Rising Food Costs and the Farm Bill

These charts display the rising cost of Food in the United States from 1998-2000. Notice how the red, 2007 line on the left graph is rising exponentially and is significantly higher than the yellow 2006 line. 

This is a brief video of Bill Moyer interviewing David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World about the pending Farm Bill revisions. If you take the time to watch you will be shocked at how Congress is falling desperately short on the issue of caring for America's hungry. Bread and others are lobbying Congress to vote for a change. Currently large and wealthy land/farm owners receive healthy subsidies from Congress (our tax dollars at work), while smaller and more rural farmers are falling into financial destitution due to financial neglect and a lack of other resources. In addition, the working poor are suffering the consequences of rising food costs on general American products such as corn, grains, and dairy. So that, not only are farmers suffering as a result of the current state of this bill, so are the poor, working poor, and food banks who are struggling to keep a 'healthy' supply of food on their shelves. By healthy I mean both a general portion to serve those in need and also the quality of food that is being served.  

In the interview Beckmann projects a giant solution: If Congress will redirect the funds that are currently going to giant farms, who don't really even need the funds, and instead send them by way of federal assistance programs, like the Food Stamp program, the nation can cut the hunger population in half within a year! There are currently 2.5 million people on food stamps, the highest amount since the program began in the 1960's and the population of users is increasing daily. So why doesn't congress just vote in favor of the working class on this one? Watch the video out find out.

In the same PBS special, Moyer's reporters interview several working poor citizens who cannot earn enough money working full-time at their minimum-wage paying jobs to feed themselves or their families. Also highlighted are disability recipients, individuals living off of their social security payments, and other families with more than one worker in the home who still cannot make ends meet. It's strong evidence that the chasm between the rich and the poor is quickly approaching an insurmountable divide. The presentation is compelling to say the least.

What does God have to say about this? What is to be said of the people in this country who are working diligently to support themselves and their children but to no avail. What does God especially have to say about our government favoring the rich, while turning a cold shoulder to the poor (not to be confused with turning the other cheek)! Do we really even wanna know?

Those of you reading who are from Nebraska, Alabama, or other states with as much dependence on agriculture production as the two mentioned, you may be interested in checking out this video that specifically addresses the subsidies that the government offers the giant land owners. It helps to explain abandoned rice and corn mills, as well as cotton gins. 

One last note, Bill Moyer quickly notes at the close of one of the videos that Kentucky's Senator, Mitch McConnell is asking for tax breaks in regards to the farm bill for KY's horse owners, some of the wealthiest land owners in the state! In a quick comparison, Moyer links this to the attitude and disregard of the infamous, Marie Antoinette. ha, I guess. 

P.S. In addition to the Moyer videos, for more information about the farm bill, you can check out several articles from top news sources about the debate right here. Till next time...