Get Government Out of the Food Industry
Farming is an important facet of our economy. We support farmers because they produce our food and with the rise of globalization, are threatened with cheaper, foreign food sources that are being shipped into the country. The "eat local" movement lives in this debate. Local food sources keep us fed and keeps our farmers in profit with a special emphasis on sustainability, something I believe is paramount when it comes to food. The worst thing for farmer John down the road is that the U.S. government believes it can do the job better than he can. Through subsidies, quotas and payouts, our government has manipulated the food industry and caused unnecessary harm to those it is intending to help, both farmers and consumers. From 1999 to 2005, the USDA paid over $1 billion in farm payments in the names of 172,000 deceased individuals. Forty percent went to those who had been dead for three or more years and 19 percent to those dead for seven or more years. The trend continues toda...