President Roosevelt’s idea began as a pure, valiant initiative; help struggling farmer’s suffering from the oversupply of crops around the Great Depression by paying them not to produce. The goal was to raise the value of crops, help the farmers, and return America to the way its former prosperity. Unfortunately, laws such as these, such as the Farm Bill, have done more harm than good in recent years: the government has started footing the bill for the tons junk food that’s manufactured each year. There is no feasible explanation as to why our very own government is subsidizing obesity. Originally, subsidies were meant to assist small farms struggling from competition and an over supply of specific types of crops, but currently a majority of the money is being unfairly funneled to large corporations. In fact, a whopping 75% of subsidies go to just 3.8% of farmers! More than half of farmers haven’t even received subsidies, published Huffington Post. Less than a quarter of farms making $10,000- 249,999 get subsidies. Most of the crops being subsidized by the government aren’t even healthy; since 1995 roughly $80 billion has been spent subsidizing corn while $20 billion has been used to subsidize soybeans. Compare those numbers to the amount being spent on subsidizing apples and vegetables- $637 million. Though the government recommends making “half of your plate fruits and vegetables”, between 1995 and 2005 a mere 0.37% of federal subsidies actually went to vegetables and fruits, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “8,000 cotton farmers received $3 billion dollars in subsidies in 2010. Ninety-eight thousand (98,000) fruit and vegetable farmers received $196 million dollars in subsidies in 2010,” wrote Daniel Krotz, who has advised the government on sustainable agriculture.
Of course, helping produce corn and soybeans doesn’t sound bad, but in reality it’s much different. Corn is found in roughly three quarters of supermarket products. Corn products like high fructose corn syrup seem to be everywhere and in everything- even salad dressing and yogurts. Out of 37 ingredients in chicken nuggets, 30 involve corn! The average American consumes about three times as much corn now as they did in 1970. In a recent “How Stuff Works” article by Jacob Silverman, it was pointed out that the chemical variances between white sugar and a common version of high fructose corn sugar differs by only 5% in the amount of glucose and fructose. Why are our tax dollars being turned into sugar? It’s ridiculous that in a country where more than a third of adults are obese we continue to spend money on fattening food. By subsidizing fatty foods, the corporations who produce them don’t need to sell them for as much, causing them to lower prices. If a family on a budget is out shopping, it’s only natural for them to be drawn to the cheaper options. Consumers are witness to this dilemma everyday as they stroll down the supermarket aisles. It won’t take much attention to notice that it’s cheaper to buy junk than nutritious food. According to the University of Washington, nutritious foods cost nearly eighteen times more per thousand calories! The reason for this is because the government subsidizes more unhealthy food than healthy. If you were to examine the ingredients found in Twinkies, you could note that 14 ingredients are highly subsidized, reported the Fiscal Times. Think of it like this: if instead of giving the money to farmers that plant and harvest the crops, the government gave it straight to Americans, we’d receive more than $7 to buy junk food and nearly 30¢ for apples every year. Poor families who base their health choices on cost suffer most from these unfair subsidies as they make unhealthy food the cheaper, better option. Corn is also used as feed in the meat processing industry due to its efficiency and low cost. However, corn does more harm than good, as it’s not the animals’ natural food, even though it helps them gain weight rapidly. It causes huge health problems for cows, such as liver issues and Sudden Death syndrome. In fact, it even been linked to an increased the risk of E. coli. The bill our federal government uses to designate money to food stamp programs and agricultural subsidies is called the Farm Bill. It’s meant to be revised every five years and is currently being reviewed. The politics have been somewhat murky though. Numerous politicians, such as Republican Representative Stephen Fincher, are currently receiving tens of thousands in farm subsidies. This is not a bribe, but it does change the stakes. Also, passing the law was delayed until this year, though it was meant to have been done last year. One of the main issues being debated is how much to spend on Food Stamps as a majority of the money allotted is spent on providing food to the impoverished. Within the past few days, both Republican and Democrat representatives have brought forth new bills that would cut subsidies. Nonetheless, the Obama administration is working hard to cut agriculture spending by nearly $40 billion over the next decade. Some positive reforms will occur though, such as limiting the insurance subsidies for wealthy farms that make $750,000 or more. Our tax dollars should be spent on making healthy food more accessible and supporting farms that actually need the assistance. It is necessary for us to re-evaluate the way that the subsidies are being spent as these decisions impact the lives of both farmers and regular citizens.
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