The Broken Bill and how to lower the costs of vegetables.

       Another massive factor in the Obesity rate is a thing called the farm bill. The U.S. government currently spends $60 billion every year on a bill called The Farm Bill. In theory The Farm Bill is a great idea, it is a bill that gives subsidies to struggling farmers. However, today many large and highly successful corn farms receive a large portion of the help. This policy of subsidizing corn farmers is also very poor for our health. Government handouts to corn farmers have driven down the price of corn so far that sugar has been replaced as the means of sweetening our food. Instead, we use high fructose corn syrup, a substance that is much harder for our bodies to break down. The result is that the soda we drink today makes us fatter and more prone to diseases like Diabetes than the same soda made with real sugar. The same goes for any product where “high fructose corn syrup” appears in the list of ingredients (try going to the supermarket and looking at different products, you will be surprised at how many of them contain the substance). If it weren’t for corn subsidies keeping the price of corn artificially low, a purer form of sugar could be used in our foods. (Silva P. 2010) As you can see, the government needs to change its priorities and stop throwing money at big corn farmers; instead the government should start funding small-scale vegetable farms.

       Ever noticed the price of vegetables at a supermarket? That's right, they’re high. The most comprehensive study of its kind indicates that unhealthy food is about $1.50 cheaper per day, or about $550 per year, than healthy food. Junk food being cheaper than real food explains why so many Americans are overweight, particularly those with lower incomes. “I frequently read confident statements like, “when a bag of chips is cheaper than a head of broccoli ...” or “it’s more affordable to feed a family of four at McDonald’s than to cook a healthy meal for them at home.”If we really want to get rid of obesity we should be putting government money towards lowering the prices of healthy foods and discouraging junk foods” (Bittman M. 2011). Bittman is correct, the government needs to put more of an effort to lower the prices of fruits and vegetables not corn. If the government can make it more expensive to eat unhealthy then along with the prices of vegetables, the weight of America will decline leading to a healthier world.