---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Frank Tamborello <[email protected]> Date: Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 12:34 PM Subject: july 16 food justice news To: John A Imani <[email protected]>
** ** *To All Those Interested in Food and Justice... * * * A (usually) weekly update on food issues, promoting access to sufficient, affordable, healthy food ---with a focus on campaigns you can become active in! **** *Follow us *on Twitter @HungerActionLA . Welcome to all the new people on the list: please respond to [email protected] if you wish to use a different e mail or be removed**** ** ** *Monday July 16, 2012:* * * ***1. ****Hunger Action LA News : Mtg July 27, CalFresh Event July 31, Follow Up from Re Entry Forum * ***2. ****House Ag Committee Advances Farm Bill Cutting $16 Billion >From Nutrition Assistance * ***3. ****House Farm Bill Could Gut Californias Standards for Safe, Humane * *Food * ***4. ****Ag Secretary Says Fuel Prices Will Cause Food Prices to Rise Higher More Than Drought Will * ***5. ****Bee Raisers Drive To Change LA City Policy on Beekeeping* ** ** ** ** *1. Hunger Action LA News: * ** ** *Next HALA Meeting is Friday July 27:* Progress reports and new plans for advocates working on the federal Farm Bill, on AB 828, and on local initiatives to end criminalization of a wide range of food activities from urban gardening to vending of food, and distribution of food to the homeless.**** At LAANE, 464 S Lucas Ave LA CA 90017, 10 am to 12 noon . RSVP to [email protected] . Free, and all are welcome. **** ** ** *CalFresh Outreach Event, Ralphs Crenshaw Location July 31:* HALA joins Occupy Fights Hunger as they partner with LA County DPSS to bring its CalFresh mobile unit to Ralphs at 3670 Crenshaw Blvd, LA 90016 (just south of Exposition, cross street Rodeo.) If you live or work in the vicinity and can help us publicize this event to low income families and individuals who may qualify for CalFresh please contact [email protected] . The mobile unit will be there from noon to 6 pm. People can apply for CalFresh benefits at the mobile unit and also enjoy demonstrations on how to prepare healthy food with free dinner from 5 pm to 7 pm.**** ** ** ** ** *Re-Entry Forum forges new partnerships: *Our thanks to about 50 people who gave up their day off this past Saturday to convene at Ward A.M.E. church strategize on how to move several criminal justice reform policies forward in the state legislature.**** ** ** Central was AB 828 the bill to restore food benefit eligibility to people who have completed sentences for certain felonies and are now trying to begin anew in society. But, other bills and proposals have an equally huge impact, including measures to expand the ability to expunge felonies for people with low level offenses, and to end the arbitrary detention of undocumented persons caught up in law enforcement situations (including victims of domestic violence* *whose abusers are retaliating against them by reporting their undocumented status, as well as thousands of people who are actually citizens.) **** ** ** The attendees representing a diversity of populations in LA will be active both in the halls of state and local officials, on the street and in the community to raise awareness of and support for these policies. **** A new e mail list will be formed for those interested : contact [email protected] **** ** ** ** ** *2. House Ag Committee Advances Farm Bill With $16 Billion in Cuts to Nutrition Assistance* The House Agriculture Committee approved H.R. 6083, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2012 by a vote of 35-11. The bill includes $16.5 billion in cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that would kick 2-3 million participants off the food stamp program. That means the next step for the bill is for the whole House to consider it---if Speaker John Boehner will take it up.**** ** ** The Environmental Working Group and groups including the Humane Society, Bread for the World, the Center for Food Safety, Defenders of Wildlife and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine plan a press conference for Tuesday, July 17, at the National Press Club to discuss the alarming and damaging provisions in the House Agriculture Committees farm bill.**** ** ** Food stamp debate has brought out some of the ugliest and most hateful voices: http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/fight-over-food-stamps**** ** ** Conservatives have howled in protest over USDA ads outreaching to the Latino community to apply for food benefits, complaining that already 1 in 7 Americans get food stamps (whose fault is that, if jobs are not available---or dont pay enough?) Have any of these conservatives complained about WalMart paying its employees wages so low that they qualify for food stamps, and then encouraging to apply, therefore getting the taxpayers to subsidize their wages? Have any conservatives voted to raise the minimum wage? You cannot have extremely low wages and then also deny people the right to eat.