Will we see a Farm Bill soon?
Now that Congress has settled on a new speaker, hopefully we will see a Farm Bill within the next few weeks.
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One can only hope Congress gets a few things right in this monolithic piece of legislation.
The farm bill is usually Conservatives’ nightmare.
It is filled with government subsidies in the form of food stamps, crop subsidies, and other handouts for farmers.
It is a tangled mess of “good intentions” and terrible policies. You probably have your own opinions about this anyway, we don’t have to go too far down the rabbit hole of facts and figures.
The only way to create true food security is to return the rights and responsibility of food production back to the communities.
Will we see this from this year’s Farm Bill?
We can hope so.
2 members of Congress are visionary enough to lead the way. Reps Thomas Massie and Chellie Pingree.
Both are small farmers.
They are from different parties, but they see the importance of local food. They see the imperative that American food security rests firmly on the shoulders of Americans – not within the monopolistic corporations raping the earth and our communities.
True food security need not be a responsibility forced upon farmers alone. They’ve borne this burden for far too long and at a great cost.
We must join them in shouldering this responsibility.
We must reclaim the knowledge and wisdom of food production and food processing alongside our farmers.
They are the ones who can show us how to turn grass into milk and meat.
They are the safekeepers of earthly wisdom that brings food forth from the soil.
And, we must in turn, support our neighbors who want to learn the art of processing food, the butchers, the millers, the cheesemakers and charcuterie makers and all those who are involved in our food processing chain.
They are the artisans.
Where does this begin?
It begins with holding onto the vision of food security IN our communities, not through government subsidies, but the only way that can offer true food security–through our communities’ ability to produce our own food.
This is the first step to reclaiming our food systems FOR US.
Without the ability to acquire free food through our own autonomous efforts, we have no freedom. We have only dependence.
What the government giveth, the government can taketh away.
Perhaps we will wake up and realize that the power to feed ourselves and our communities is ours.
It always has been and it always will be.
While food stamps are the system in place for this at the moment, reliance on that program can become exponentially less if we truly embrace our ability to produce and process food on the local levels.
Whether planting a small balcony herb garden or volunteering at our local family farm or co-op, we can find better ways – together.
About Raw Milk Mama: I believe in the freedom to feed our families how we see fit. I also see the direction that our country is going--no one wants to live in a world where food scarcity is a constant reality. It's time to take back our food systems so they serve us, not monopolistic corporations.