petition against factory farm supports

[Guest guest]

FYI all... please consider following the link and signing this petition.

Cheers,

Jearnmarie

Tell Secretary Vilsack to stop using your tax dollars to bail out

factory farms.

http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/40?akid=26.4945.kykCgo & t=1

For the past six months, the factory farm industry has begged

Secretary Vilsack for hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in an

effort to stem their record losses resulting from high feed costs and

massive overproduction.

In 2009 alone the USDA has purchased over $151 million in pork

products in an effort to bailout pork producers.1 On September 3rd of

this year, Vilsack announced another $30 million pork buyout to go to

federal food and nutrition assistance programs.2

The drop in export markets of both pork and poultry is the result of

years of irresponsible overproduction brought on by unfair government

subsidies and loan programs that have created an unfair competitive

advantage for family farmers.

Now that the good times have finally ended, the factory farm industry

is receiving further handouts from the government after corporations

have consolidated the market and driven family hog and chicken farmers

permanently off the land.

Sign this letter today to tell Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to

suspend all loans to the factory farm industry at the USDA.

http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/40?akid=26.4945.kykCgo & t=1

It’s time to stand up for family farmers and this is a good start.

In 2008 and 2009 alone, the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) handed out

over $265 million of hard-earned taxpayer money to factory chicken and

hog farmers in loan guarantees to build new factory farms that compete

against family farmers who are raising their animals the right way.3

Taxpayers should not be asked to foot the bill for factory farms. This

is not a responsible use of taxpayer dollars and it needs to end!

Please join us in supporting Farm Aid and their partner organizations,

the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, the Land Stewardship

Project and the Missouri Rural Crisis Center in their stand for family

farmers.

Sign here to tell Secretary Vilsack to end the factory farm bailout by

putting an end to guaranteed government loans to the factory farm

industry.

http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/40?akid=26.4945.kykCgo & t=1

Thanks for all you do.

Best,

Dave, and the Food Democracy Now! Team

If you'd like to see Food Democracy Now!'s grassroots work continue,

please consider donating. Your donation of $5 or more will help us

continue our work. We appreciate your support!

http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/25?akid=26.4945.kykCgo & t=1

Sources:

1. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Support for Domestic

Nutrition Programs and Pork Producers

http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/43?akid=26.4945.kykCgo & t=1

2. Snouts at the Trough

http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/44?akid=26.4945.kykCgo & t=1

3. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA)

statistics.

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