**** ** ** *Fort Worth Star Telegram: Food Stamp Debate Brings Out The Haters* ** ** Conservative bloggers compare the SNAP program to a park where youre not supposed to feed the wildlife. This is just an example of the vicious rhetoric against the poor thats been coming out since the farm bill and resulting focus on the food assistance programs. Editorialists around the country are striking back. Here are some good responses from Texas and Oregon.**** ** ** *Fort Worth Star Telegram:* Once-proud and self-reliant people are having to turn to handouts and food stamps to feed their families and themselves. They are the working poor: people doing the best they can to avoid government handouts ..It's galling to hear the callousness with which that humbling desperation can be dismissed as the mindless dependency of a raccoon.**** ** ** http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/07/14/4099922/food-stamp-debate-brings-out-the.html **** ** ** *The Oregonian: Food stamps look different at other end of the pipeline: *The SNAP cuts in the House bill were so extreme even a hardline conservative from Ohio, Mean Jean Schmidt, had to protest:**** http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/david_sarasohn/index.ssf/2012/07/food_stamp_pipeline_looks_diff.html **** ** ** *3. House Farm Bill Could Gut Californias Standards for Safe, Humane Food* * * *Iowa congressman wins amendment saying states cant have their own standards regarding food: *One of the other ugly features of the Farm Bill that got out of the Ag Committee is a provision that states cannot set their own regulations on farm products. This amendment passed in the early morning hours means that Californias new law requiring chickens to have enough space to move their wings, would have to be revoked, and possibly California pesticide regulations on fruits and vegetables, and vitamin fortification of milk. **** http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/lVBL0tfWGm0/-Iowa-s-Steve-King-finally-plucks-the-chicken **** http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Votes-assails-state-laws-on-food-safety-3706649.php#page-2 **** ** ** *4. Ag Secretary Says Fuel Prices Will Cause Food Prices to Rise Higher More Than Drought Will* ** ** ** ** (Alexandra Jaffe, National Journal)---If Americans are seeing increasing food prices at the grocery store, its the fault of energy prices or unfair practices, not widespread drought across the U.S., Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Sunday ..Speaking on CNNs State of the Union, Vilsack acknowledged the pain droughts are causing farmers, resulting in lower-than-expected crop yields and higher commodity prices. But he said that those prices shouldn't translate over to consumers until late 2013.**** ** ** Fourteen cents of every food dollar that goes through a grocery store goes in the pocket of a farmer or rancher. So while these commodity prices will likely increase, it will have a marginal impact on food prices, he said, adding that energy prices drive up food prices more significantly.**** ** ** The prices and the impact of a drought probably will not likely be seen in the grocery aisles until later next year, 2013. If folks are using this opportunity to raise prices inappropriately, shame on them, he added.**** ** ** Vilsack said that the droughts and the consequent pressure on farmers is added reason for Congress to pass a farm bill, which has passed in the Senate and recently passed out of committee in the House but remains in limbo until Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, decides to take it up.**** ** ** http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress-legacy/vilsack-says-drought-not-causing-increased-food-prices-20120715 **** ** ** *5. Bee Raisers Drive To Change LA City Policy on Beekeeping***** * * LA Times: Rob McFarland and his wife, Chelsea, became interested in beekeeping but discovered that Los Angeles does not allow hives in residential zones. So, the McFarlands decided to launch an unusual grass-roots drive to change the city's law by first winning support from at least 10 of L.A.'s 95 neighborhood councils ..Now, almost a year and a half later, their devotion has won support from eight councils. And an enthusiastic city councilman has initiated a formal study, a first step that could bring L.A. on board with other bee-friendly cities, such as New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Santa Monica.**** ** ** "We have to be clear that this environment that we live in is threatened, that bees are an essential part," said Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who boasts that he has two wild hives in his yard.**** ** ** The McFarlands, with their own money and what they raised at a "yellow-tie" fundraiser, started a nonprofit organization called HoneyLove.**** http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/14/local/la-me-bees-20120715 **** ** ** Steve Lopez follows with a column on beekeeping in LA:**** http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0715-lopez-bees-20120715,0,2474141.column **** ** ** ** ** ** ** *************************************************** Frank Tamborello**** Hunger Action Los Angeles**** 961 S. Mariposa #205**** Los Angeles CA 90006**** 213-388-8228**** [email protected]**** [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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