Letter
Farm Bill 2012: April Letter to House Agriculture Committee
Farm Bill 2012: April Letter to House AG Committee, April 26, 2012, signed by Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, Chairman, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Bishop Richard E. Pates, Chairman, Committee on International Justice and Peace, Rev. Larry Snyder, President, Catholic Charities USA, Dr. Carolyn Y. Woo, President, Catholic Relief Services, and James F. Ennis, Executive Director, National Catholic Rural Life Conference
"The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities USA, and the National Catholic Rural Life Conference take this opportunity to write as you begin hearings on the 2012 Farm Bill. We ask that you support a Farm Bill that provides for poor and hungry people both at home and abroad, offers effective support for those who grow our food, ensures fairness to family farmers and ranchers, and promotes stewardship of the land. We also urge that this Farm Bill target limited resources, such as subsidies and direct payments, to those farmers and ranchers who truly need assistance to be competitive and successful.
In For I was Hungry and You Gave Me Food: Catholic Reflections on Food, Farmers and Farmworkers, the U.S. bishops wrote, “The primary goals of agriculture policies should be providing food for all people and reducing poverty among farmers and farmworkers in this country and abroad.” The Catholic community brings both principles and depth of experience to the Farm Bill policy debate. We lead a community of faith that is present in rural America and in rural communities around the globe. We know from personal experience how the Farm Bill affects us all, but most significantly, those who are hungry, living in poverty, and struggling to keep farming a viable way of life."