Does our farm policy make us fatter as a nation?

[phoenixx]

This New York Times article talks about the US Farm Subsidy program and how it may be contributing to making us fatter as a nation.

Like most processed foods, the Twinkie is basically a clever arrangement of carbohydrates and fats teased out of corn, soybeans and wheat — three of the five commodity crops that the farm bill supports, to the tune of some $25 billion a year. (Rice and cotton are the others.) For the last several decades — indeed, for about as long as the American waistline has been ballooning — U.S. agricultural policy has been designed in such a way as to promote the overproduction of these five commodities, especially corn and soy.

This is a disheartening thought, that our own policies are making us fat and promoting unhealthy eating. The bill comes up for renewal soon - can we get our politicians to make changes to it, or is it a lost cause? How would changes affect the nation's economy?

[mtomm[$]]

Thanks for the link, Leslie.

Don't give the money to the farmers. Give it to me and I'll use it to feed my two teenagers who are each 6'. I promise I won't buy Twinkies but I'll admit to lots and lots of Ramen noodles.

But seriously I hope this is true:

But there are signs this year will be different. The public-health community has come to recognize it can’t hope to address obesity and diabetes without addressing the farm bill.

[frazzledspice]

There are many problems with the farm bill--most subsidies go to large farmers, too, and small family farms are having difficulty surviving.