U.S. a net IMPORTER of food

[erik_kosberg]

This story on farm subsidies included something that I wasn't aware of:

Compounding the problem are new Commerce Committee figures Thursday showing that the country, once viewed as the world's breadbasket, is dining increasingly on food from abroad.

The nation imported $5.8 billion more in food than it exported last year, a sevenfold increase from the year earlier when the deficit was $805 million, the Commerce Department said. The United States turned from net food exporter to importer in 2002 when a $70 million deficit appeared.

[jgibson2[$]]

I wasn't aware of the trade balance issue. I was aware that imported food isn't held to the same standards as food grown here. Think about that if you have a choice between locally grown and imported foods. Sometimes they're side by side on the shelves.

[mnehr]

I don't see a problem. It is a natural progression of an economy.

[frazzledspice]

In this state, the Senators are up in arms about the potential decrease in farm subsidies.

They said farmers in France get ten times the food subsidies of American farmers.

French farmers take less risks. They can sell their products more cheaply.

[mnehr]

i.e. They are paid not to produce, they have no motivation to take a risk.
A little research project for you. Check what happened to farmers in New Zealand when they eliminated 100% of their farm subsidies.

[erik_kosberg]

When I was a kid, there was a “future of farming” article in National Geographic that predicted that within a generation or so, American farming would be much more centralized with larger tracts of land given over to monoculture, a much smaller labor force due to economies of scale, and massive export trade. Looks like they got all but the last of those correct.

BTW the farm subsidy set-aside programs make a lot of sense from an environmental viewpoint even if they don’t make sense from a corporate welfare viewpoint. And I have no idea how to calculate the numbers for this, but I’m guessing that the value of formal subsidies is nothing compared to the value of artificially priced water for irrigation.

[erik_kosberg]

Wow. I knew that our trade deficit has been bad news for many years but didn’t know that it grew by an astonishing 24% in 2004.

[realtraveller]

frazzledspice said

In this state, the Senators are up in arms about the potential decrease in farm subsidies.

They said farmers in France get ten times the food subsidies of American farmers.

French farmers take less risks. They can sell their products more cheaply.

If I could find it again there was an interesting list of celebs who are getting farm subsidies, people like Ted Turner, Scotty Pippin....etc. getting millions.

Farm subsidies in most cases is a great disguise. People think of a family farm just barely ekeing out a livng. In reality, its large non-family farms getting the money, in other words, just more corporate welfare.

[erik_kosberg]

frazzledspice said

In this state, the Senators are up in arms about the potential decrease in farm subsidies.

Coincidentally, the top two recipients of subsidies are both from Arkansas:
http://www.ewg.org/farm/top_recips.p...=total&yr=2003