The Insanity Of Our Food Policy

The Insanity Of Our Food Policy
WOONSOCKET, RI - MARCH 01: Juan Cardez loads meat onto a hand cart during a large delivery he was making to International Market. The store buys huge quantities of meat in anticipation of the first of the month when SNAP (food stamp) recipients get paid. Many families and individuals in Woonsocket, Rhode Island are needy and take part in the SNAP (food stamps) program. Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images
WOONSOCKET, RI - MARCH 01: Juan Cardez loads meat onto a hand cart during a large delivery he was making to International Market. The store buys huge quantities of meat in anticipation of the first of the month when SNAP (food stamp) recipients get paid. Many families and individuals in Woonsocket, Rhode Island are needy and take part in the SNAP (food stamps) program. Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

American food policy has long been rife with head-scratching illogic. We spend billions every year on farm subsidies, many of which help wealthy commercial operations to plant more crops than we need. The glut depresses world crop prices, harming farmers in developing countries. Meanwhile, millions of Americans live tenuously close to hunger, which is barely kept at bay by a food stamp program that gives most beneficiaries just a little more than $4 a day.

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE