Farm Subsidies and the Free Market

There are few subsidy issues thornier than government supports for domestic food stock farmers and Michael Pollan's piece in the NYTimes from a week ago, Weed it and Reap, does an excellent job of highlighting what's at stake.

When you consider that farm income is at record levels (thanks to the ethanol boom, itself fueled by another set of federal subsidies); that the World Trade Organization has ruled that several of these subsidies are illegal; that the federal government is broke and the president is threatening a veto, bringing forth a $288 billion farm bill that guarantees billions in payments to commodity farmers seems impressively defiant.

Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma, is a wonderful exploration of the havoc that these subsidies are reaping on our environment, our economies and our bodies. It is simultaneously one of the most fascinating and frightening books I've read in a long time.

Finally, the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine has developed a wonderful graphic that highlights what these subsidies mean for our daily food choices in why a Big Mac costs less than a salad.