The AGree project, a multiyear endeavor to reach consensus among food and farm leaders, released a package of four papers that call for substantial remodeling of U.S. conservation, public nutrition and food aid programs as well as comprehensive immigration reform. In a statement, the organization says it is taking action to put its recommendations into life – “strategies include coalition building, advocacy, and projects that demonstrate the potential for (our) consensus recommendations to improve food and ag systems.”
On public nutrition, AGree advocates a broad-based effort by foodmakers and retailers to “encourage, reward and reinforce healthy diets;” that insurers and healthcare providers promote healthy eating; aligning federal policies to support good nutrition; a public-private campaign to improve children’s health; and projects such as education and methods to “encourage healthier choices” by food stamp recipients. On food aid overseas, AGree would “increase flexibility for cash and local and regional purchasing of food for emergency distribution” over the traditional practice of donating U.S.-grown food.
Farmers should take the lead in setting standards for land stewardship, says AGree, with USDA putting up to 50 percent of soil and water conservation funding into cooperative, producer-led models for conservation throughout a watershed; encourage no-till and cover crops as widely as possible; and find ways to use water more efficiently while boosting the supply available for irrigation. AGree says comprehensive immigration reform should ensure a reliable workforce for agriculture and provide “a path to earned citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently in the United States, particularly those working in the food and agriculture sectors,” as well as create “a simple, efficient and fair guest worker program.”
The package is available here.