Agriculture Resources
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PUBLIC POLICY In communities throughout the United States public policies guide decision-making on issues such as health care, education, transportation, and land use. Few communities, however, have food policies to guide deliberation on complex issues such as nutrition, access to affordable food, farmland preservation, and saving family farms. Many localities and states are now considering the formation of food policy councils to address these and related issues. Below are some of the organizations establishing the foundation for food policy initiatives in Washington state. Cascade Harvest Coalition The Cascade Harvest Coalition is the primary
forum for individuals, organizations and agencies working on programs
to enhance and sustain agriculture in Western Washington. The Coalition
promotes the formation of county-level agricultural commissions
and advisory boards, and it co-sponsors a bi-annual Western Washington
Ag Summit to bring together local leaders to address policy issues.
There are currently agricultural commissions or advisory boards
in Clallam, King, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, and Whatcom
Counties, with more in the process of formation. Each fall Coalition
members sponsor Harvest
Celebration Days, annual events that attract thousands of families
to visit more than 100 local farms and ranches throughout Western
Washington. Farming & the Environment Farming & the Environment was founded in 1999 to find common ground between farmers, ranchers, conservationists and environmentalists. They are working to enhance the economic viability of farming and ranching in Washington state. Farming & the Environment is developing a statewide Stewardship Awards Program to recognize and reward farmers for implementing exemplary environmental practices and is seeking ways to increase economic incentives for stewardship of the land. Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington The Lutheran Public Policy Office is the advocacy ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Its purpose is to be an active and listening presence in the "halls of power" advocating justice for all of God's creation, with particular focus on the "least of those in our midst." ELCA has 275 congregations across Washington state, with approximately 60% in rural settings. Consequently, the Lutheran Public Policy Office is involved with numerous agricultural organizations that promote the concept of sustainable agriculture, strives to get congregations involved in this conversation, and advocates for public policies at the state and federal level that will benefit family-based farms. Washington Sustainable Food & Farming
Network The Network is statewide policy organization that focuses on fundamental change in the priorities of Washington's agricultural institutions. The Network championed the creation of the Washington State Dept of Agriculture's Small Farm and Direct Marketing Program and is leading a successful campaign to establish a sustainable agriculture curriculum at Washington State University. The Network has also challenged WSU's increased emphasis on biotechnology, urging instead that the state's agricultural university concentrate it's efforts to support small family farms, which make up 87% of the farms in this state.
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