Farm Bill

At the President's Advisory Commission meeting on April 26, four people gave presentations related to the Farm Bill, which is now being discussed by Congress for reauthorization. One of the presenters was Julian Alston, a UCD ag economist, who gave us a little history lesson.

I was surprised to learn that 40 percent of the $125 billion Farm Bill in 2005 was spent on food stamps and school lunches. I didn't know those programs were part of the Farm Bill. I also didn't know that the government started the school lunch program after WWII as a result of undernourished recruits. So much for thinking politicians were concerned about kids being hungry.

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