An excerpt from a NYT article (currently tops on the most viewed list):
The farm bill helps determine what sort of food your children will have for lunch in school tomorrow. The school-lunch program began at a time when the public-health problem of America’s children was undernourishment, so feeding surplus agricultural commodities to kids seemed like a win-win strategy. Today the problem is overnutrition, but a school lunch lady trying to prepare healthful fresh food is apt to get dinged by U.S.D.A. inspectors for failing to serve enough calories; if she dishes up a lunch that includes chicken nuggets and Tater Tots, however, the inspector smiles and the reimbursements flow. The farm bill essentially treats our children as a human Disposall for all the unhealthful calories that the farm bill has encouraged American farmers to overproduce.
Obviously Ag is pretty important around here. Discuss…
The US Dept of Ag is involved in way too much. School lunch is 1, and WIC is another. If we are going to have welfare for farmers - so be it. But let's not link it to "welfare" for others.