On Wednesday, February 14th, the California Food and Justice Coalition will hold a 12pm "Speak-Out and Eat-In for a Fair and Healthy Farm Bill" at the UN Plaza Farmers Market (1182 Market Street), near Nancy Pelosi's office. Participants will urge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to have a heart and support a Fair and Healthy Food and Farm Bill, one that "stops subsidizing corporate agribusiness at the expense of public health and instead invests our tax dollars into creating a sustainable, healthy, community-driven and just food system." Speakers will include: Bryant Terry, eco-chef, author, and Food and Society Policy Fellow; the California Food and Justice Coalition; Shyaam Shabaka, Founder and Director of the Eco-Village Farm Learning Center; local farmers; community anti-hunger advocates; Peggy De Silva from Veritable Vegetable, the oldest organic produce distributor in the U.S.; and San Francisco’s Alemany Farm. After the speakout, participants will walk to Nancy Pelosi's office to deliver their message.

During an era of global food insecurity and chronic hunger, where 800 million a day go hungry, small farmers worldwide are struggling to survive in a consolidated agricultural industry, while soil erosion, water and air pollution and pesticides threaten everyone's health and farmland, and poor communities in the United States have little access to affordable, accessible, healthy food. The U.S. Farm Bill shapes this broken food system. The passage of the 2007 Farm Bill through Congress has been marked by unprecedented and previously unseen public demand for reform, which has compelled California’s urban legislators to begin to vote in against this bill.

Some Representatives are cobbling together a Farm Bill from the different House and Senate versions, and deciding how much money to allocate to each program. Neither of these bills includes significant reform of commodity programs, but Speaker Pelosi has the opportunity to use her power to negotiate for meaningful reforms that will begin to transform the food system – steps like limiting subsidy payments to people who are actually farming, and closing loop-holes that allow mega-farms to receive mega-payments. Organizers also hope to ensure that vital food and farm justice programs like the Community Food Projects Grants Program, which gives grants to small food justice organizations like the Ecology Center, and the Minority Farm Outreach Program, which helps minority farmers to access Federal Government support programs.

This event is intended to be an opportunity to listen to, connect with, learn from, and get involved in important local programs and campaigns to improve the bay area’s food system. Organizers hope that participants will bring a "hearty lunch that reflects the kinds of foods you think our Farm Bill should support." CFJC will hold a banner- and sign- making party on Saturday, February 9th from 12pm to 4pm at 3208 Shattuck Ave in Berkeley.

California Food and Justice Coalition | Some recent posts to Indybay: Kwanzaa Karamu: 2007 Farm Bill and Black Agribusiness Feast | 12/15/07: Cloning Amendment in Farm Bill Passes | 12/11: Senate Gets Moving - Farm Bill Update | 11/13: CFJC Farm Bill Update | 5/1/2007: Organic Farmers Demand Their Fair Share in the 2007 Farm Bill | 2007 Farm Bill: Seeds of Justice, Seeds of Hope | Grist: How the Feds make bad food cheaper than good food | Rural Farm Coalition: Farm and Food Policy Diversity Initiative