The Brilliant Commodity Farm Program
Mar 3, 2008 farmers' markets, farming, sustainable agriculture
Does this make any kind of sense?
…consumers who would like to be able to buy local fruits and vegetables not just at farmers’ markets, but also in the produce aisle of their supermarket, will be dismayed to learn that the federal government works deliberately and forcefully to prevent the local food movement from expanding.
The commodity farm program effectively forbids farmers who usually grow corn or the other four federally subsidized commodity crops (soybeans, rice, wheat and cotton) from trying fruit and vegetables.
…a farmer who grows the forbidden fruits and vegetables on corn acreage not only has to give up his subsidy for the year on that acreage, he is also penalized the market value of the illicit crop, and runs the risk that those acres will be permanently ineligible for any subsidies in the future
[VIA: My Forbidden Fruits (and Vegetables) - New York Times]
Tags: commodity crops, fruits and vegetables, subsidies, subsidy
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Check out the campaign to contact members of Congress to address the issues with commodity farmland in the Farm Bill:
http://crunchychicken.blogspot.com/2008/03/fix-farm-bill.html