Government and Food

Let's look at the first paragraph of the article:

The Farm Bill, a massive piece of federal legislation making its way through Congress, governs what children are fed in schools and what food assistance programs can distribute to recipients. 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.

The paleo argument is that it is better to eat meat than grains, and although they aren't crazy about milk, TomC and the Zone both like it, so although the government food pyramid doesn't match the subsidy pyramid, one could say the subsidies actually ARE supporting "healthier" choices, if they were making people eat beef instead of bread. Unfortunately, the corn subsidies also support production of HFCS, which is the root of all evil, or at least, a pernicious contributor to bad diets in the USA.

The Guardian (known for its left of center political stance) is right with you on abolishing farm subsidies: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/aug/18/foreignpolicy.wto, for a whole host of reasons.

Agreed that meat is better than grains from a paleo perspective, however grains are the second highest subsidized product and are pretty cheap even without subsidies. Meat + bread + dairy = cheeseburgers :)

And, yes, while The Guardian is often left of center, I think they do some darn good reporting.

John - consumers do vote, every day.....with their wallets.

I don't know what the qualified arguments are for farm subsidies. 

I do find it ironic that the dated Guardian article complains about the EU subsidizing local farmers at the indirect expense of African farmers. 

WHAT ABOUT THE GREEN ISSUES?????

Could the same questions asked about farm subsidies also be asked about "Fair Trade?"

John - no.

At their core, they are totally opposite.

Why should citizens fund jobs?

Think of how the EU funds Airbus Industries.  What's the economic qualified argument for that?

How does this effect Boeing sales? 

It does have its big role when it comes to supplements. Giving citizens a living is a big factor to fight hunger. computer crime defense attorney