U.S. Farm Policy -- i.e. Lower Prices in Corn & Soybeans (Hence High Fructose Corn Syrup and Trans Fats) -- Help Fuel Obesi
Posted Dec 18 2008 8:12pm
A new damning report about our U.S. farm policy provides just the insights, astute analytical comments, and suggestions that we need to wake up our policymakers and as-yet-unaware physicians, etc.
The much-needed report -- from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) -- singles out the U.S. farm policy -- which for the past 50 years has been driving down the prices of a few farm commodities, including corn and soybeans -- as a significant reason for our nation's obesity epidemic. Meanwhile, prices for fruits and vegetables -- grown with little government support -- have steadily increased.
You'll find some fascinating information in this research paper -- which makes sense since the IATP's goal is to work "globally to promote resilient family farms, communities and ecosystems through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy."
You may be wondering specifically how low corn and soybean prices could play a role in making Americans fat.
Well, because corn and soybeans are priced so "artifically cheap" -- as the report puts it -- low, this has prompted a surge in production and sales of food substances that are really cheap to produce.
For example, the inexepensively priced high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years -- all because of the low price of corn. As you've read here recently, increasingly researchers have cited the over-abundance of HFCS in food products and the different way it is processed in our bodies as leading to fat storage.
A new damning report about our U.S. farm policy provides just the insights, astute analytical comments, and suggestions that we need to wake up our policymakers and as-yet-unaware physicians, etc.
The much-needed report -- from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) -- singles out the U.S. farm policy -- which for the past 50 years has been driving down the prices of a few farm commodities, including corn and soybeans -- as a significant reason for our nation's obesity epidemic. Meanwhile, prices for fruits and vegetables -- grown with little government support -- have steadily increased.
Actually, the title of the 14-page document tells it all: "Food Without Thought: How U.S. Farm Policy Contributes to Obesity,"
You'll find some fascinating information in this research paper -- which makes sense since the IATP's goal is to work "globally to promote resilient family farms, communities and ecosystems through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy."
You may be wondering specifically how low corn and soybean prices could play a role in making Americans fat.
Well, because corn and soybeans are priced so "artifically cheap" -- as the report puts it -- low, this has prompted a surge in production and sales of food substances that are really cheap to produce.
For example, the inexepensively priced high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years -- all because of the low price of corn. As you've read here recently, increasingly researchers have cited the over-abundance of HFCS in food products and the different way it is processed in our bodies as leading to fat storage.