ADVOCACY: What you can do

Catholic social teachings are a unique contribution to make when advocating for a fair and just Farm Bill. Throughout this magazine issue we have made reference to the USCCB publication, For I was Hungry and You Gave Me Food: Catholic Reflections on Food, Farmers and Farmworkers.

We encourage you to use these Catholic social teaching references when you:
Write a letter to your Representative or Senator.
Write a letter to the editor or an opinion piece for your local newspaper.
Insert timely information into your Sunday church bulletin.
Write an article for your diocesan newspaper.
Use as background or discussion points at educational forums or sessions.
Cite it when visiting your local legislators, especially if they are Catholic.
Speak at a forum on behalf of family farming, rural communities and a sustainable environment.
Provide the information to high school or college classes.

Even though there is not yet a specific 2007 Farm Bill – that is not expected until the summer months – it still makes sense to contact our members in Congress and let them know your views. The best members to contact are the ones on the Senate and House Agriculture Committees.

Urge them to give priority to the following principles in the next Farm Bill:
Increase investments that combat rural poverty and strengthen rural communities
Strengthen and expand programs that reduce hunger and improve nutrition in the United States
Strengthen and increase investment in policies that promote conservation and good stewardship of the land
Provide transitions for farmers to alternative forms of support that are more equitable and do not distort trade in ways that fuel hunger and poverty
Protect the health and safety of farmworkers
Expand research related to alternative and renewable forms of energy
Provide direct food aid efficiently and effectively to hungry people in other nations.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

DEMOCRATS
Tom Harkin (IA), Chair
Patrick Leahy (VT)
Kent Conrad (ND)
Max Baucus (MT)
Blanche Lincoln (AR)
Debbie Stabenow (MI)
Ben Nelson (NE)
Ken Salazar (CO)
Sherrod Brown (OH)
Robert B. Casey, Jr. (PA)
Amy Klobuchar (MN)

REPUBLICANS
Saxby Chambliss (GA), Ranking Member
Richard Lugar (IN)
Thad Cochran (MS)
Mitch McConnell (KY)
Pat Roberts (KS)
Lindsey Graham (SC)
Norman Coleman (MN)
Michael Crapo (ID)
John Thune (SD)
Charles Grassley (IA)


HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY
Collin Peterson (MN), Chair
Tim Holden (PA)
Mike McIntyre (NC)
Bob Etheridge (NC)
Leonard Boswell (IA)
Joe Baca (CA)
Dennis Cardoza (CA)
David Scott (GA)
Jim Marshall (GA)
Stehpanie Herseth (SD)
Henry Cuellar (TX)
Jim Costa (CA)
John Salazar (CO)
Brad Ellsworth (IN)
Nancy Boyda (KS)
Zack Space(OH)
Tim Walz (MN)
Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
Steve Kagen (WI)
Earl Pomeroy (ND)
Lincoln Davis (TN)
John Barrow (GA)
Nick Lampson (TX)
Joe Donnelly (IN)
Tim Mahoney (FL)

REPUBLICAN MINORITY
Bob Goodlatte (VA), Ranking Member
Terry Everett (AL)
Frank Lucas (OK)
Jerry Moran (KS)
Robin Hayes (NC)
Timothy Johnson (IL)
Sam Graves (MO)
Jo Bonner (AL)
Mike Rogers (AL)
Steve King (IA)
Marilyn Musgrave (CO)
Randy Neugebauer (TX)
Charles Boustany Jr. (LA)
John "Randy" Kuhl Jr. (NY)
Virginia Foxx (NC)
K. Michael Conway (TX)
Jeff Fortenberry (NE)
Jean Schmidt (OH)
Adrian Smith (NE)
Kevin McCarthy (CA)
Tim Walberg (MI)


"The Catholic Church has a pastoral presence throughout rural America and in rural communities around the globe. Within our community of faith, farmers and farmworkers, land owners and contract growers, business owners and workers are called to the one Eucharistic table to be nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ." [For I Was Hungry, p.9; U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2003]


In their Catholic Reflections on Food, Farmers and Farmworkers (cited above), the U.S. Catholic Bishops gratefully recognize all those who stand up for rural America: "Priests, deacons, religious and other pastoral workers are often the first people to whom farm and ranch families turn when they experience stress from economic and social forces beyond their control. Rural pastors and pastoral workers serve, comfort, and stand with their people, build and form community, and care for the needy in the face of many challenges."

In the attempt to reform public policy in the next Farm Bill, it is imperative to build a coalition of solidarity that extends beyond local and rural communities. Who are the people or groups around the country who might come together in such solidarity? We can turn to Willard Cochrane and C. Ford Runge who proposed such a coalition in their 1992 book Reforming Farm Policy. Written prior to the 1996 Farm Bill, we believe their ideas still resonate today. In their judgment, the following groups could have political power if marshaled together:
farmers and their families who are dissatisfied with the present thrust of farm programs
rural leaders (religious leaders, bankers, educators, some local politicians, and some farmers) who see their communities dying
non-farm people who are concerned about the costs of existing commodity programs
urban and rural people concerned about the environment
people concerned about the quality and safety of their food
minority groups and others subject to discrimination (African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans)
retired people and the elderly, ranging from the economically well-off who seek pleasant places to retire, to the poor who need food and housing assistance
professional social workers and many social scientists
members of society who strive to improve economic and social conditions of the poor
the poor themselves, both urban and rural

The authors point out that certain of these groups are large in size and cohesive in membership; others are heterogeneous and unknown in size. Some are already politically active; others constitute a latent political force. "One thing is certain: the policy reforms proposed here will die in congressional committee as the result of pressures from existing commodity associations of large farmers, unless the groups above are mobilized in an effective manner in support of the reforms." (Reforming Farm Policy: toward a national agenda; Willard Cochrane and C. Ford Runge, Iowa State University Press, 1992.)


National Catholic Rural Life Conference
4625 Beaver Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50310-2199
(515) 270-2634
email address: ncrlc@mchsi.com
website: www.ncrlc.com

This article was published in the Spring 2007 issue of Catholic Rural Life©. No portion of this article may be reproduced without written permission from The National Catholic Rural Life Conference. To purchase the Spring 2006 issue of Catholic Rural Life, please contact The National Catholic Rural Life Conference office at 4625 Beaver Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50310-2199, call (515) 270-2634, or e-mail ncrlc@mchsi.com. The cost is $2.50 an issue plus postage and handling.