What is the justification for farm subsidies?

[griffin1977]

@Corry_El

The justification often given for ag subsidies is ‘food security’. The question is whether there’s much validity to that in justifying levels much higher than what work in Australia/NZ. I would say no, not much validity, unless you can show how those countries suffer from ‘food insecurity’ and/or how higher subsidies in other countries prevent those two countries from suffering ‘food insecurity’.

Case in point:

Grain imports on the cards as drought drives up prices and crop forecasts slashed

Applications to import grain as Australian harvest forecasts fall

As shown by that example, whatever the downsides, America flooding the world with cheap subsidized corn and wheat has increased the food security worldwide.

I am certainly not saying that is 100% a good thing (farmers in the developing world have suffered for it) but it definitely is one of the reason for the increase of the food security worldwide.

[D_Anconia]

@Mirtha

Their food is frankenfood which requires prescriptions to counter the effects.

What foods require prescriptions to counter the effects?

Cite, please.

[Railer13]

@Mirtha

Corporate farms aren’t efficient because they require a huge amount of government oversight.

I’d like a cite for this as well.

According to Wikipedia

The 2012 US Census of Agriculture indicates that 5.06 percent of US farms are corporate farms. These include family corporations (4.51 percent) and non-family corporations (0.55 percent). Of the family farm corporations, 98 percent are small corporations, with 10 or fewer stockholders. Of the non-family farm corporations, 90 percent are small corporations, with 10 or fewer stockholders. Non-family corporate farms account for 1.36 percent of US farmland area. Family farms (including family corporate farms) account for 96.7 percent of US farms and 89 percent of US farmland area

While the average size of a farm is certainly increasing, and the number of farms is thus decreasing, ‘corporate farming’ isn’t really a thing.

Now, many farmers that I know contract with the Cargills of the world to purchase fertilizer and market their crops, but they (the farmers) are still farming the land. They are, in some cases, renting the land from a non-farming-landowner, and that’s the guy who’s getting the subsidy. Most farmers where I live rent on either a cash basis or a percentage of the profits, or some combination thereof.

[bump]

@Railer13

I’d like a cite for this as well.

According to Wikipedia

While the average size of a farm is certainly increasing, and the number of farms is thus decreasing, ‘corporate farming’ isn’t really a thing.

Yeah, I always wondered about that- it seemed to me that distribution was where the money would be- all the profit and very little of the risk.