Rural Life Ministry

Support for the 2007 Farm Bill:

The production and availability of food is the ultimate necessity for life itself, and therefore is a principle matter of justice-justice to our farmers and farm laborers, justice to the food producers and just pricing and safety for all of us as food consumers. The Madison Diocesan Office of Justice and Pastoral Outreach is partnering with other statewide diocesan social justice offices, National Catholic Rural life Conference, Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities, US Catholic Bishops, and “the Religious Working Group” to coordinate efforts in support of the reauthorization of the 2007 Farm Bill, which will be introduced before Congress in August.

The most basic requirement of agricultural policies should be providing food for all people while allowing farmers and farm workers a fair price for their crops or just wages for their labor. We need to be conscious as well of the need for just earnings to farmers outside our national border for their survival determines the survival of millions throughout our world. We are responsible for all our brothers and sisters and as a nation that is richly blessed with resources we are rightly responsible for a fair and equitable distribution of the harvest to sustain life while promoting safe and nutritional food standards for all.

While the Farm Bill for 2007 is not yet a specific bill members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are preparing policy positions. Input from concerned Catholic voters could help develop a sound and just farm bill in some of the following areas:

•  Expand programs that reduce hunger and improve nutrition in the U.S.
•  Provide direct food aid to hungry people throughout the world
•  Combat rural poverty and strengthen rural communities through increased investments
•  Support policies that promote good stewardship of the land
•  Provide healthcare opportunities to farmers and protect health and safety of farm workers
•  Continued research in alternative and renewable forms of energy
•  Strengthen and improve the Food Stamp program.

Our letter writing efforts to legislators regarding the 2007 Farm Bill can serve as great motivation for their support of specific policies that directly impact the battle to eliminate hunger while building up our rural communities. Join the campaign for justice on the farm, in the fields, and on our dinner tables as we work to create fair and equitable legislation for all people.

Tom Nelson/Associate Director
Office of Justice & Pastoral Outreach