“Now is the time to link sound nutritional guidelines established by the health community—which call for greater consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains—to changes in agricultural policy,” adds Grossi. “With the epidemic levels of diet-related diseases and mind-boggling national health care costs associated with them, we can’t afford to pretend these issues are going to disappear.”

“U.S. farm policy can revolutionize the conservation efforts of farmers and ranchers on America’s working lands,” says Grossi. “This bill has new ideas like a conservation loan program that would help farmers finance additional conservation practices. We use half of our land in this country to provide food, fiber and energy, which has an enormous impact on our natural resources and human environment. We’re at a critical juncture as a society, trying to grapple with multi-faceted issues such as the intersection of farm, food and environmental policy. With proposals like this we can have a farm bill that helps farmers be competitive, profitable stewards of the land, while improving nutrition and other benefits to all people.”