Turrigiano, California
The current food crisis is only the tip of the iceberg. Impending food shortages, and climate change, are going to continue to impact the poort people of the world unless we do something to rectify programs in place which keep the poorer nations from being able to compete in production of food. We must help people in need and set up subsidies so they can again produce food to sustain themselves. It is free trade agreements, all of which benefit the powerful nations, that are creating this desparate situation where poor people have stopped producing their own food because they can't affort to do so. We helped make this problem and we need to be a part of the solution. t

# 116:

2:55 pm PDT, May 9, James Teiper, California

# 115:

2:52 pm PDT, May 9, Felicity Figueroa, California

# 114:

2:52 pm PDT, May 9, Ed Fernandez, California

# 113:

2:50 pm PDT, May 9, Robin Davis, Pennsylvania

# 112:

2:49 pm PDT, May 9, Colleen Clifford, California

# 111:

2:46 pm PDT, May 9, Jeff Hopkins, Illinois

# 110:

2:45 pm PDT, May 9, Kim Buyens, Belgium

# 109:

2:45 pm PDT, May 9, Nancy Warner, New York

# 108:

2:43 pm PDT, May 9, Valerie Guinan, California

# 107:

2:42 pm PDT, May 9, Gail Flackett, Massachusetts
not only for humanitarian reasons, but for all of our survival. Without food there will be chaos that will spread to the globe.

# 106:

2:40 pm PDT, May 9, River Stone, Oregon

# 105:

2:38 pm PDT, May 9, Douglas Holstein, North Carolina

# 104:

2:37 pm PDT, May 9, Cheryl Vosburg, Virginia

# 103:

2:35 pm PDT, May 9, Leila Dashtara, Virginia

# 102:

2:34 pm PDT, May 9, Efuan Simms, California

# 101:

2:34 pm PDT, May 9, John Wallack, California

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