Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act

Floor Speech

Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Madam Speaker, when I moved to Maine 40 years ago and started a little organic farm, growing and selling healthy food locally was out of the mainstream. It was something that the back-to-the-land crowd was into, but here in Washington the government was pushing farmers to, in the words of Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz, ``Get big or get out.''

It turns out that kind of thinking wasn't good for family farms, it wasn't good for rural communities, and it wasn't good for our Nation's health. That's why I've introduced a bill that is intended to make it easier for farmers to sell food locally and regionally, make it easier for schools to buy healthy local food and easier for us to rebuild the local and regional food systems.

Over 100 organizations and 53 of my colleagues have endorsed the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act, a package of reforms to the farm bill that will help move our Nation's food policy in the right direction.

Everywhere I go, people just want to know that the food they put on their table is healthy, fresh, and good for their family. This bill will help make that easier for American families.

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