Critics Want Farm Bill Hold & Capital Hill Heats Up

Critics Want Farm Bill Hold & Capital Hill Heats Up plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Critics are saying that Congress should slash at least 100-billion dollars in costs from the U.S. farm bill - three or four times more than cuts currently proposed. They are targeting the sugar subsidy and biotech support programs. They believe the 5-billion-a-year "direct payment" subsidy to farmers should be eliminated as part of temporary legislation that would bridge the gap to a new five-year law in 2013.  That would mean no vote on a farm bill this year.

Things are heating up when it comes to the ag leadership on Capital Hill as several members of the House Ag Committee have been ejected. Kansas Representative Tim Huelskamp was one of them.

HUELSCAMP: I have removed from the Budget and Ag committee and right now there is a vacancy on the Budget and Ag committee. It makes no sense. We have a leadership in the U.S. House that nearly 4 months ago the Farm Bill came out of the committee and they still say they don’t have time to work it on the floor and that doesn’t make any sense other than it is pure politics as is this removal. Times are too critical now to worry about petty politics and vindictive politics. It’s time for some solutions.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

Just don’t inhale. No, I’m not offering advice on an illegal substance, that’s directions on how to use a Le Whaf, the newest kitchen gadget/food fad from Europe. Actually, there is no food in the final product, just a cloud of flavor vapor. Say that ten times fast. That’s probably about how long this fad will last. Le Whaf takes a liquid and adds it to a tilted carafe, and then generates a cloud of flavor vapor using ultrasound waves. A special straw lets you sip the vapor cloud into your mouth for a burst of flavor - minus most calories or alcohol. Dieters see this as a win/win situation. You can have the tastes you crave without those pesky calories. Food elitists are touting Le Whaf as the next step in the revolution of fine dining. The average consumer looks at it and thinks “whoever invented this is going to be laughing all the way to the bank”. Personally, I don’t think that the Le Whaf would fly with my family. One whiff of chocolate chip cookies, or should I say “sip” , would have them asking “where’s the cookie part, and can I have some milk with this please?” More than likely Le Whaf is probably a fad that will disappear as quickly as, well, vapor.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.