Re: Off: The Farmer's Wife

Mary Hendrickson (rusomh@showme.missouri.edu)
Thu, 24 Sep 1998 16:32:32 -0500

Bravo Dale! What do we consider public subsidies? What is economically
viable? When state departments of agriculture start maintaining trade offices
in their larger cities for organic and/or locally produced food, rather than
setting up shop in the European Union or Japan; when ADM no longer secures 40%
of their bottom line from ethanol and sugar subsidies (quoted in the
International Herald Tribune); when the externalities of food and agriculture
(for instance mistreatment of farm and processing labor, or environmental
impacts of soil erosion and chemical run-off) then we can cut out (virutally
non-existent) subsidized suppport for small farms and compete in a "free"
market. Until then, public entities should follow policies that help
facilitate small farms and give them a foothold in equal opportunity.

Mary

Wilson, Dale wrote:

> Jim,
>
> Tom wrote:
> > >I am afraid this is not enough. I believe we need (dreaded)
> > >subsidies geared towards helping small family farms.
> > >
> > >I think the ways things are done in some of the small european
> > >countries could serve as a model for sustainable ag in the US.
>
> Jim wrote:
> > But, if you SUBSIDIZE it, there would be no possibility of
> > claiming sustainability ....
>
> I'm not sure subsidizing agriculture is a good idea, but why couldn't a
> publicly subsidized agriculture be sustainable? After all, we support
> farmers by paying them privately. Why are public-sector subsidies any
> worse?
>
> Dale
>
>

--
Mary Hendrickson, Ph.D.
Department of Rural Sociology
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211
Tele: 573-882-7463
Fax: 573-882-1473






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