Beyond Old McDonald: The Farm Bill Affects You

Why should you care about the farm bill? You probably don’t live on a farm or even know anyone who lives on a farm.

Well, the farm bill isn’t just about farms and farmers. Anyone who buys, sells, or eats food (you eat, right?) is impacted, and WomenMatter is here to tell you how.

The legislation sets the rules for our food system -- what goes into our food, how much we pay for that food, and the environmental impact of growing or raising the food.

Usually, the farm bill doesn’t get much of a response from the American public, so our representatives focus their attention elsewhere. But our health and environment are at steak, ahum, stake.

Health

After the dog food and spinach scares, the first thing that may come to your mind is food safety. The farm bill sets standards for industrial food production, and this year, the prevention of meat and produce contamination is a hot-button issue.

Rosa DeLauro (D- Conn.), chairwoman of the House Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee, has threatened to cut the salaries of top FDA officials until they develop a new food safety plan.

Nutrition

It’s much cheaper to buy unhealthy processed foods than nutrient-rich ones like fresh produce. Most fruit and vegetable farmers don’t receive any government subsidies, making produce more expensive than sweets and fats.

There is a direct conflict between what our government recommends that we eat through US Dietary Guidelines – lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains -- and what government policies encourage us to eat.

Current corn and soy subsidies result in the overproduction of these crops, making it cheap for food processors to use high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated soy oil, both of which have been linked to obesity and other health problems.

America’s poor tend to have poor nutrition as well – it’s much cheaper to buy a candy bar than a salad. And those on food stamps (which are worth just $21 a week) can’t really afford to eat healthy when high-fat meat is much less expensive than organic greens.

And since government subsidies make corn so cheap, most cattle is corn-fed, which results in lower-quality, higher-fat meat than the meat from grass-fed cows.

Of course, poor nutrition results in poor health, so poor eating habits result in higher demand and higher prices in the healthcare system.

Lunch money

However, money isn’t the reason that school lunches are full of unhealthy fried foods; outdated laws are the culprit. The school lunch program started in 1946, when the main concern was undernourishment. Schools had to provide kids with enough calories to keep funding. Today, many kids are fighting obesity, but school lunch programs still serve high-calorie meals.

Environment

The Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research Subcommittee voted to authorize a $3.8 billion increase in the next five years for energy-efficient farming programs. Some legislators say that this is not enough money to make a difference, while others worry about paying for the programs at all.

The Subcommittee also added amendments that would protect grasslands and promote sustainable farming practices for fruit and vegetable growers.

However, current farm policies encourage the use of chemical fertilizers, which can be toxic to workers and consumers alike. Although organic food has exploded into a $15 billion industry in recent years, Americans can’t just vote with their forks. By contacting your representatives, you can let Congress know that the farm bill does matter to you.