National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture

National Campaign: A Brief History and Overview.

The National Campaign was launched in 1994 to meet the need for a national forum in which to develop and promote federal sustainable agriculture policy. Our goal is to create federal policy that will shift the food system towards sound environmental stewardship, foster decent livelihoods for farmers and workers, and be socially just and humane. We function as a working alliance of partner organizations and bring together many interests, from large national groups like the Sierra Club and National Farmers Union, to tiny grassroots associations like farmers' markets and food purchasing co-ops. Combining these with the strength-in-numbers added by consumers, environmentalists and wildlife advocates, educational institutions, religious and community food security groups, civil rights activists, and rural community groups, the National Campaign is building a powerful voice with the breadth and unity essential to bring about change in federal policy.

As a grassroots-led network, we work with several hundred local, state, regional, and national groups on varying issues, and have a mailing list of 20,000 individuals. In 2003, we instituted a formal system of dues paying voting and non-voting partners to ensure clarity and transparency in our structure. At this time we have over 120 official partners (see list attached) representing the various constituencies outlined above. In turn, these partners elect the majority of our Board of Directors and provide leadership in our policy development and advocacy efforts