WILLIAM C. VELASQUEZ INSTITUTE (WCVI) TO LAUNCH SIX STATE EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN ON THE 2007 FARM BILL
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San Antonio, Texas. The William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI) announced today that it is launching a six state effort aimed at educating state and local governments, community organizations and the media on the importance of the 2007 federal farm policy review and reform process. The six states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Texas. A review of current federal farm policy, which outlines provisions on items such as commodity programs, trade, conservation and food stamps, is before the U.S. Congress this summer and fall.
Latino and other socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers are the fastest growing sector of agricultural owners and operators in the nation. Most of them do not benefit from the commodity program payments, which consume half of all farm spending. Commodity subsidies also distort trade and displace farmers and ranchers in developing countries in Africa and Latin America. Over the past two years WCVI has been working to expand national and regional collaboration to deepen understanding about common sense agriculture reforms, including outreach and education to specialty crop producers, farm workers, Latino and other minority leaders, hunger and nutrition networks, and conservative groups. WCVI will expand its outreach this week by launching a non-partisan educational and outreach initiative directed at community leaders, local government, and the media in the six states.
Congressmen Joe Baca (D-California) and Ron Kind (D-Wisconsin) have taken the lead to assure that fairer, greener, and healthier policies are considered by Congress this year through their bills, the NOURISH Act (HR 2401) and The Healthy Farms, Food and Fuels Act of 2007 (HR 1551), respectively.
"More and more, Americans are discovering how farm policy can affect us all. Shortsighted policy choices made can trade food for fuel creating hunger where abundance was once the rule. Unhealthy choices can foist less nutritious foods upon disadvantaged urban communities exacerbating near epidemics in obesity, especially among our youth. Unfair policy choices can subsidize the richest farmers to dump cheap crops on developing countries, driving vulnerable producers out of business and into the undocumented migrant stream to America. All of these undesirable outcomes are avoidable if our government considers and enacts fairer, greener, and healthier policy choices. But this will only happen if "main street" America is made aware of the common sense alternatives readily available to Congress" said Antonio Gonzalez, president of WCVI.
William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI) founded in 1985 is a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible organization whose mission is to increase Latino participation in America's democratic process. WCVI has a longstanding policy of educating Latino and non-Latino leaders, the public, and the media on issues of importance to the U.S. Latino community, as well as relevant demographic, economic, political trends and characteristics within the Latino community. For more information, see www.wcvi.org.
