How Federal Food Subsidies Turn the Food Pyramid Upside Down

The chart above is careening around the internet today. I think it originated here where they describe the Farm Bill in the following terms;

The bill provides billions of dollars in subsidies, much of which goes to huge agribusinesses producing feed crops, such as corn and soy, which are then fed to animals. By funding these crops, the government supports the production of meat and dairy products—the same products that contribute to our growing rates of obesity and chronic disease. Fruit and vegetable farmers, on the other hand, receive less than 1 percent of government subsidies.

As the chart highlights, no wonder a big mac is cheaper than a salad and no wonder the rate of obesity is skyrocketing.

Comments

[jreighley]

A farmer friend of mine pointed out that those figures are most likely totally bogus...

"Here are the actual dollar amounts of Federal Ag subsidies paid to U.S. Farmers between 1995 and 2006 according to the Environmental Working Group's Farm Subsidy Database. (http://www.ewg.org):
1. Corn $56.1 billion
2.Wheat $22 billion
3. Cotton $21.3 billion
4. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) $ 20.3 billion
5. Disaster Payments $15.1 billion
6. Soybeans $14.2 billion
7. Rice $11 billion
8. Sorghum $4.5
9. Dairy Program $3.5 billion
10. Livestock $2.9 billion"

Anyone can make a pretty chart to say whatever they want it to say - you can't believe everything you read on the internet etc..

[Craig]

j
Thanks for chiming in.
I agree that the chart is a little deceptive. It's not like the government is spending the majority of the subsidies buying beef and chicken. I think the point of the chart is to say that when it comes to food, (the numbers you provide include some non-food subsidies) the farm bill is basically providing really cheap inputs to the feed lots in the form of corn and soy, making beef relatively cheap. And that is, for better or worse, shaping the foods we eat.

It's interesting that wheat appears to be a much larger recipient of proceeds than is represented in the chart. I wonder if the fact that the chart goes all the way back to 1995 impacts that.

Thanks for balancing things out.

[food pyramid]

What percent of people know that not following basic food pyramid can result in physio or psycho problems ?