Alston, Julian M., Daniel A. Sumner, and Stephen A. Vosti.

from ARE Update Vol. 11, No. 2, Nov/Dec, 2007

View Article PDF: Farm Subsidies and Obesity in the United States

Abstract

The claim that farm subsidies have contributed significantly to making Americans fat by making fattening foods relatively cheap and abundant has become accepted as “fact” in the popular media. We show that there is no evidence to support this claim. While many arguments can be made for changing farm subsidies, even entirely eliminating the current programs would not have any significant influence on obesity trends.

Keywords

farm subsidies, obesity, U.S. Farm Bill, policy

Citation

Alston, Julian M., Daniel A. Sumner, and Stephen A. Vosti. 2007. "Farm Subsidies and Obesity in the United States." ARE Update 11(2): 1-4. University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics.
https://giannini.ucop.edu/filer/file/1453327747/16762/