Thank all of you for your interesting and insightful questions and comments. I will be addressing as many of them as I can over the coming week. But for now, I’d like to touch on a set of questions: Why is a Congressman whose district is not predominantly rural trying to change federal farm policy? What can a Congressman who doesn’t sit on the Agriculture do to affect the Farm Bill? And what can readers do to get involved in the process?

First, like many “urban” or city members of Congress, I actually represent many farmers. They grow high value products; there are nurseries and tree farms, fruits and vegetables. In fact, most of America’s cities are on or around very productive land. And as I touched on in my first post, federal food and farm policy affects all Americans. First, everyone who eats (an inclusive group indeed) is affected by our food and farm policy. As Michael Pollan explains well in The New York Times magazine in April:

The resolutely unglamorous and head-hurtingly complicated piece of legislation, which comes around roughly every five years and is about to do so again, sets the rules for the American food system – indeed, to a considerable extent, for the world’s food system. Among other things, it determines which crops will be subsidized and which will not, and in the case of the carrot and the Twinkie, the farm bill as currently written offers a lot more support to the cake than to the root.

In addition to having an impact on the price we pay for and our access to Twinkies and carrots – and everything in between – federal food and farm policy also has a profound impact on our environment, on our energy market, on our trade policy and the way we interact with the rest of the world. In short, it impacts us all: Whether we live in the country, the suburbs or cities large and small.

The second question is an interesting one. In the past, the almost 400 members who weren’t on the agriculture committee mattered little in shaping the bill. The process started to change during the 2002 Farm Bill when there was much more activity. I worked with other non-committee members to limit overly generous payments to a few so there would be more support for the many being shortchanged. We even won some “motions to instruct” the conference committee, only to have them ignore these statements of policy.

The refusal of the agriculture committees to listen to us last time has encouraged more to work harder and earlier in the process for the bill. Naturally, this bill will have to be passed by the entire House, not just the Agriculture Committee. And we will be ready. I’m working for more opportunities to amend the bill on the floor, or even have a vote on an entire substitute bill, as occurred the last time we took up a Farm Bill.

Even before a farm bill goes to the floor, I and other members will have the chance to work to improve it. For instance, my office is working with my fellow members of the Ways and Means Committee to explore ways to ensure that new Farm Bill programs are paid for by reforming commodity subsidies and that any new money goes for nutrition, conservation, and rural development programs. By making that key alteration, we will have a better and fairer food and farm policy.

As for the final question – what can you, the American voter, do? This may be the most important question. Your role is at least as critical as mine. To start, get informed on this issue. I have set up a website – FoodandFarmBillofRights.com – that has information about the farm bill, as well as links to other sites that are doing a great job of tracking this issue.

After getting informed, get involved. Over at FoodandFarmBillofRights.com I am asking for signatures for a petition to deliver a strong message to members of Congress that America deserves a farm policy that serves all Americans, provides for a safe and healthy food supply, and sets the right priorities for the 21st century.

You can also use this site to contact your Representative in the House directly and find out what their farm and food policy is. Find out what staff member is responsible for the issue and meet with them. Have a local food and farm forum that involves your farmers, hunger advocates and environmental community. Give basic information for the customers at your farmers markets.

Whether your intent is fairness for family farmers and ranchers, protection of healthy locally grown products, enhancement of the environment, promoting organic or sustainable agriculture, or fighting hunger and poor nutrition, this is your #1 challenge and opportunity this year.

We can get a better farm bill. And I hope that through the rest of the week we can delve in depth into the specific ways we can achieve this.