The Hill News

One might wonder why two heads of Jewish organizations are writing about the Farm Bill. After all, most American Jews do not live on farms.  But this legislation touches almost every aspect of our food system and is as important to communities in New York and Miami as it is to those in Lincoln and Dubuque. In ancient times, our ancestors were commanded to leave the gleanings of their fields for the poor and the stranger. Today, we have an obligation to step up to the plate and make a difference in the debate over our national food and agriculture policies.

In an effort to achieve our values-inspired vision of food justice, American Jewish World Service and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs have come together with four other national Jewish organizations â€" the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, Hazon, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, and the Union for Reform Judaism - to form the Jewish Farm Bill Working Group. These organizations are join! ed by several others in endorsing a statement of principles called the “Jewish Platform for a Just Farm Bill.” 

We are united in the belief that as people of faith we cannot stand idly by when millions go hungry at home and abroad. The link between food and faith obligates our community to challenge the injustice of hunger, to champion the rights of all for nutritious food, and to steward the land on which our sustenance depends.The reauthorization of the Farm Bill is an opportunity to put these principles into practice.

Read more...