America's Farm Bill Promotes Obesity

by Jeanette Fisher

Every five years or so, the U.S. Congress passes a new farm bill. Its purpose is to set public policy for America's food system, and one of its key provisions is which crops will be subsidized by the government. Five crops have traditionally been subsidized: corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, and cotton.

That's all well and good, but the way the system has been set up for the last several decades, farmers have been paid by how many bushels they can grow, rather than what previous farm bills used to do, which was to set support prices and limit the production of subsidized goods.

The result of the current system is that America has become inundated by sugar derived from corn, fats derived mostly from soybeans, and inexpensive meat and milk derived mostly from corn and soybeans. On the other hand, there's virtually no help in the farm bill for farmers who raise fresh produce. How does that translate to the food you buy in the supermarket? The price of fresh fruit and vegetables has increased almost 40% during the period from 1985 to 2000, while the price of soda (which heavily relies on corn syrup) has actually decreased 23% during that same period.

The bottom on all these figures: for the last several decades, various farm bills have encouraged farmers to grow crops that are the least healthful for the American people, and as a result, Americans are heavier and less healthy than ever before, with no end in sight--unless the farm bill is reformed to change that trend.

It seems to make no sense on the surface. Everyone seems to be concerned about the obesity epidemic, yet Congress still spends billions of dollars annually to help farmers continue to grown the high-fructose corn syrup that is a large part of the problem. Cynics just smile and shake their heads, but that doesn't help Americans get healthier. Healthy food simply costs more, and since many families are already strapped, they buy processed food because they can't afford the "good stuff."

The only lasting solution to the problem is to amend the farm bill to reflect what's really going on with America's food situation. Farm subsidies need to be expanded to include foods that will encourage people to eat more sensibly, but that can only happen if healthy foods are given a fair chance to compete for the consumer's dollar at the supermarket.