Redirect Agricultural Subsidies and Support Healthy Living
Americans are subsidizing their own obesity. Worse yet, they kill themselves by increasing their risk for cancer and cardiovascular disease. What's feeding this problem? The U.S. Department of Agriculture's subsidies that promote foods linked to chronic disease. The department supports meat and dairy, while it neglects foods that promote a healthier lifestyle.
These subsidies cost millions of American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars.
A combined 83% of agricultural subsidies go to support the production of meat and dairy. Less than 1% is allocated for fruits and vegetables. The effect is that foods high in fat and sugar become more affordable, and therefore more accessible, causing chronic disease and related health costs. Healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables, become out-of-reach for many Americans.
Help fight disease and cut down medical costs in the U.S. by demanding that U.S. agricultural policy be altered to favor healthier foods and healthier people.
The U.S. Farm Bill is responsible for allocating agricultural subsidies that currently do not support healthy living for Americans. By heavily favoring meat and dairy production and neglecting to adequately support the production of fruits and vegetables, the bill creates an environment where healthy foods are inaccessible to much of the U.S. population. As a result chronic disease, and related health costs, are dramatically on the rise.
It has therefore become increasingly imperative that the Congress reconsider agricultural subsidy distribution, and redirect funds to favor healthier foods. This would allow more Americans who are currently limited by inadequate finances to access healthy foods and begin living healthier lives. Health-care costs would then decrease as chronic disease would no longer be perpetuated by a system that supports an unhealthy lifestyle.
Please support the redirection of agricultural subsidies to increase national health and decrease costs by making government support of fruit and vegetable production of primary importance when considering subsidy distribution.
