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Re:The Insanity of Our Food Policy by greglindahl on Monday November 18, 2013 @06:46PM (#6758163)
One of the amazing things about our food subsidies is that they skew towards subsidizing things like row crops: wheat and corn, and indirectly subsidize grain-fed meat.

And they don't subsidize things like vegetables.

Now, what do Americans not eat enough of? And it's partly because they're too expensive compared to cheap grains and cheap grain-fed meat?

Re:The Insanity of Our Food Policy by chad_oliver on Monday November 18, 2013 @07:05PM (#6758255)
To be fair, the subsidies exist (if only theoretically) to ensure that America can feed itself in a large scale war. In WWII, the Allies had a lot of success with cutting off Germany's external trade, which significantly reduces their ability to make war. America wants to make sure that if that happens to them, there won't be a famine.

Vegetables aren't a priority in that situation, because they can be easily grown in backyard gardens. On the other hand, row crops tend to be carbohydrate-heavy (perfect for a famine), cheap to produce, and they benefit significantly from economies of scale.

Re:The Insanity of Our Food Policy by sliverstorm on Monday November 18, 2013 @07:06PM (#6758263)
Row crops also store & transport much better than most vegetables.
Re:The Insanity of Our Food Policy by shadowOfShadow on Tuesday November 19, 2013 @12:32AM (#6759458)
Not amazing. Those subsidies have quite a logical nexus actually.

Most fruits and vegetables can't be stored or transported like grains - unless they are picked before being ripe & at peak nutrition.

Playing games on the supply side is a fool's errand. Incentives become unpredictable, if not counter-productive. Boost demand and incentives will work themselves out. Pay people to live healthy lives and they will drive the farmers to produce healthy foods. Put money on the behaviors you want to see more of - and you will see it. Pay to encourage price stability (farm subsidies) and you'll see price fixing. Pay people who get and stay fit and they will drive the markets to healthier plateaus.

Year-round fresh fruits & vegetables for 300M people can not be grown in the US. You can't subsidize farmers enough for them to make the sun shine longer and breed apples with a 6 month shelf life. You also ought to consider the global effects of shipping fresh food a few thousand miles or more, not to mention the human costs of raising and harvesting all those tasty luxuries.

Grains (and other starches) are stable, travel well (though they can grow closer to everywhere), and can provide an adequate base of energy and fiber within a diet tailored to a healthy individual.

If you want economic incentives done better, tax the fat and transfer it to the fit.