Sneaky sneaky, not NAIS at all: We’re not fans of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), which would force small farmers and hobbyists as well as giganto agribusiness to tag and track every animal in the U.S., but we’re agog at that senator Tom Harkin would havethe nerve to sneak a provision in the Livestock Title of the current Farm Bill language to exempt disclosure of NAIS information. Thankfully, the Society of Professional Journalists is all over this provision, which oh, violates all sorts of freedoms in the name of security." (Now where have we heard that before?) Add it to your spiel when you call your senators this week. (Press release)
Pour us a drink — we have a whiplash-induced migraine: As we pointed to Friday, Britt Lundgren, an Agricultural Policy Fellow at Environmental Defense, posts a strong rebuttal of Tom Philpott’s recent column about the idea that commodity subsidies may not be the root cause of overproduction. "Supporters of farm bill reform recognize that it is possible and necessary to replace our antiquated system of farm subsidies with a cost-effective farm safety net that works for all farmers," she writes. (Gristmill)
Food, Farming, & Food Politics events calendar
Humor:
