Farm bill needs to be
updated for current needs

Speaking of Religion
The Rev. Dr. Tim Griffin

"If our African farmers did not have to compete with heavily subsidized crops from the Unites States, they would be able to send more of our children to school, provide better diets for their families and reinvest in the farming sector. We ask senators to hear these voices — far from this place — that want nothing more than a fair chance to grow their crops, to sell what they produce and to make a living for themselves and their children." — Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Kabore of Kaya in West Africa.

One of the promises of globalization, i.e., the opening of markets around the world to free trade, is that it will improve the lives of people living in poverty the world over by making goods available at lower prices. In addition, when restrictions on trade are removed, globalization promises to provide fairer prices and therefore a better standard of living to those who produce goods world wide.
In short, it would seem to be a win-win situation. Sadly, the case is often otherwise, and the promise of globalization is thwarted by greed and protectionism. Nowhere is this more true than in the area of agriculture.
The farm bill, as it has come to be known, came into existence in the 1930s as a way to protect American farmers from the uncertainties of the market and the unpredictability of nature. This was, of course, the age of the depression and the dust bowl, and the farm bill was designed to ensure that farmers were able to continue their agricultural output despite the dire economic situation that was then confronting the United States and, indeed, the entire world.
To this end, the farm bill provided subsidies on agricultural products so that farmers could afford to continue to grow crops despite the low prices at which the goods could be sold at market. Thus as originally conceived, the farm bill was just and compassionate legislation.
In the decades since the original farm bill, the industry has changed considerably. The most significant change has been a substantial decline in the number of small farms and a concurrent rise in large-scale farming by conglomerates and corporations. The age of the small farmer who lives on the land and struggles to make ends meet is largely at an end. Farming is now big business with large profit margins for the corporations that own the property.
Given these changes, justice and compassion now demand new measures. In particular, subsidies designed to ensure a viable and stable farming industry are no longer necessary. In fact, as the farming industry has evolved, the original motivations of justice, compassion and protecting the way of life of small farmers have been undermined by the subsidies provided by the farm bill.
Instead, the subsidies have provided an incentive for corporate farmers to buy up large tracts of land, effectively eliminating the small farms that were once such an important part of the American way of life. In addition, these subsidies contribute to world poverty by enabling large farming interests in the United States to sell agricultural products below market prices thereby undercutting farmers in developing countries which do not subsidize their farming industries. And as taxpayers we end up subsidizing these large farms.
Thus, according to Alexander Baumgarten, international policy analyst in the Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations: "Currently, more than three-quarters of U.S. commodity payments go to the largest 10 percent of farms, with small- and medium-sized family farms frequently left out of the system."
The farm bill, which expires every five years, will need to be renewed before the end of 2007. Certain amendments have been proposed to limit or eliminate subsidies received by large farms and to offer protection to small at-risk farms.
Fortunately, President George W. Bush has vowed to veto the farm bill if it is not redrafted to include these more equitable provisions, which will eliminate the windfall to large farmers, protect small farmers and level the playing field for farmers in developing nations. However, we can also act to prevent Congress from passing an unjust farm bill by notifying our congressional representatives in Washington and urging them to reject the farm bill unless it contains provisions to correct the injustices of the present bill. ••
Father Tim Griffin is priest-in-charge at the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, at 1946 Welsh Road in Bustleton.