Re:The ugly truth about the ugly produce movement
by rapnie on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @06:26PM
(#18135338)
Maybe we shouldn't look at the farmer solely. In NL potato farmers get 9 ct/kilo of potatoes. This is near cost price, sometimes even below. In the supermarket the consumer pays $1.60 for that kilo. And I am talking local produce here.. the potato fields are literally right next to the supermarkets (NL is very small, no long supply lines).
With those 9 cts it is clear they need subsidies. The supermarkets set the prices, and something is wrong here.
Re:The ugly truth about the ugly produce movement
by TruffleLabs on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @07:00PM
(#18135521)
This paper by Dr. Jayson Lusk at Purdue University outlines the valuation of farm support programs (what is being called subsidies in this thread). He also includes analysis of farm support from other countries.
http://jaysonlusk.com/blog/2016/6/26/impacts-of-usda-program...
One question though, are there farmers out there who are not taking the famed agricultural subsidies we give out? Because if there are, (even if there are not that many such farmers), I think those guys should be able to monetize their "ugly" produce or fruit all they want. They're not being supported by tax money at all.
But yes, if we are subsidizing a farmer, we certainly have the right to oblige him to give his scraps to us so we can feed our masses. There's nothing unreasonable about that. After all, we're only talking about the little food he's able to sell only to the guys who literally only take "scraps".