Agricultural Subsidies In The United States

Agricultural Subsidies

Subsidies are financial aid supplied by a government, to an industry, for public welfare, or for balancing payments, etc. The most commonly known is the agricultural subsidy, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture distributes between $10 billion and $30 billion in cash subsidies to farmers and farmland owners each year, mostly going to the large business farms. Subsidies persuade farmers to overproduce, which lowers prices and creates political demands for further subsidies. More than 90 percent of the subsidies go to the farmers with the crops, corn, soy, cotton, wheat, and rice. This then gives consumers high-fructose corn syrup, empty-calorie snacking, fast food, a-two-sodas-a-day habit with its accompanying obesity,

Smaller, or sustainable farms are given little to no subsidies, whereas the U.S. Department of Agriculture distributes between $10 billion and $30 billion to mostly industrial farms. The government gives subsidies to industrial farms because they are more efficient in mass producing crops, making them cheaper. The agricultural subsidy should change to be focused on smaller sustainable farms because they are more efficient in producing healthier, and cleaner foods. Foods are produced without the use of pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and other hazardous chemicals, and animals are raised without the routine use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are only administered to a sick animal, and organic farmers pull the sick animal from the herd before treating it, but the meat is not sold under that label. Farmers recognize the importance of protecting the natural environment for future produce and farmers use manure, or composted manure as fertilizer for crops which reduces, or eliminates the need for commercial fertilizers and chemicals. They try to conserve water, no hormones are administered to animals, and sustainable farms sell their product locally through farmer’s markets, local stores, or community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, preventing environmental damage and human health problems caused by transportation-generated pollution. Sustainable farms support local economies by purchasing

The changes needed will need to properly provide quality foods for consumers. As of now The U.S. Department of Agriculture supports agricultural producers that tend to favor, either directly or indirectly, the production of unhealthful foods. These are the same foods that are implicated in the diseases that have steadily increased over the decades: Diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood-pressure, and obesity etc., imposing a great problem for Americans. Not only does the foods being supported by agricultural subsidies need to be changed, but the farms where foods are being grown and processed need to be changed as well. With the convenient, yet unhealthy systems used throughout Industrial farms, many health issues can be a result, from respiratory problems from methane gas, to pathogens being found contaminating water. Another big problem in industrial farms is the use of hormones. Researchers worry that the use of growth hormones may cause health problems for children, Such as exposure to bovine growth hormones causes early puberty in young girls. Reaching puberty at a young age may increase your risk of cancer and other health problems. Another health concern is that children may develop milk allergies in response to the hormones found in dairy products. With so many health concerns stemming from the agricultural system, having been formed by agricultural subsidies, one can