#dairysurplus

The Farm Bill was introduced in 1933 during The Great Depression as a way of giving financial assistance to struggling farmers by paying them to produce less food. The topic of subsidies is a much debated subject with one side believing that the $22.2 billion given to the U.S. dairy sector last year could be put to better use elsewhere. The entire system seems to be in a huge mess as the cost to produce milk is more than what farmers can sell it for, yet due to over production 43 million gallons of milk was dumped last year. What’s more, the U.S. has a surplus of milk products such as cheese which is being sold off cheaply to fast food companies like Taco Bell and MacDonalds, who are reformulating recipes to see where they can add more dairy into their products. For me this is a huge problem as it is making already unhealthy food, even more unhealthy and those who will most likely be affected are the ones at the lower end of the income bracket, exposing them to greater risk of obesity related diseases such as cardio-vascular disease, heart diseases or diabetes.

 Resources

http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/american-dairy-farmers-depend-on-government-subsidies-1015126442

https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-dairy-farmers-dump-43-million-gallons-of-excess-milk-1476284353