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United States Agriculture Subsidies and their Effects on Obesity


Emily Pia April 9th, 2013
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of US adults are now obese, and more than two-thirds are overweight.1 Additionally, childhood obesity has more than doubled in the past 30 years while obesity in adolescents has more than tripled. In 2010, more than one-third of children in America were obese, as well.2 All of this added poundage has serious health implications, both immediate and long-term. Those who are obese are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, 3 diabetes,4 bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological issues such as decreased self-esteem.5 Long-term effects include the likelihood that an obese child or adolescent will be obese as an adult and increased risk for the aforementioned diseases as adults, as well as many different types of cancer. Obesity is often associated with cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate, as well as multiple myeloma and Hodgkins lymphoma.6 While these statistics are astounding all by themselves, the economic toll that the treatment of these diseases take on our nations health care budget are equally astounding. In 2008, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $147 billion; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.7 Heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis alone cost our health care system an estimated $150 billion every year.8 These facts and figures emphasize that obesity is no longer a concern that affects a minimal percentage of the population, but an epidemic with far-reaching consequences for us all. Unfortunately, our society currently views obesity as something of a personality flaw rather than a nation-wide epidemic.9 The sheer prevalence of obesity, however, indicates that there is a much larger underlying issue than a lack of willpower, per se. An underlying issue might actually be hunger. It sounds a bit odd to say that obesity strongly correlates with hunger, but hunger is more than the pictures of starving children

in Africa we see in the media. Hunger is not just starvation; it is malnourishment, or the lack of access to nutrient-rich foods necessary to maintain a healthy diet. Thus, obesity is strongly related to hunger, as many Americans do not have access to or cannot afford nutritious foods and are labeled food insecure. Too many Amer icans do not think that hunger exists in this country, but far more people are affected by it than one may think. In 2011, 50.1 million Americans, 1 in 6 Americans, lived in food insecure households, including 33.5 million adults and 16.7 million children. 10 These people generally live in poverty-stricken households and simply cannot afford healthy foods, as they have become too expensive. Instead, many of these families rely on food stamps and food banks to feed their families, which often do not have nutritious foods available to their consumers. Rather, the selection is often a host of cheap, processed foods with little nutritional value and extremely high fat, sugar, and salt contents. 11 Figure one shows how food insecurity affects different areas of the country.

Figure 1: Reproduced from Feeding America

In the late 1970s, hunger was nearly eradicated, as ending hunger in America became a huge focus of our government. We expanded many food assistance programs including food stamps and national school breakfast and lunch progrmas, among others. During that time, there were only 200 food banks in the United States, and our nation was well-fed with nutritious foods.12 Hunger crept its way back into our society, however, in the 1980s, when the focus of our government spending switched from

feeding our nation to funding our defense programs during the Cold War era. Money was siphoned from food assistance programs and transferred to our national defense spending which, once again, left many Americans hungry. We have let this problem persist for more than 30 years now, and today, more Americans than ever struggle to put food on the table. Now, over 40,000 food banks, soup kitchens, and pantries exist in the US. The irony lies in the fact that we have more than enough food to feed our citizens, yet 50 million Americans are food insecure.13 A solution to this critical problem might lie in changing the way that U.S. agriculture subsidies are constructed. Our government currently subsidizes farms that produce mass amounts of the basic ingredients in processed foods rather than farms that produce fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.14 This imbalance in subsidies has driven up the costs of our produce and whole grains, while the price of processed foods is at an all-time low.15 From here, the issue has cascaded into the rise in obesity we are currently witnessing, and obesity rates will continue to rise until nutritious foods become more affordable and more attainable. The Solution My proposal is for the government to reconfigure their agriculture subsidies to provide more money to smaller, locally-owned farms that produce fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and reduce subsidies on large corporate farms that produce mass amounts of crops like corn, wheat, rice, cotton, and soy. The effects of this redirection of agricultural subsidies are extremely advantageous. This new plan will provide the public with greater access to nutritious foods, cause a decline in the rates of obesity, and decrease the amount of money that our nation spends on health care in treating obesity-related diseases. Additionally, school lunches will be more nutritious due to decreased costs of nutrient-rich food, which will improve student performance in schools, as nutrition and performance are strongly linked.16 History of Subsidies Federal support for agriculture began in the Great Depression era, when farmers were struggling. President Franklin D. Roosevelt included agricultural subsidies for struggling farms in his 1933 New Deal program. These subsidies served as a way to pay farmers when crop prices were low.17 The farms they subsidized were farms that produced crops like corn, wheat, and soy, as these crops were easy to transport, whereas fruits and vegetables were not. Refrigeration and transport technology at the time left most Americans to obtain their fruits and vegetables from smaller local gardens. 18

