Farm Bill

Salt Lake Farm Bill Principles

The Farm Bill is the primary piece of legislation that determines our nation’s food and agriculture policy. The 15 Farm Bill titles address important issues including Food Stamps, farm, trade, conservation, rural development, research, and food safety programs.

To help solve our nation’s many health, social, economic and environmental challenges, the nation needs a comprehensive, health-focused food system that addresses the goals of hunger and disease reduction, local and family farm viability, food affordability and accessibility, environmental protection, land use planning, regional resilience, and social justice.

Good policy decisions are made through clear, transparent, and deliberative decision-making processes that involve the individuals and communities they affect. It is important that rural, urban, and suburban communities, all have a voice in determining the policies that directly affect their economic and social well-being.

Our purpose in establishing these principles is to provide a framework of values that will help guide decisions by our elected officials. These principles are meant to provide guidance for the development of policies, regulations, programs, funding opportunities, technical support and research priorities for a healthy and sustainable food system supported by the 2012 Farm Bill.

ACT NATIONALLY- Click HERE to tell the Super Committee what they can do to improve the Farm Bill OR use the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s language to call or email your representatives to let them know what you think is worth protecting.

Farm Bill in the local news

• Listen to the podcast of the SL Farm Bill Forum facilitated by the SL Mayor’s Food Policy Task Force and check out the presenters’ slides (PDF).

• Listen to another Farm Bill piece on KCPW’s CityViews.

the Salt Lake City Farm Bill Principles!

The SLC Food Policy Task Force introduced these principles at the end of our Farm Bill Forum, which was held on October 24.  Since then, we’ve posted them on our website and asked for people to help us make them better.  We have taken the suggestions and finalized the SLC Farm Bill Principles.  We sent them on to Utah’s congressional delegation, the Super Committee members, and the Chairs and ranking members of the Agriculture Appropriations in both Houses of Congress in mid-November.

Salt Lake City Farm Bill Principles
Supporting Healthy Farms, Food and People

Guidance for the 2012 Farm Bill

1 – Health-centered Food System
The driving principle of the Farm Bill must be the relationship of food and ecologically sound agriculture to public health. Food that promotes health includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, dairy, and lean protein. Improving the health of the nation’s residents, rather than simply maximizing the production of cheap calories, must be a priority in developing policies, programs, and funding.

2 – Sustainable Agricultural Practices
Promote farming systems and agricultural techniques that prioritize the protection of the environment so that the soil, air, and water will be able to continue producing an abundant food supply long into the future. Integral to both domestic and global agricultural policies should be agricultural techniques and farming practices that enhance environmental quality, increase resilience, build soil and soil fertility, protect natural resources and ecosystem diversity, preserve agricultural biodiversity, improve food safety, and increase the quality of life of communities, farmers and farm workers.

3 – Community and Regional Prosperity and Resilience
Enhance community food security by strengthening the viability of small and mid-scale farms, and increasing appropriately scaled processing facilities, distribution networks, and direct marketing. Develop strategies that foster resiliency, community self-reliance, entrepreneurship and innovation, fair competition, interdependence, and community development in both rural and urban economies. Opportunities that create stable, well-paying jobs capable of supporting healthy independent families are key to a strong economy.

4 – Equitable Access to Healthy Food
Identify opportunities and reduce barriers by developing policies and programs that increase the availability of and improve the proximity of healthy, affordable, and culturally-relevant food to urban, suburban, and rural populations. Protect the nation’s core programs that fight food insecurity and hunger while promoting vibrant, sustainable agriculture.

5 – Social Justice and Equity at Home and Abroad
The policies contained in the Farm Bill impact the lives and livelihoods of many people, both in the U.S. as well as abroad. Develop policies, programs, and strategies that support social justice, worker’s rights, farmer’s livelihoods, equal opportunity, and promote community self-reliance.

6 – Systems Approach to Policy-making
It is essential to reduce compartmentalization of policies and programs, and to approach policy decisions by assessing their impact on all aspects of the food system including production, processing, distribution, marketing, consumption, and waste management. Consider the interrelated effects of policies and align expected outcomes to meet the goal of a comprehensive health-focused food system.

The Salt Lake City Farm Bill Principles are modeled after Seattle’s City Council Farm Bill Principles.  The Salt Lake City Food Policy Task Force drafted these principles, held a Farm Bill Forum, and invited public comment on these principles.  The founding co-signers are members of the Salt Lake City Food Policy Task Force.

Founding Co-Signers

Mayor Ralph Becker, Salt Lake City
Mayor Peter Corroon
Bridget Stuchly and Brian Emerson, Salt Lake City Division of Sustainability
Ben Mates, Salt Lake Center for Engaging Community
Claire Uno, Wasatch Community Gardens
Steven Rosenberg, Liberty Heights Fresh
Jude Rubadue, Slow Food Utah, Avenues Fruit Share
James Soares, Squatters
Jen Colby, University of Utah Office of Sustainability
Ed Carr, Nicholas & Company
Gina Cornia and Mike Evans, Utahns Against Hunger
Salt Lake City Food Policy Task Force

Affiliations for identification purposes only. 

For More Information Contact:
The Salt Lake City Food Policy Task Force
slcgreen(AT)slcgov.com