{"id":34938,"date":"2023-07-28T16:01:03","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T20:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marioninstitute.org\/?page_id=34938"},"modified":"2023-08-07T13:41:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T17:41:32","slug":"food-policy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.marioninstitute.org\/programs\/sfpc\/food-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"
At the national level, the Farm Bill encompasses the policies that define our current food system. The Farm Bill was initially established as an agriculture bill in the early 1900s because of weather and market fluctuations. However, when we “industrialized” agriculture and fishing, the policies created in the Farm Bill effectively established overproduction as the norm, as a way to make food as cheaply as possible. After World War I, in the 1930s, poor farming techniques, drought, and high winds created massive dust storms that drove thousands of families from their homes and created a large migrant population of poor, rural Americans. In response to farmers’ protests, lawmakers created policies in the Farm Bill to ensure stable food production prices by requiring mandatory idling of land, conservation of land and water provisions, subsidized food and school lunches, farm insurance, research and development for farming and fishing, and training and technical assistance for food producers. In the 1970s, food production went into overdrive, and the extra food produced went overseas as food aid, which was the beginning of the decline of small farms and the consolidation of big farm industries. Over time, the Farm Bill included the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), environmental programs, and idling land to replenish soil health. The current Farm Bill is multifaceted with health and nutrition programs, grants, research, jobs, infrastructure, conservation, insurance, and innovative research. The most heavily funded program is SNAP, followed by crop insurance.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” style=”dashed” border_width=”3″ accent_color=”#c3e7a0″ css=”.vc_custom_1690659639971{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_text font_size=”24″ line_height=”snug” color=”#cf4c27″ font_weight=”bold”]In the Southcoast area, food policy is crucial to creating a healthy local food system.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text font_size=”18″ line_height=”25px” color=”#073a6a”]While the work of the food system stakeholders (production, aggregation and distribution, food access and consumption, food recovery, and food waste) continues, the Southcoast Food Policy Council, working in multiple coalitions, creates and supports policies that ensure all residents have equal access to culturally appropriate, nutrient-dense foods.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text font_size=”18″ line_height=”25px” color=”#073a6a”]\u00a0Examples of current policies the Southcoast Food Policy Council advocates for are:<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a clear need to create policies ensuring equity, mitigating climate change, and building resilient food systems to ensure everyone can access non-toxic and nutritious food.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text font_size=”18″ line_height=”25px” color=”#073a6a” css=”.vc_custom_1691425454580{margin-top: 40px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;padding-left: 30px !important;background-color: #edf8e2 !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”]Dr. Mark Hyman, the author of The Short Guide to the 10-Day Detox, said, “The policies and industry interests that drive our current system must change to fix our broken food system from field to fork and beyond. If we were to identify one big lever to pull to improve global health, create economic abundance, reduce social injustice and mental illness, restore environmental health, and reverse climate change, it would be transforming our entire food system. That is the most important work of our time\u2014work that must begin now.”[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” style=”dashed” border_width=”3″ accent_color=”#c3e7a0″ css=”.vc_custom_1690659639971{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1691425494093{margin-bottom: 40px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;padding-left: 30px !important;background-color: #cf4c27 !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text color=”#ffffff” font_size=”18″ line_height=”25px”]\n Become a “Food Citizen” and work with us to advocate for a robust food system that employs local people, improves people’s health in our region, and ensures nutritional security for all of us by joining our advocacy network at sfpc@marioninstitue.org<\/a>. We advocate by sending letters to legislators, providing food policy education in the community, testimony in hearings, and convening meetings with legislators. Learn more about the food system by investigating these resources.<\/strong><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1690659469488{padding-top: 40px !important;padding-bottom: 40px !important;background-color: #edf8e2 !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text font_size=”24″ font_weight=”bold” color=”#cf4c27″ css=”.vc_custom_1690746283415{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Resources[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text font_size=”16″ line_height=”29px” color=”#073a6a” font_weight=”500″]\n [vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” content_placement=”middle” wpex_bg_overlay=”dark” css=”.vc_custom_1645307334823{background-image: url(http:\/\/www.marioninstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/givingfruit.jpg?id=14848) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}” min_height=”150px” wpex_bg_overlay_opacity=”.2″][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”31957″ img_size=”770×100″ alignment=”left” onclick=”custom_link” visibility=”hidden-phone” css=”.vc_custom_1690823617954{padding-top: 70px !important;padding-bottom: 70px !important;}” link=”https:\/\/www.marioninstitute.org\/programs\/sfpc\/”][vc_single_image image=”14852″ img_size=”170×170″ alignment=”center” visibility=”visible-phone” css=”.vc_custom_1645307494112{padding-top: 20px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1690820310578{padding-top: 60px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text color=”#cf4c27″ font_size=”24″ css=”.vc_custom_1690661341269{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}” font_weight=”bold”]THE FOOD SYSTEM[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1690659384403{padding-top: 40px !important;padding-bottom: 40px !important;background-color: #c3e7a0 !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”35001″…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":14839,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\n\n
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