Traditionally, the U.S. Farm Bill has been written largely behind closed doors by powerful members of Congressional agriculture committees and agribusiness interests. But that's changing. The latest evidence is a letter sent to Congressional leaders by over 300 doctors and other public health professionals calling for greater access to healthy food in the next Farm Bill.
The letter is signed by some of the nation's top public health professionals including: Georges Benjamin, M.D., FACP, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association, Robert S. Lawrence, M.D., Director of the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future, and Andrew Weil, M.D., best-selling writer on health and wellness.
As the links between diet and health become better understood, it's not surprising that public health experts are looking into what types of foods our farm policies support and don't support. We pointed out in our paper A Fair Farm Policy for Public Health that past Farm Bills have encouraged the massive overproduction of only a few raw commodities - pushing prices down below even what it costs farmers to produce them. Food companies have seized on these low priced commodities to produce a number of unhealthy ingredients, particularly high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from corn and hydrogenated transfats from soybeans. As costs for highly processed foods like soda have declined, prices for healthier fruits and vegetables have increased by 40 percent over the last 20 years.
In the New York Times, writer Michael Pollan lays out how food prices encourage unhealthy purchases, particularly in low income communities, and links it all back to the Farm Bill in "You Are What You Grow."
The good news is that many of the policies that would support public health would also support family farmers, including: fair (not low) prices for commodity crops, strengthening local food systems, and setting market incentives for farmers to grow healthier foods. And there have been several bills introduced designed to bring public health issues into farm policy - the Community Food Security Coalition has summaries here.
The public health community is bringing an important new voice to the Farm Bill - and that's a good thing. The Farm Bill is too important to leave to agribusiness and their Congressional servants.
