Link Banana

Sam Hurst’s long article for Gourmet about the farm bill is full of the needless exposition that I don’t usually like. The final point, however, is important.

While this year’s Farm Bill winds its way through the Conference Committee, grain processors, cattle feeders, and the ethanol industry still control the debate in Washington, and they all profit from overproduction. Prices are high today, but the more farmers expand production to meet the opportunity, the more prices will fall tomorrow. So raw-commodity prices stay low over the long term, and tax­payers pick up the tab to keep struggling farmers afloat from one harvest to the next. And President Bush’s veto threat still lurks if Harkin or other reformers try to add new money to the Farm Bill to pay for multifunctional reforms.

(via brijit)

A for shorter — and equally informative — explanation of the current farm bill is offered by The Economist.