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HEAL Statement on USDA Equity Commission’s Final Report
February 26, 2023: Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Equity Commission issued its final report of recommendations for the USDA to “address historic and current discrimination and promote equity.” The Commission’s report provides the USDA and Congress with a guide to righting past wrongs and ensuring it provides programs and services equitably to […]
3 weeks ago
Sovereignty & Resilience: HEAL’s Winter Update
Welcome to the HEAL Food Alliance quarterly newsletter! To stay up to date on what’s happening in the food and farm justice movement, subscribe now » Everywhere we look this winter, we see beautiful acts of resistance, community building and care. At HEAL we recognize that our sovereignty and liberation is interconnected. It will take […]
1 month ago
HEAL Statement on House Democratic Principles for the Next Farm Bill
February 8, 2024: On Wednesday, the House Agriculture Committee Democrats published a memo laying out the principles the next farm bill should include to win the support of the House Democratic Caucus. In response to the memo the HEAL Food Alliance issued the following statement: The HEAL (Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labor) Food Alliance is glad […]
1 month ago
Dysfunctional Congress Left American Farm Workers in Limbo
*note: This op-ed was originally published in the the Opinion section of the Messenger on October 18, 2023 Dysfunctional Congress Left American Farm Workers in Limbo By Jose Oliva and Sophie Ackoff Although Congress was able to make a deal this weekend and avoid a government shutdown, the 21.5 million people working in the food […]
2 months ago
Bills, Bills, Bills: Nine pieces of legislation that could push the Farm Bill in the right direction
As part of the farm bill process, members of Congress introduce “marker bills” to try to get provisions included into the larger bill. We do not expect Congress to pass marker bills as standalone bills – they are often not politically feasible to pass on their own. But they do get people talking and help build momentum for policies that should be included in the larger (“omnibus”) bill. Marker bills are also an opportunity for advocacy, enabling community groups and legislators to work together to address issues that impact our food system and our lives.
5 months ago
HEAL Statement of Opposition to Genocide
HEAL Statement of Opposition to Genocide HEAL is rooted in the understanding that stolen land, genocide, and the forced removal of peoples from their land is the foundation of today’s destructive U.S. food system. What we are witnessing in Palestine is a genocide that mirrors the brutal occupation of what is now the United States. […]
5 months ago
Climate Resilience: HEAL’s Summer Update
Welcome to the HEAL Food Alliance quarterly newsletter! To stay up to date on what’s happening in the food and farm justice movement, subscribe now » As we soak up the final weeks of summer, we are reflecting on the super bloom of our alliance’s collective work – from building climate resilience in our communities […]
7 months ago
Support for CFPB Section 1071 Rule and Opposition to Congressional Review Act to Overturn 1071 Rule
July 17, 2023 – Over 67 organizations including the HEAL (Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labor) Food Alliance signed on to a letter to Congress expressing strong support for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s Section 1071 rule on Small Business Lending Data Collection under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. In the letter, the groups also to […]
8 months ago
Advocacy & Action: Reflections on our Final SoPL Session!
By Mina Seck, Community Food Manager, SPROUT NOLA, and Member of the “A Greener New Orleans” SoPL team I’m extremely lucky to be a part of the A Greener New Orleans campaign, a coalition of growers, food access advocates, policy advisors, and community members who are advocating for a policy platform in New Orleans that […]
9 months ago
It’s time to center climate justice and real climate solutions in the Farm Bill!
Real solutions to the climate crisis already exist – on fields and farms, in communities, grassroots organizations, and in agricultural collectives.
Currently, the Farm Bill props up industrial agricultural practices and corporations that wreak havoc on our ecosystems while polluting our air, water and food, including their false climate solutions that perpetuate extraction and exploitation.
9 months ago