Abstract
Agricultural subsidies in the USA and the effects of these subsidies are controversial. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the historical background of these subsidies, analyze their effects on agricultural production in the USA, and explore to what extent these subsidies have an effect on food production, price, and public health.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Less than 1 % of total subsidies go toward fruits and vegetables. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Health vs. Pork: Congress Debates the Farm Bill, 2007, 17 June 2011 http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm07autumn/health_pork.html.
- 2.
As of 2007, corporate farms owned 125 million acres of farmland. In 2007, the average family farm in California was 200 acres and earned an average income of $ 167,179. In comparison, the average corporate farm in California comprised 784 acres of farmland and earned over $ 2.1 million. United States Census Bureau,“Farms—Number and Acreage by Size of Farm,” 2007, Census of Agriculture, Volume 1, 19 June 2011. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s0824.pdf.
- 3.
Small farmers are defined as farmers that earn less than $ 1000 a year from agricultural sales. US Environmental Protection Agency, Agricultural Demographics, 10 September 2009, 17 June 2011 www.epa.gov/oecaagct/ag101/demographics.html.
- 4.
From 1995 to 2005: 73.8 % of food subsidies went to livestock, 13.23 % went to grains, and 0.37 % went toward fresh fruit and vegetables. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Health vs. Pork: Congress Debates the Farm Bill, 2007, 17 June 2011 http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm07autumn/health_pork.html.
- 5.
Meat consumption in the USA has almost doubled since 1950. Jonathon Safran Foer, Eating Animals (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2009).
References
Drewnowski A (2004, May 15) Poverty and obesity. Center for Public Health Nutrition. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/events/pastmtg/2004/built/docs/overview/drewnowski2.pdf. Accessed 17 June 2011
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (2005, August 8) Public law 109–158. www.doi.gov. www.doi.gov/pam/EnergyPolicyAct2005.pdf. Accessed 17 June 2011
Environmental Working Group (2011) 2011 Farm subsidy database. farm.ewg.org. Accessed 12 June 2011
Foer JS (2009) Eating animals. Little, Brown and Company, New York
Herszenhorn DM (2008, April 24) Farm income up, but subsidies stay. The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/washington/24farm.html. Accessed 10 June 2011
Krauss C (2011, July 7) Ethanol subsidies besieged. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/business/energy-environment/corn-ethanol-subsidies-may-be-in-jeopardy.html. Accessed 9 July 2011
Morgan D, Gaul GM, Cohen S (2006, July 2) Farm program pays $ 1.3 Billion to people who don’t farm. The Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/01/AR2006070100962.html. Accessed 10 June 2011
Pasour EC Jr (2004) Agricultural economics and the state. Econ J Watch 1(1):106–133
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (2007) Health vs. pork: congress debates the farm bill. http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm07autumn/health_pork.html. Accessed 17 June 2011
President’s Cancer Panel (2007, April) Promoting healthy lifestyles: policy, programs, and personal recommendations for reducing cancer risk. http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/annualReports/pcp07rpt/pcp07rpt.pdf. Accessed 10 June 2011
Rampell C (2010, March 9) Why a big mac costs less than a salad. The New York Times. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/why-a-big-mac-costs-less-than-a-salad/. Accessed 17 June 2011
United States Census Bureau (2007) Farms—number and acreage by size of farm. Census of agriculture, volume 1. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s0824.pdf. Accessed 19 June 2011
US Environmental Protection Agency (2009, September 10) Agricultural demographics. www.epa.gov/oecaagct/ag101/demographics.html. Accessed 17 June 2011
Vogel S (2011, February 14) USDA. http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/farmincome/govtpaybyfarmtype.htm. Accessed 17 June 2011
Womach J (2005) Agriculture: a glossary of terms, programs, and laws. CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service. Washington DC, Library of Congress
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Leary, K. (2015). Agricultural Subsidies in the USA—History, Implications, and Critiques. In: Backhaus, J. (eds) Great Nations at Peril. The European Heritage in Economics and the Social Sciences, vol 17. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10055-5_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10055-5_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-10054-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-10055-5
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)