The Chicago Council on Global Affairs released the findings of its independent Task Force on U.S. Agriculture Policy on September 27, 2006. The Task Force report, “Modernizing America's Farm and Food Policy: Vision for a New Direction," calls on Congress to end trade-distorting subsidies, redefine the farm safety net, transform the food stamp program, and reinvest in U.S. agriculture’s future.

 

The Agriculture Task Force was convened in September 2005 and cochaired by Catherine Bertini, former executive director of the UN World Food Program, Gus Schumacher, former undersecretary of agriculture for farm and foreign agricultural services, and Robert Thompson, Gardner Chair in Agriculture Policy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  It assembled a group of thirty prominent leaders and policy specialists from Chicago, the Midwest and the nation. 

 

The goal of the Task Force was to develop a report of findings and recommendations on how to achieve meaningful, sector-wide reform focused on ensuring the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of the U.S. agriculture and food systems.  The Task Force members concluded that now, more than ever, agriculture policy must be determined by the need to invest in the future of U.S. agriculture and the real needs of rural America, the national economy, public health, and the environment.

Generous support from Archer Daniels Midland Company, Kraft Foods Inc., Evans Food Products, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the Farm Foundation made the task force and its report possible.

 

Download the full report, executive summary, and press release: