intellectual properties

yes we can change farming in america

jay and i watched the documentary “King Corn” last night. perhaps because both of us come from midwestern farming families, it was a little more personal, but while a documentary about corn farming in iowa might seem mind-numbing, if you have any interest at all in food production and economics, i think it was a well-done and interesting film. even jay stayed awake for almost all of it!

the farmers in the film all seemed to feel an impending sense of doom about their lifestyles, communities, and the food system as a whole.  at this point it’s pretty much just the agri-business industry who are interested in maintaining the current food-production model in the U.S. because they are the only ones benefiting and making any money.  everyone (and everything: the plants, the animals, the land, the rivers, the trees) else is losing. and somehow, despite there being record amounts of food production, have you noticed the cost of food going through the roof yet? i have.

i’m not going to go into all the how’s and why’s that this is happening, because it’s complicated. you should see King Corn (available on netflix), or The Real Dirt on Farmer John (on netflix, a REALLY GREAT and moving film that i thought i had written about here but i guess i didn’t), or Fast Food Nation (also on netflix), or read one of Michael Pollan’s books or his Oct08 letter to Barack Obama.

RIGHT NOW, you have a chance to do something to change the USDA.   SIGN THIS PETITION from Food Democracy Now:

It’s time to get serious about sustainable change at the USDA. As a result, here at Food Democracy Now! we’ve come up with a list of twelve candidates for Under Secretary positions at the USDA. And we’re calling them the Sustainable Dozen.

These individual’s backgrounds represent the type of candidates that we expect to be appointed to these positions in the very near future.

As you may already know, while the Secretary of Agriculture is an important position, it is our understanding that Under Secretaries may actually have “more influence on the day to day workings of the agency than the Secretary.”

Time is of the essence. It is vital that you express your voice for Sustainable Change by signing on to support these candidates and those who have worked alongside this community for decades.

NOW is the time to become the Sustainable Voice for change that our nation so desperately needs.

We will deliver this petition with your comments to Secretary Vilsack once he is confirmed and President-Elect Obama to encourage them to take these issues to heart as they lead the USDA and 21st century U.S. agricultural policy into the future.

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