INTRODUCTION
In 2023 the US paid about $12.6 Billion in Agricultural Subsidies. The two crops that receive the most are corn and Soybean respectively. Exceeding $4 Billion of Federal Funds. The subsidization of these crops has lead to overproduction and market saturation that has created a host of problems for the United States. Ending these subsidies could have benefits for the Economy, Environment, and Food. All well reducing legislation rather than adding more. Below I will outline the benefits of ending these subsidies.
ECONOMIC
The economics of this policy (Or policy removal to be more accurate) must be covered first, because the rest of of the benefits follow the economic consequence. The subsidization of Corn and Soy have created a massive surplus in production at the cost of the American People, and this production surplus creates false cost incentives through the supply chain, prioritizing corn and soy product over better and healthier alternatives. all of this at the cost of the US taxpayer. By removing these crop subsidies, we would then reduce the deficit without needing to raise taxes on the US citizens.
HEALTH
Vegetable Oil and High Fructose Corn Syrup are prevalent in American foods, and their reduction is a key factor to Make America Healthy Again. A large reason for their prevalence is because of the false surplus of the underlying crops used in their production. Vegetable Oil is usually Soybean based, or a combination of Soy and Corn, and High Fructose Corn Syrup is Corn Based. It is a common consumer conception that “Mexican Coke is better because they use real sugar” the reason for Mexican coke using real sugar is because other countries do not have that same false market incentives we have built in. But with the over surplus of these crops, it has become profitable for companies top use these unhealthier alternatives and poison our food system. If these subsidies were ended, better and healthier alternatives would become as (If not more) economically efficient for companies to use.
ENVIRONMENTAL
Monocrop Agriculture is detrimental to American farm soil, depleting the soil of nutrients and creating a hotbed for bacteria. This also reduces the nutrition in our food supply and leads to a host of other environmental problems, destroying bio-diversity, and devastating natural ecosystems. Subsidies of Corn and Soy have created an epidemic of Monocrop agriculture, because its simply too profitable for farmers to produce these crops over others. This not only is detrimental to ecosystems, but it creates false incentives to use our American farmland for a crop we have in surplus, rather than diversifying our crop yield to other products.
CONCLUSION
The removal of these crop subsidies would help tackle many of the problems MAHA wants to address, all while saving the US taxpayer money, rather than creating more regulation, more policies, and more departments. This seems like the most logical solution for the health of America.