Stop subsidizing junk food, big ag
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 By Chris Esh 
Congress is now negotiating the final version of the farm bill, and both
the nation's financial and physical health is on the line.

At a time when obesity rates in Washington are at an all-time high and
our country faces tough federal budget choices, current farm policy
showers giant agribusinesses with taxpayer handouts that subsidize junk
food ingredients. The time is ripe for change and Rep. Suzan DelBene --
Washington's sole representative taking part in the negotiations over the
farm bill -- can be the guiding voice to end these wasteful subsidies.

Washington Public Interest Research Group found that between 1995 and
2012, more than $19.2 billion in taxpayer dollars directly subsidized
corn- and soy-derived junk food ingredients. These federal subsidies to
junk food, which cost Washington taxpayers more than $23 million last
year, have much more far-reaching costs to our health and well-being.

Childhood obesity rates have tripled over the last three decades, and one
in three kids aged 6 to 11 in Washington is now obese. These increases in
obesity rates will translate into kids who are at greater risk for heart
disease and diabetes, undermining the health of our state and driving up
medical costs by billions of dollars. The rise in obesity has many root
causes, but one of the major sources is the increased prevalence of
heavily sweetened, high-fat junk foods in our diets.

These wasteful subsidies are the byproduct of a decades-old farm bill.
What started out as a Dust Bowl-era program to ensure small farmers
wouldn't be wiped out by a bad season has now become a taxpayer handout
for big agribusinesses to subsidize the production of commodity crops.
Case in point: Since 1995, 75 percent of all agricultural subsidies have
gone to just 4 percent of farmers.

These overly concentrated subsidies not only benefit the biggest players,
they harm smaller, unsubsidized farmers by inflating land prices,
promoting consolidation, and encouraging industrial agribusiness
practices without any benefit to public health.

While 82 percent of Washington farmers have not seen a penny in
subsidies, the few that do receive them are confined to a few select
commodity crops, like corn and soybeans. While the crops themselves are
not the issue, it becomes a problem when the percentage of these yields
become the empty calorie products found in our junk food -- especially
when one looks at the tiny fraction our apple producers and other fresh
fruits and vegetables receive in subsidies compared to commodity crops.

But does Big Ag really need the help?

Despite a major drought last year, the industry raked in $133 billion in
2012, their second-most profitable year on record. These profits give
them the resources to spend heavily to protect their subsidies. When the
farm bill was up for a vote last year, the agribusiness industry spent
$220 million on lobbying and campaign contributions.

Farm bill negotiations are taking place right now, and the window for
ending these subsidies is coming to a close. For the first time in
decades, there is a move for real reform to cut the most wasteful and
harmful subsidies to the likes of Monsanto and Cargill.

There's no excuse to keep shelling out tax dollars to a handful of
agribusinesses with deep pockets and access to our politicians, and
there's no excuse for turning a blind eye to the ways our policies
encourage a public health crisis. With America facing an obesity
epidemic, it is unconscionable that even one dime of taxpayer money would
go towards subsidizing junk food.

Congress needs to get it right this time by siding with the public
instead of Big Ag. Our public health and small farms depend on such
action.

For Rep. Suzan DelBene, she can define her political career right here as
a defender of our public health and small family farms.



Chris Esh is the Program Associate with Washington Public Interest Group
(WashPIRG), a statewide citizen-based consumer advocacy organization. You
can reach Chris at [log in to unmask]

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