Food Policy in the New Administration Elanor Starmer Research - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Food Policy in the New Administration Elanor Starmer Research Analyst Food & Water Watch

Tom Vilsack, Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary Rajiv Shah, Jim Miller, Research, Homer Lee Kevin Mike Doyle, Farm & Foreign Ag Education and Wilkes, Concannon, Food Safety? Edward Dallas Tonsager, Services Economics Natural Food & Avalos, Ag Rural Development Resources & Nutrition Marketing Environment The New USDA

Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner Stephen Sundlof, Director, Joshua Sharfstein, Center for Food Safety & Deputy Commissioner Applied Nutrition (Some of) the New FDA

What does the USDA do? � Farm and Foreign Ag Services division: The people’s bank � Credit for farmers and processors � Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program – low- interest loans, grants for training, land link programs � Emergency assistance and commodity payments

What does the USDA do? � Rural development division � Funds ATTRA, great resource on sustainable ag: http://attra.ncat.org/ � Gives Local and Regional Food Enterprise Loans – builds local food system infrastructure � Value-Added Producer Grant program: Scale up marketing of local foods!

What does the USDA do? � Natural Resources and Environment Division: Land management and conservation � NRCS: Payments to farmers for environmental improvements � Financial support for transitioning to organic � Runs Forest Service

What does the USDA do? � Research, Education and Economics division: Agricultural research and extension � Research money to public universities � Organic and sustainable ag research and extension

What does the USDA do? � Food and Nutrition Services division: Nutrition programs � School food � WIC, food stamps � Farmers Market Nutrition Program � Develop dietary guidelines

What does the USDA do? � Marketing and Regulatory Programs division: Marketing U.S. farm products � Checkoff programs – generic advertising funded by producers and run by USDA � Implementing organic and other standards � GIPSA: Preventing unfair corporate practices

What does the USDA do? � Food Safety Inspection Service � Inspects meat and poultry processing facilities

Problematic picks? Rajiv Shah, USDA Under Mike Doyle, potential Secretary for Research, Rayne Pegg, head, Food Safety Education and Economics Inspection Service AMS Administrator

Exciting/unexpected picks Kevin J. Dudley Butler, Concannon, Kathleen Merrigan, GIPSA Under Secretary, USDA Deputy Secretary Food & Nutrition Lisa Bertelson, Special Assistant, Marketing and Regulatory Programs Joshua Sharfstein, FDA Deputy Commissioner

Resources • Food & Water Watch – foodandwaterwatch.org • National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition – sustainableagriculturecoalition.org • Community Alliance with Family Farmers – caff.org • National farm-to-school network – farmtoschool.org

Thanks! Elanor Starmer Food & Water Watch 25 Stillman St., Suite 200 San Francisco, CA estarmer@fwwatch.org 415-293-9917