Delivering Farm Bill Reform: Oxfam’s Recipe for Success

Posted: 10 December 2007

US Senate leaders recently ended weeks of partisan disputes by limiting the number of amendments to the 2007 Farm Bill. The Senate will vote on key amendments this week, including the FRESH Act and the Dorgan-Grassley Payment Limits Amendment.

As the Senate prepared to vote on the Farm Bill, Oxfam America sent senators a unique holiday greeting: a gift basket containing subsidized cotton, fair trade products, and our recipe for a fresh and wholesome 2007 Farm Bill.

“Tired of reheating the same old 2002 Farm Bill?” reads the recipe. “Laden with commodity subsidies, it does little to improve the health of American agriculture. This year, use this simple recipe to bake up a 2007 Farm Bill that the whole country—in fact the whole world—can enjoy.”

Oxfam is calling on the US Senate to reform the Farm Bill and reduce misguided agricultural subsidies that harm poor farmers at home and abroad. Instead, the money should be redirected to programs that feed hungry families, protect the environment, and help minority farmers.

The recipe’s ingredients for success:

3 cups of the FRESH Act, a comprehensive reform package developed by Senators Richard Lugar and Frank Lautenberg that would create a more effective safety net for farmers and comply with international trade rules
2 cups of the payment limits amendment proposed by Senators Byron Dorgan and Charles Grassley
1 package (12 oz.) of cotton subsidy reform
1 package of full funding for socially disadvantaged farmers
1 dash of good, old-fashioned common sense

Members of the Oxfam Action Corps—a volunteer—led initiative working to mobilize support for Oxfam’s work—hand-delivered gift baskets with the recipe for reform to nearly 50 Senate offices in states from California to Virginia.

Stephen Lauer, leader of the Oxfam Action Corps in Iowa, traveled to Des Moines to present the gift basket to Senator Tom Harkin’s staff. The basket included a tally of constituents’ calls for reform and copies of local news editorials advocating Farm Bill reform.

“The Senator’s aide immediately realized what the cotton represented, and he liked the presentation of the recipe,” Lauer said. “It was definitely an innovative way to get his attention.”

The timing for delivery of the gift baskets (during the Senate’s Thanksgiving recess) was critical. “It’s important that senators know that the people they represent are in favor of Farm Bill reform, and the best time to reach them is when they are home in their states,” said Lauer. “They need to hear what the people at home want and bring that message back with them to Washington.”

Oxfam’s recipe for reform generated positive buzz on Capitol Hill, including an article in the influential publication Congressional Quarterly.

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“Actions like this have changed the course of the debate—people are really listening to the message of reform,” said Lauer. “If we can keep the pressure on, we might really be able to see something change.”

To take action, call your Senator immediately and urge yes votes on both the Dorgan-Grassley Payment Limits Amendment and the Lugar-Lautenberg FRESH Amendment—two important ingredients in the fight against poverty and injustice.