Farm Bill: Friend or foe?
by Leigh Pomeroy
The Farm Bill is highly complex, and few Americans have any idea how much it impacts them and our country — in fact, the world.
In any complexity within our society — e.g., taxes, the law, the military, government itself — those who know the subject best are the ones who make the decisions. This is a double-edged sword, because knowledge can be employed to advance the common good, or it can be used, like money, to benefit primarily a few.
Unfortunately, farm subsidies, while introduced with good intention, are like a foreign species introduced into an ecosystem to combat one pest, but which has grown to become a new pest itself.
For those looking to educate themselves more on the subject, A Bluestem Prairie has recently posted some excellent analysis. As well as the sources she cites — the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Grist magazine, the Blog for Rural America — everyone who has any interest in this subject should be aware of the Environmental Working Group's Farm Subsidy Database.
The Farm Bill is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue, but a who's-getting-rich-from-subsidies vs. a hey-wait-a-minute!-something's-wrong-here issue. For many wealthy landowners and large agricultural producers, subsidies have become an entitlement. Ironically, many of these are the same folks who rail at cocktail parties about other government entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.
The Farm Bill needs to be dismembered, put into parts, and examined closely to determine as to which program really supports a safe, sustainable, environmentally positive and economically fair food production system, and which is simply a multi-million dollar entitlement system for large landowners, producers and agribusinesses.
There are many good programs in the current Farm Bill. We need to build on those but say "good riddance" to the rest.
The Farm Bill is highly complex, and few Americans have any idea how much it impacts them and our country — in fact, the world.
In any complexity within our society — e.g., taxes, the law, the military, government itself — those who know the subject best are the ones who make the decisions. This is a double-edged sword, because knowledge can be employed to advance the common good, or it can be used, like money, to benefit primarily a few.
Unfortunately, farm subsidies, while introduced with good intention, are like a foreign species introduced into an ecosystem to combat one pest, but which has grown to become a new pest itself.
For those looking to educate themselves more on the subject, A Bluestem Prairie has recently posted some excellent analysis. As well as the sources she cites — the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Grist magazine, the Blog for Rural America — everyone who has any interest in this subject should be aware of the Environmental Working Group's Farm Subsidy Database.
The Farm Bill is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue, but a who's-getting-rich-from-subsidies vs. a hey-wait-a-minute!-something's-wrong-here issue. For many wealthy landowners and large agricultural producers, subsidies have become an entitlement. Ironically, many of these are the same folks who rail at cocktail parties about other government entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.
The Farm Bill needs to be dismembered, put into parts, and examined closely to determine as to which program really supports a safe, sustainable, environmentally positive and economically fair food production system, and which is simply a multi-million dollar entitlement system for large landowners, producers and agribusinesses.
There are many good programs in the current Farm Bill. We need to build on those but say "good riddance" to the rest.
Labels: agriculture, Farm Bill
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