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FARM-SUBSIDIES

The Vine

Food - Supermarkets - Obesity - Nutrition - Calories - Farmers - Agriculture - New York Times

Source: The New York Times

A few years ago, an obesity researcher at the University of Washington named Adam Drewnowski ventured into the supermarket to solve a mystery. He wanted to figure out why it is that the most reliable predictor of obesity in America today is a person's wealth.

Sarkozy calls for reform of common agricultural policy

Source: Forbes

'I want a new CAP because I do not intend to abandon the farmers who do not want to be assisted, who do not want to live on subsidies,' Sarkozy said. 'The CAP as it exists today cannot meet the challenges of 2013 onwards - everyone knows it, no one is saying it.'

Farm subsidies are a crime against human dignity

It's a simple rule in politics: the small yet well-organised interests of a few consistently overrule the large but diffuse interests of many. Some may say that democracy was invented to address that problem.

Dead Men Farming::By John Stossel

Source: Town Hall

By now you've probably heard that a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report states:

Still Waiting for Farm Reform

Source: The New York Times

Doling out last-minute benefits as only a speaker can, Nancy Pelosi managed to kill a progressive farm bill on the floor of the House. The House then passed a bill that further enshrined an outdated and excessively costly system of guaranteed subsidies.

Ethanol the Holy Water of Capitol Politics

Source: AlterNet.org

The inconvenient truth is that ethanol is bad for taxpayers, bad for air quality, bad for people who like to eat, and it will have no real effect on America's overall energy mix -- too bad DC's politicians won't say anything about it.

WEBCAST: Web site names who's getting biggest farm subsidies

Source: central Valley Business Times

(There is an MP3 file attached of a ten minute interview with Sandra Schubert, director of government affairs for EWG.)

End It, Don't Mend It - How to get rid of farm subsidies once and for all

Source: Reason Magazine

Congress is fundamentally a gathering of horse-traders, and the body always seems to find a way to put pork into its already-lavish spending bills.

Federal farm subsidies require a more balanced diet?

Source: The Seattle Times

Since the beginning of the New Deal, the federal government has written a bill once every five years to set farm policy.

Can biofuels save Europe, or the planet?

Source: The Economist

WHEN all else fails, agree on biofuels. That has been the reassuring mantra of European Union energy policy, plagued by disagreements on unbundling over-mighty power firms, haggles over carbon trading and worries about dependence on Russian gas.

Federal Subsidies Turn Farms Into Big Business

Source: The Washington Post

The very policies touted by Congress as a way to save small family farms are instead helping to accelerate their demise, economists, analysts and farmers say. That's because owners of large farms receive the largest share of government subsidies.

Doha Round trade pact 'years away'

Source: rnsa.livejournal.com

A deal in the Doha Round of world trade talks could be 'a matter of months, or a matter of years,' depending on when the United States' trade partners yield ground on touchy issues like agricultural tariffs, a US trade official said.

No Drought Required For Federal Drought Aid

Source: The Washington Post

For those that believe that disaster relief is actually allocated to people who have suffered from a disaster, this article is a real eye-opener. It appears that the real welfare queens may be America's farmers and not someone living in public housing.

WTO arrives down on the farm in U.S.; Illinois farmers preparing

Source: International Herald Tribune

"More often than not, American farmers consider the WTO an after-thought and resist the notion that its rules will have any influence on their farm bill, which is up for renewal next year. The Illinois Farm Bureau is something of an exception.

Think Gas Is More Expensive, Urban Sprawl Is Bad? Think Again.

Source: ABC News

ABC's John Stossel, on "things you may have been led to believe are true — but aren't."

George Bush's assault on my colon

Amidst the usual mob of protesters and tear gas, WTO ministers met last month in Hong Kong to discuss – among many things – the crippling global affect of low-cost export commodities from the US made possible by mammoth farm subsidies.

WTO seals farms deal amid protests - Dec 18, 2005

Source: CNN

An interim deal was reached in Hong Kong to end farm export subsidies by 2013, a compromise that most can accept.