bluefacedpixie

Similar to the crazy EU farmer subsidies (suck it up Frenchies), things are not all well in the US of A:

A public-health researcher from Mars might legitimately wonder why a nation faced with what its surgeon general has called an epidemic of obesity would at the same time be in the business of subsidizing the production of high-fructose corn syrup.

And the ties to other parts of state/federal-subsidized behaviour is concerning:

a school lunch lady trying to prepare healthful fresh food is apt to get dinged by U.S.D.A. inspectors for failing to serve enough calories; if she dishes up a lunch that includes chicken nuggets and Tater Tots, however, the inspector smiles and the reimbursements flow

When Danika was at school, ketchup counted as the ‘vegetable’. (Makes my lunch money forays to the Garrell Vale Leisure Centre for a roll-and-chips seems healthy – at least I exercised and had no pretensions of vegetable intake.)

The farm bill essentially treats our children as a human Disposall for all the unhealthful calories that the farm bill has encouraged American farmers to overproduce.

What is this all about? Another great NYT times article “You Are What You Grow“. I think I may need to subscribe just to make sure it never goes away (to be honest, that’s the principle behind my National Geographc subscription too – mostly unread).

At least in the US there is some consumer backlash:

it was that consumer, after all, who built a $15 billion organic-food industry and more than doubled the number of farmers markets in the last few years

But I doubt those consumers were evangelical gun-lovers from the mid-west, so I don’t see politics changing soon.

Mmmm, was that too cynical? I don’t think so – as soon as the Le Tour is over I’m sure there will be another strike in France.