Now, 80 years later, not much has changed in the way of our agriculture subsidies. What has changed, though, is the success of the crops we continue to subsidize. Commodity crops like corn, wheat, and soy are doing better than ever, while fruits and vegetables are not doing so well. Yet, we still funnel billions of dollars to the flourishing crops, giving about $4.9 billion a year in automatic payments to growers of such commodity crops. The result is that prices for products containing corn, wheat, and soy are driven down, while the prices of fruits and vegetable continue to rise.19 Figure two shows the imbalance between the what United States Department of Agriculture recommends to maintain a healthy diet and the crops they subsidize.

Figure 2: United States Department of Agriculture

Subsidies and their Connection to Obesity So what are the repercussions of U.S. agriculture subsidies in regards to health? Unfortunately, our subsidies ultimately support the junk-food industry. Junk food is now cheaper than ever, and the main ingredients on the label usually contain corn and corn-based products, as well as other empty carbohydrates. Examples include sugary cereals, soda with high-fructose corn syrup, and breading on foods like chicken nuggets. Corn-fed meats aso pose a threat, and most people are unaware of the dietary issues associated with corn-fed animals versus grass-fed. Cows that are raised on corn, rather than grass, make meat that is higher in calories and contains more omega-6 fatty acids and fewer omega-3 fatty acids. This is a dangerous combination that can lead to heart disease.20 Of course, these are only a few examples in the host of thousands of

processed foods in which we have witnessed a sharp price decrease. Figure 3 gives a compelling visual that shows the relationship between the obesity and the cost of processed foods and fruits and vegetables. An inverse relationship is shown between the rates of obesity and cost of processed junk foods, while a direct relationship is shown between the rates of obesity and cost of produce.

Figure 3: From Documentary, A Place at the Table

Our subsidies that support foods that are loaded with calories coming from fat and carbohydrates, are making the food that is the worst for us the most accessible. Between 1985 and 2010, the price of processed foods fell 24% while the price of fruits and vegetables went up 36%.21 Because of the dramatic price difference, food-insecure families are often on a budget that leaves them with no choice but to buy the cheapest foods. Families on a small budget must find ways to purchase the most amounts of calories for the least amount of money. For example, for a dollar, a shopper can either buy 1,200 calories worth of potato chips or 250 calories worth of carrots.22 Figure four demonstrates how much more a shopper can get for their dollar by buying processed foods over fresh produce. For a family on a budget, potato chips are the most sensible choice, and produce is left on store shelves. These families are much more likely to be obese and experience the health issues that accompany the added poundage. While this issue does primarily affect food-insecure families, we cannot ignore that the price difference in healthy and unhealty foods affects America as a whole. Even those that have secure incomes are inclined to buy the cheaper foods for their families, as its just more practical to eliminate excess spending. The fact of the matter is that fruits and vegetables have now become a luxury for too many Americans, an alarming truth that demands we take action now.

Figure 4: From American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Obstacles The major obstacle to changing the way we subsidize agriculture is big agricultures lobby in Washington. Right now, our subsidies reflect the amount of political clout that the farms have that we do (or do not) subsidize. When the government agricultural subsidies were created, family farmers benefited. Now that land ownership has become more concentrated and farming has evolved from a family affair to a few numbered booming corporations, our government spending helps the rich get richer in a system that many call corporate welfare. To keep their funding, these corporations spend millions of dollars through lobbying to influence legislation. One may be shocked to know that agribusiness is one of the largest lobbies in Washington, second only to the oil and natural gas industry.23 As evidenced in Figure 5, agribusiness spends $124.7 million in lobbying, and yet agribusiness is discussed much less than the $5.5 million gun lobby.

Figure 5: From Documentary, A Place at the Table

Conclusion In order to fix hunger and obesity, we need politicians that care more about these enormous social issues than about the money they receive from agriculture lobbyists. The health of this country must come before the funding of already successful corporate farms. Times and circumstances have changed immensely from the 1930s, and our agriculture subsidies need to follow suit. In order to bring the cost of fruits and vegetables back down and make them more accessible to the public, we must dramatically decrease our funding of commodity crops and dramatically increase our funding of produce. The future of our nation depends on it. If we fail to act now, our nations youth will become sicker and die younger than any of the previous generations because of the toll that poor diet takes on a food insecure childs life. Congress has the power to turn the obesity epidemic around with a redirection of agriculture subsidies. We must, as a nation, stand up and let our legislators know that we refuse to let 50 million Americans go hungry every day, and that we will not stop fighting until everyone is able to avoid obesity and its negative health implications.

Citations:
1

"Adult Obesity Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 Aug. 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
2

Egger, Robert. "5 Myths about Hunger in America." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2010. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
10

Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Prevalence of obesity and trends in body mass index among US children and adolescents, 1999-2010. Journal of the American Medical Association 2012;307(5):483-490.
3

USDA. Coleman-Jensen, A., Nord, M., Andrews, M., & Carlson, S. Household Food Security in the United States in 2011.
11

A Place at the Table. Dir. Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush. Magnolia Pictures, 2013. Film.
12

Freedman DS, Zuguo M, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS, Dietz WH. Cardiovascular risk factors and excess adiposity among overweight children and adolescents: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Journal of Pediatrics 2007;150(1):1217.
4

Ibid Ibid Ibid

13

14

Li C, Ford ES, Zhao G, Mokdad AH. Prevalence of pre-diabetes and its association with clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors and hyperinsulinemia among US adolescents: NHANES 20052006. Diabetes Care 2009;32:342347.
5

15

Lane, Chris. "Why Do We Subsidize Junk Food?" Post-Gazette.com. Pittsburgh PostGazette, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.
16

Dietz WH. Overweight in childhood and adolescence. New England Journal of Medicine 2004;350:855-857.
6

Kushi LH, Byers T, Doyle C, Bandera EV, McCullough M, Gansler T, et al. American Cancer Society guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention: reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 2006;56:254281.
7

Washington. Washington State Department of Health. Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Research Review: School-Based Health Interventions and Academic Performance. By Julia Dilly, PhD. Ed. Don Martin and Tara Wolff. Washington State Department of Health, Sept. 2009. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.
17

"For a Healthier Country,Overhaul Farm Subsidies: Scientific American." Scientific American. Scientific American Magazine, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
18

"For a Healthier Country,Overhaul Farm Subsidies: Scientific American." Scientific American. Scientific American Magazine, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
8

Hargreaves, Steve. "Farm Subsidies." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 04 Dec. 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2013.
19

Still, Christopher D., and Gordon L. Jensen. "Obesity and Health Care Costs." Health Affairs. Project HOPE: The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc., May 2002. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.

"For a Healthier Country,Overhaul Farm Subsidies: Scientific American." Scientific American. Scientific American Magazine, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
20

Ibid

21

Pugliese, Gerald. "One Dollar Dining." Disease Proof. DrFuhrman Online, 28 Apr. 2007. Web. 09 Apr. 2013.

22

A Place at the Table. Dir. Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush. Magnolia Pictures, 2013. Film.
23

Ibid

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