[Peace-discuss] Yes Magazine: Can Illinois Feed Itself?

[unionyes]

Good article Bob,

If it is successful, a complaint and lawsuit will probably be filed by some 
corporate agribusiness entity, via the WTO, and the program will be declared 
a " barrier to trade " and the corporate agribusiness entity will sue for 
damages for the " potential " loss of profits.

David J.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Naiman" <naiman.uiuc at gmail.com>
To: "Peace-discuss List" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Sent: Monday, September 14, 2009 3:46 PM
Subject: [Peace-discuss] Yes Magazine: Can Illinois Feed Itself?


http://www.yesmagazine.org/economies/eating-in

Can a Farm State Feed Itself?
A farm state tired of depending on imports, Illinois looks to local food.

by Brooke Jarvis
posted Sep 04, 2009

Illinois, home to 76,000 farms and more than 950 food manufacturing
companies, is a solidly agricultural state in the heart of America’s
bread basket. Fully 80 percent of it is farmland. But, of all the food
eaten in Illinois, only four percent is actually grown there.

Vast quantities of food are exported to other states and nations,
while similarly vast quantities are brought in to feed Illinois’
citizens.  It’s a costly arrangement that leaves too many people
without enough access to healthy fruits and vegetables.

A new bill, recently signed by Governor Patrick Quinn, will make it
easier for farmers to sell their harvests within Illinois instead of
shipping them out of state.  But first, the state had to figure out
what had been making it so hard.

The Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Act of 2009 draws on the
recommendations of a 32-member task force asked to determine Illinois’
potential for local food consumption. Illinois, the group found, has
lots of local food and lots of people willing to eat it. What’s been
missing is a way to connect them on a large scale.

The state spends tens of billions of dollars on imported food, much of
which already is or could be grown in state, and exports its own farm
produce. Local food systems developed at the community level have
flourished—in the last decade, the number of farmers’ markets in
Illinois has grown from 97 to 270, while the number of
community-supported agriculture organizations, groups that sell shares
of farm harvests directly to consumers, has more than quadrupled. But
large consumers—like hospitals, museums, restaurants, grocery stores,
corporate kitchens, schools, and universities—have found it difficult
to procure local food in the quantities they need. And, many
inner-city and rural communities in Illinois lack access to grocery
stores, markets, or other sources of fresh, healthy foods.

“Illinois’ predominant farm and food system,” the task force found,
“is designed to serve distant markets, not link farm production with
in-state markets.”

The new bill represents the state government’s commitment to
restructuring the food system so that it promotes local consumption
instead of hindering it. “It encourages Illinois farmers to respond
directly to consumers’ demand for fresh, tasty, locally produced foods
and shows how to do it,” says task force chairman Wes Jarrell, a
farmer and professor of sustainable agriculture.

Specifically, the legislation sets up a grown-in-Illinois label and
certification program, directs state agencies to purchase at least 20
percent of their food locally by 2020, and allows them to pay premium
prices for local food. One particular goal is to increase the amount
of local food served in public schools.

The law also establishes a new agency that will encourage farmers to
grow food for local markets and will help build the statewide
distribution networks needed to get their fresh produce to the people
who want to eat it.

“I believe economic development begins in the kitchen,” says Illinois
Agriculture Director Tom Jennings. “There is no question we can
produce locally grown fruits, nuts, and vegetables. We also have the
processing and packaging capabilities right here in our own backyard.
Setting up a distribution system that moves items at reasonable cost
from tree or vine to the table is the big challenge, and this
legislation is an important step toward realizing that goal.”

The state expects that increasing local food sales will bring a $30
billion boost to its economy. Distributing and selling a potato or
soybean in-state keeps the money there, helping expand local commerce
and ultimately creating new jobs and business opportunities, a
phenomenon known as the local multiplier effect. “As Illinoisans meet
the increased demand for fresh food grown within the state, every
community’s economy will see the benefits,” says state representative
Julie Hamos, who sponsored the bill in the Illinois House. “New jobs
will be created as the system to process and transport the food to
local markets is developed.” She also expects rural communities to
grow as job prospects in agricultural areas improve.

“The fact that all but a tiny percentage of the fruits, vegetables,
and meats that Illinoisans eat are produced in other states or
countries is an astonishing imbalance,” says state senator Jacqueline
Collins, who was a cosponsor of the bill. But, she added, the state
now has “an enormous opportunity” to develop a more sensible, more
local food economy.

Illinois' problem is hardly unique—the food Americans eat has traveled
an average 1500 miles to reach our plates—but the state's agricultural
production makes its lack of local distribution particularly striking.
“The fact that all but a tiny percentage of the fruits, vegetables,
and meats that Illinoisans eat are produced in other states or
countries is an astonishing imbalance,” said state senator Jacqueline
Collins, a co-sponsor of the bill. But, she added, the state now has
“an enormous opportunity” to develop a more sensible, more local food
economy.
---
Brooke Jarvis wrote this article as part of YES! Magazine's ongoing
coverage of sustainable food systems.  Brooke is YES! Magazine's web
editor.

-- 
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org

Senator Feingold Calls for Timetable for U.S. Troop Withdrawal from 
Afghanistan
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/exit-afghanistan
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