Subsidized Unhealthiness

This fertile areas of the US produce most of the country's annual corn harvest of more than 10 billion bushels, far and away the world's largest such haul. Where does it all go? The majority (60%) -- after accounting for exports (nearly 20%), ethanol (about 10%, and climbing), and excess (another 10%) -- anchors the world's cheapest food supply in purchasing-power terms. Our food system is shot through with corn. It feeds the animals that feed us: more than 50% goes into domestic animal operations. About 5% flows into high-fructose corn syrup, adding a sweet jolt to soft drinks, confections, and breakfast cereal. All told, it's a cheap source of calories and taste. Yet all this convenience comes with a price.

The obesity rate, after hovering around 15% from 1960 to 1980, surged to 31% in the last 25 years. The percentage of overweight children tripled in the same time period. Meanwhile, incidence of type II diabetes, a diet-related condition with a host of health-related complications, leapt 41% from 1997 to 2004. There has also been a large increase in heart disease and cancer. This trend has hit low-income groups particularly hard. Why do low-income people tend to exhibit more diet-related health problems? People are gaining weight and getting sick because unhealthy food is cheaper than healthy food.

Sweetness and Power
If the USDA's food pyramid recommends 2 to 5 cups of fruits and vegetables per day, its budget encourages different behavior altogether. Under the Farm Bill, the great bulk of USDA largesse flows to 5 crops: corn, soy, cotton, wheat, and rice. Of the $113.6 billion in commodity subsidy payments doled out between 1995 and 2004, corn drew $41.8 billion -- more than cotton, soy, and rice combined. By contrast, apples and sugar beets, the only other fruit or vegetable crops that draw federal subsidies, received $611 million over the same period.

The huge corn payouts encourage overproduction, and have helped sustain a trend in falling prices. According to figures from the U.N, the inflation-adjusted global commodity price for corn plunged 61% between 1983 and 2002. Today a bushel, roughly 56 lbs., fetches about $2. Cheap corn, underwritten by the subsidy program, has changed the diet of everybody in Western countries, especially American. It has allowed corporations to create a booming market for high-fructose corn syrup. HFCS now accounts for nearly half of the caloric sweeteners added to processed food, and is the sole caloric sweetener for mass-market soft drinks.

According to Prof. Adam Drewnowski of the University of Washington, cheap and abundant additives such as HFCS allow manufacturers to sweeten food liberally without adding much to their production costs. For people on a tight budget, these additives can also make cheap food the most efficient way to get calories. Drewnowski distinguishes between "energy-dense" and "nutrient-dense" foods. From a short-term economic viewpoint, snack foods present a better deal: more calories per dollar, and no need for the time or skill to cook. If you're on a limited income trying to feed a family, it is rational heavily sweetened and fat-laden foods.

"Energy-dense foods ... are the cheapest option for the consumer," Drewnowski says. "As long as the healthier lean meats, fish, and fresh produce are more expensive, obesity will continue to be a problem for the working poor." The price gap between these two categories is growing. Since 1980 the price of soft drinks plunged 30 percent, and the price of candy and other sweets fell 20 percent. Meanwhile, the price of fresh fruits and vegetables rose 50 percent.