NSAC's Blog
NSAC Members Set 2012 Agenda
January 27, 2012
A movement-building haiku from NSAC’s grassroots planning session
Earlier this week, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) held its semi-annual member meeting near Reisterstown, Maryland. Every winter, NSAC members discuss, debate, and vote on the coalition’s priorities for the year. In the coming year, NSAC will work with Congress and the Administration to:
- Create jobs and spur economic growth through food and farms.
- Invest in the future of American agriculture.
- Reward farmers and ranchers for the environmental benefits that they produce.
- Drive innovation for tomorrow’s farmers and food entrepreneurs.
- Equip America’s rural communities for economic growth and prosperity.
- Restore integrity and fiscal responsibility in farm policy.
- Preserve our natural resources while improving the farm safety net.
In addition to farm bill and agricultural appropriations campaigns, members also voted to make forthcoming Food and Drug Administration food safety regulations a campaign, to defend legislative victories for family farms, conservation, local food, and organic agriculture.
Two NSAC member groups, Future Harvest – Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture and the Center for a Livable Future, hosted the meeting. The meeting focused on setting 2012 policy priorities and fiscal year 2013 appropriations priorities, and on refining NSAC’s grassroots strategy for the 2012 Farm Bill and beyond.
NSAC members in discussion at the winter meeting
Work on the 2012 Farm Bill continues in Congress this winter, and attendees engaged in lively and meaningful work to set NSAC’s Farm Bill policy platform into motion. Members came together to prioritize key reforms and programs that are crucial to building health, prosperity, and equity for our nation’s farms, ranches, and communities.
After two full days of priority setting and policy discussions, NSAC members spent a day meeting with their Representatives and Senators on the 2012 priority issues they had just voted on – including working lands conservation and conservation partnerships, local and regional food systems development, support for beginning farmers, sustainable agriculture research, and fair and effective food safety rules.
Kim Leval, of the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides
Categories: General Interest