The Fattening of America

Have you ever wondered why it's cheaper to eat fast food than it is to eat something healthy? Why do they charge more for the fruit than they do for the french fries? The sad truth is that our government puts laws, taxes, subsidies, etc. in place that make the system work that way. Consider the following picture:

This picture compares the federal subsidies given each year since 1995 to the Federal Nutrition Guidelines. As you can see, the 9 servings of fruit and vegetables we're supposed to be getting each day are supported by 0.37% of the federal subsidies paid to farmers each year. Pretty sad!

Do you think it's by coincidence that 1 in 3 children born in America today will develop diabetes or that the United States ranks 38th in the world (UNBELIEVABLE) in life expectancy? A large part of why these statistics keep trending toward the negative is because our government has rules in place that make cheeseburgers artificially cheap and fruits and vegetables artificially expensive in comparison.

So - other than the obvious 'wow that's pretty bad' response this might evoke, why is this important and why am I bringing it up? It's because this year, 2007, is a cyclical year for the discussion of what's known as the Farm Bill in the US Congress. This bill is discussed every 5 years and subsidies, laws, etc. are either held up or altered based on the discussion. Unfortunately, it's starting to look more and more like this year's discussion is going to do more for the hydrogenated oil and high-fructose corn syrup industries than it is for the average American consumer. Democrats are stalling because they fear losing seats for freshman legislators from farm states and Republicans are trying to load the bill with extras (more money for the war, etc.).

If you haven't been paying attention to the news or didn't know what they meant when they mentioned the impasse over the Farm Bill, now you know. If you're interested and want more coverage, the San Francisco Chronicle has been covering the bill extensively and has running commentary here.