Seattle Oxfam Action Corps

Oxfam, a set on Flickr.

Another Achievement!

In reaction to the Farm Bill approved by the House Agriculture committee, Gawain Kripke, director of policy and research for Oxfam America said:

“People facing hunger and poverty in the US and abroad lost major ground in the Farm Bill passed by the House Agriculture Committee. Big agribusiness interests won increased subsidies that distort trade and rig markets against poor farmers at the expense of US taxpayers who will face more job losses and food insecurity as a result of proposed cuts. Even modest attempts to amend the bill to ensure tax dollars would be spent more wisely to save lives and protect clean water and health were defeated. As more than 18 million people face a hunger crisis in West Africa and one in seven people in the US and around the world struggle to get enough to eat, Congress needs to step back and consider why a single voter should like this bill. The only reasonable course is to significantly amend or kill it.”

Oxfam reaction to Senate Farm Bill passage

The hard work of Oxfam America and Oxfam Action Corps organizers is paying off. Let's see this all the way through...

 

"Jun 21, 2012

For more information, contact:

• Ben Grossman-Cohen, Economic Justice Press Officer
  202-777-2907 (office)
  202-629-6018 (mobile)
  bgrossman-cohen@oxfamamerica.org

In response to the passage of the Farm Bill in the US Senate, Gawain Kripke, director of policy and research for Oxfam America, said:

“The Senate Farm Bill takes positive steps to reform international food aid programs. We commend Chairman Stabenow and Ranking Senator Roberts for their leadership to ensure that the tiny sliver of Farm Bill funds that go to international food aid has the greatest impact possible. These programs save millions of lives, and improving them will save many more. We urge leaders in the House of Representatives to take up these modest, bipartisan reforms to cut waste and help save lives.

“Overall, the Farm Bill continues to create serious problems by subsidizing big agribusiness at the expense of poor farmers and taxpayers. We are encouraged by the overwhelming passage of Senator Grassley’s amendment to limit payments on marketing loans; and the Senate bill’s elimination of countercyclical payments and higher loan rates offer bright spots in an otherwise uninspiring picture. Marketing loans and deficiency payments are the most market-distorting commodity subsidies. By limiting proceeds and loan rates, the Senate bill protects tax dollars and contributes to a fairer market for poor farmers in developing countries.

“A major outstanding issue that the Senate Farm Bill does not resolve is the violation of WTO agreements, as established by the cotton case brought by the Brazil.  Unless the final Farm Bill does more to reform cotton subsidies, the controversy will continue and could result in economic retaliation by Brazil, as authorized by the WTO.”

Grassley amendment #2167 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:SP02167:

Food Aid reforms in the Senate bill include:

1. The pilot program created in the 2008 Farm Bill to study the effectiveness of purchasing food aid locally and regionally will be continued as a full program with modestly increased funding to $40 million per year.

2. Efforts are made to reduce the “monetization” of food aid whereby food aid is dumped on developing country markets, a wasteful way to raise funds for long term development projects.  The bill cuts the level of funding for “monetization” which will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and make aid programs more effective."

New Seattle Oxfam Action Corps Organizers

Hello Seattle Oxfam Action Corps!

My name is Melissa Watkinson and I am serving along side Francis Ababio as your 2012-2012 Seattle Oxfam Action Corps organizers! We both look forward to working with all the wonderful Seattle volunteers on the great work that is to come for Oxfam Action Corps.

Francis and I both returned from Washington, DC last week where we were in an intense, inspiring, and FUN training to be well-equipped for the leadership roles we will embark on for this coming year with Seattle OAC.  
See, here we are reflecting and summarizing after visiting with our Washington State legislators!

We look forward to meeting all other Seattle Oxfam Action Corps volunteers in the near future. In fact, we will be holding our first meeting on Sunday, June 3rd at 4pm! Keep an eye out for more details in our upcoming newsletter.

Thank you for allowing me to introduce us and we hope to meet all of you very soon!
Be sure to "like" us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oxfam-Action-Corps-Seattle/137097226332214
If you're interested in learning more about Oxfam Action Corps, where there are full bios of all the Oxfam Action Corps organizers, please visit the Oxfam Action Corps America blog - http://oxfamactioncorpsamerica.blogspot.com/
For questions about Seattle Oxfam Action Corps, you can contact us at seattle.oxfamactioncorps@gmail.com

Grow global food justice - join the Oxfam Action Corps in Seattle!

Hey Everyone,

Oxfam America is currently recruiting new volunteers for 2012-2013. If you are interested in joining the Oxfam Action Corps please sign up and spread the word by February 14th at http://www.oxfamactioncorps.org/.

Join the Oxfam Action Corps to support women farmers, fight global hunger, and build a better food system! You will meet great people and work together to change laws that can save lives, defend the rights of the world’s poorest farmers, and protect communities from rising food prices and climate change. You will gain leadership skills, have fun, and change the world!

Anybody can join the local effort! All levels of experience are welcome. You can also apply for Oxfam’s free four-day leadership training in Washington D.C. May 12 – May 15.

This year, we will mobilize for the GROW campaign for global food justice. The women and men in poor countries who struggle to grow enough food to feed their families are facing competition for land and water, rising prices, and climate change. We will call for laws that support women and farmers, sustainable practices, and resilience to climate change, and ensure a better future for people in the poorest regions of the world.

This is a year-round volunteer opportunity, with a deadline of February 14 to apply for the spring training. Find out more and sign up at http://www.oxfamactioncorps.org/  .

Check out this video to see what we are all about:

Seattle supporters get together for GROW campaign

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Seattle, Oxfam Action Corps hosted a training on the GROW campaign. Oxfam supporters and friends from various organizations got together to discuss how best to address the root causes of global hunger, speaking and learing from a wealth of experience and perspectives. Our group included students, retirees, doctors, researchers, musician-moms, and even newlyweds! Thank to all for spending your sunny afternoon indoors with us. Special thanks also to members of the Borgen Project and Global Washington for participating.

We’re looking forward to making an impact together. Anyone who wants to get started right away can click here to download materials to host a World Food Day Sunday Dinner in October, and to sign-up online for updates and invites from the Seattle Oxfam Action Corps.