November 30, 2004

HOLD THE DATES!

View the program (PDF)

A one-day meeting for funders to discuss agricultural policy in light of the election results! This meeting dovetailed with the Environmental Grantmakers Association's Federal Policy Briefing.

• November 30 – Ag Policy Briefing: SAFSF hosted a one-day policy briefing for funders in Washington, DC. With the 2007 Farm Bill looming large, the role agriculture plays now on the world stage in terms of trade negotiations, and the increasing awareness of the food system nearly 50 funders attended this briefing - a near record for an SAFSF event.
• November 30 – Ag/Trade Dinner: SAFSF, together with The Funders’ Network on Trade and Globalization, co-hosted a dinner and panel discussion for ag/food systems and trade funders. A very successful and informative gathering, we hope to partner with FNTG on future such events again soon.
• December 2 – A Surprising Courtship: Agriculture and Energy (a session at the Environmental Grantmakers Association’s Federal Policy Briefing.) SAFSF fashioned this session to explore how farmers and clean energy might have a ‘happy marriage’ in the upcoming 2007 Farm Bill. Additionally, SAFSF staff and a Steering Committee member served on the overall Program Committee for EGA’s 2004 Federal Policy Briefing.

July 13, 2004

Funder Conference Call

One of the least understood sustainable agriculture problems in the U.S. is the public health impact of toxic pollution in our food supply. Infectious diseases systemically transmitted via food sicken 76 million, hospitalize 325,000 and kill more than 5,000 Americans every year. Yet most foodborne illnesses could be prevented by concerted action along a food-safety continuum that includes cleaner food production, reasonable risk management strategies, and a stronger health response to foodborne disease. However, the World Health Organization, which cites foodborne disease as one of today's top global health challenges, states that one of the main barriers to a safer food supply is the lack of organized public awareness and demand for reform. Speakers on this call will provide an overview of the scope and impact of the problem and will cite some specific examples of current failing policies and ideological approaches to illustrate the need for reform. This will be followed by a description of existing change instigators and initiatives and a discussion of ways in which the philanthropic community could participate with maximum impact. Moderator: Becca Golden, Executive Director, Ben & Jerry’s Foundation Confirmed Speakers: Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation; 'Overview: Why All The Fuss About Foodborne Disease?' Carol Tucker Foreman, former USDA Undersecretary and Food Policy Director at Consumer Federation of America, 'Holes In the Food Safety Net' (selected policy illustrations) Karen Taylor Mitchell, Executive Director of Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.), a victim-founded group spearheading national policy reform and awareness efforts; 'Building a Consumer Movement: Opportunities for Action'

April 15, 2004

Funders Conferece Call - Food Safety Issues

10 a.m. Pacific/12 noon Central/1 p.m. Eastern Moderator: Ruth Hennig, Executive Director, The John Merck Fund The industrialization of food production, including genetic engineering, factory farming and global transport, increasingly raises concerns about food safety. Several foundations active on those issues have recently expressed an interest in creating opportunities for more active communication and engagement. SAFSF will host this initial call for all funders interested in discussing these issues and the ways and means through which such opportunities for funders might be created.

3/16/04

March 16: Federal Ag Policy - The Time is Ripe!

The second in an ongoing series of strategy calls to gauge and build on the interest that funders have in distinct and interrelated aspects of food and farm policy. The focus is building momentum for substantial changes in the Farm bills of 2007, 2012, and beyond. We're operating from collective funder interest in determining the logical and feasible steps to take this year and lay groundwork for subsequent years.

March 11, 2004

Slow Food Reception

SAFSF is pleased to be co-sponsoring with The Funders' Network the Second Annual Slow Food Reception on Thursday, March 11, 2004 at the incredible Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

SAFSF is also helping to coordinate a mobile workshop, 'Food in the City' during the conference. This workshop will enable participants to experience first hand some of the many exciting projects currently underway in Vancouver regarding local food policy and safety.

For more details about the conference program or to register to attend please go to The Funders' Network website: http://fundersnetwork.org/

March 1, 2004

Mad Cow Disease and Linkages Between Animal Health, Human Health, and Food Safety

A special funders' call on March 1 will examine this emerging area of concern and consider possible philanthropic responses. Joining us as a guest speaker will be Stanley Prusiner, M.D. of the University of California - San Francisco School of Medicine. Dr. Prusiner won a Nobel prize in 1997 for his decades of research on prions ('pree-ons'), which are infectious proteins that may cause neurodegenerative diseases such as mad cow and chronic wasting disease. Prusiner and others attempted to sound an alarm about the imminent prospect of an outbreak of mad cow disease in the US. Their calls for strengthened food safety regulations and practices initially were rebuffed but are being seriously revisited in the wake of recent developments. Michael Lerner, President of the Jenifer Altman Foundation, will chair the March 1 call.

This call is co-sponsored by four funder groups with a shared interest in the public and environmental health challenges and food safety opportunities represented by the current mad cow crisis.  (There is no funder group, to our knowledge, focused directly on food safety).  The cosponsors are:

 

*  The Funders Forum on Antibiotic Resistance

*  The Funders Network on Trade and Globalization

*  The Health and Environmental Funders Network

*  The Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders

 

January 22, 2004 (10 a.m. Pacific/ 1 p.m. Eastern)

Federal Policy - Taking the Long View

At the SAFSF December Forum funders expressed interest in clarifying and moving forward a collective agenda on federal food and agriculture policy over the next 20 years. We identified the 2007 Farm Bill as a key opportunity to 'shake the tree' enough to open the way for substantial change over the long haul. Think there is plenty of time before the next Farm Bill? Think again. The nutrition title is already being substantially shaped through the Child Nutrition Act. Funder education, research to support advocacy, and the development of a politically effective organizing strategy should all begin now. Many of our groups have started the dialogues necessary to build collaboration and we, as funders, should do the same. Join this call and help us begin to define our long-term policy goals and strategize around ways to support powerful change through the 2007 Farm Bill. TO RSVP Contact Virginia at (805) 687-0551 or vlarke@ega.org