The Federal Farm Bill is the main agricultural and food policy tool of the Federal government of the United States. Devastatingly, agribusiness lobbyists have slowly altered it ever since its inception after the Great Depression. Currently, the formula for subsidies awarded to farmers is based on crop type and volume. For example, from 1995 to 2003, 3/4 of all disbursements went to the top-grossing 10 percent of growers. And in 1999, over 70 percent of subsidies went for just two commodity crops: corn and soybeans.
This erosion of the Farm Bill is what has allowed corporations to take over farming in the United States, leaving fewer than a third of our farms still run by families. Ironically, those family-owned farms are the ones doing exactly what 80% of U.S. consumers say we would prefer to support even though our tax dollars do the opposite. Family farms are more likely to use sustainable techniques and protect the surrounding environment. Consider letting your representatives know that we need a dramatically restructured Farm Bill. Until then, support for local and sustainable agriculture will have to come directly from motivated customers.
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