My smart padlet by Robin Day

How the US government subsidizes agriculture

8290318 — 2025-03-16 16:37:56 UTC

The US Government is currently paying (subsidizing) farmers to grow as much low value crops as possible. This leads to massive amounts of corn and other crops with low nutrimental value in our food systems. That is because these subsidized crops are the cheapest for companies to buy because farmers are already getting paid by the government to grow them. This means companies are able to buy corn and other crops at a price even lower than what it cost to produce those crops, because the government is paying already meaning the farmers still make a profit even if they sell the corn and other crops for less than it cost to grow.

Farm subsides impact the national food chain very deeply

8290318 — 2025-03-16 17:14:59 UTC

The government subsides many crops, but corn, wheat, and soy are the most heavily subsidized crops. This means these crops are flooding our food system and are by far the most cheap for companies to purchase which in turn makes goods using corn, wheat, and soy the cheapest too. This means the government is paying for food with low nutrient value to overtake our food system. This means the cheapest foods are unhealthy and the government is helping to keep those foods cheap. This is going to disproportionately affect low income people (which because of structural racism also affect people of color more).

Changing what crops are subsidized

8290318 — 2025-03-16 17:21:05 UTC

The first and most important step to improving the American diet and thus health outcome are to change what crops go into our food system. If more people need to eat fresh fruits and vegetables than those are the crops the government should be subsiding. Americans do not need to eat more corn, wheat, and soy so the government should not be funding the growth of those crops. Furthermore, the current crop subsides make unhealthy food the cheapest because unhealthy or low nutrient value crops are the cheapest for food producers to buy, but if health crops were cheaper those crops would be more prominent in processed foods. No matter what crop is being grown somebody is paying the true cost, either the government or the consumer. Under the current system the consumer can buy unhealthy processed foods at a cheaper price than health whole foods. Currently the consumer is paying the true cost of health foods but not of unhealthy ones. The government should be paying for healthy nutrient dense crops to be grown so that those crops become the cheapest food source.

Obesity and poverty

8290318 — 2025-03-16 17:31:27 UTC

According to the Philadelphia department of Public Health, "Approximately 1 in 3 adults with low income have obesity, compared to only 1 in 5 among the highest income group". This means that poverty puts a person at a greater risk for developing obesity because their access to healthy foods is limited either because of their physical location, finical resources, and/or lack of time. Knowing that poverty is linked to obesity is especially concerning then for our city because poverty affects about 1 in 5 people in our city according to WHYY.

Poverty in Philadelphia

8290318 — 2025-03-16 17:34:53 UTC

Now that it is established that poverty drastically increases one's risk of developing obesity because of lack of resources, it is important to understand that our city will be disproportionately effected by obesity because so many people in Philadelphia are low income. According to WHYY, "more than 20% of Philadelphians [are] living in poverty and about one in 10 Philadelphians [are] living in deep poverty".

Farm subsides of unhealthy crops directly linked to obesity and other health problems

8290318 — 2025-03-16 17:38:19 UTC

If what crops the government subsides becomes the cheapest foods on the market, then it is no shock that because unhealthy foods are being subsided our health outcome are poor. Poor people do not have access to more expensive healthy foods and thus rely on unhealthy processed foods that are made from subsided crops. This means because the government in subsiding unhealthy crops, the nutrimental value of the American diet is suffering.

8290318 — 2025-03-16 17:52:31 UTC