"My core belief, however, is that subsidies distort the agri-food
economy to the degree that sustainability becomes vastly more elusive."
Hal asks: Although you can demonstrate that subsidies provide incentives for
decisions by producers that may be different from incentives provided solely
by the market, what is your evidence that market incentives yield
sustainability? My assumption is that market incentives lead to
externalizing costs whenever possible. If I can produce more corn by dozing
the fencerows, I'll do it, and let the birds nest somewhere else.
Hal Hamilton wrote:
>I hate to acknowledge it, but the Swiss and French Jura, where some of the
>best cheese in the world is made, would be depopulated without subsidies.
Bart wrote: If the demand for such local high quality food is *real*, it
will be
reflected in prices. If it is sustainable, subsidies will be
unnecessary.
Hal answers: I'm talking about Swiss Gruyere and French Compte. The demand
is real. The prices are relatively high. Industry is pressuring the
farmers to increase production to meet increasing demand. The farmer coops
are resisting this pressure because their mental model of success is
something like "adequacy" instead of "continual growth." Quite
extraordinary, really. And that's why the Jura mountains are such a
wonderful region for tourists, hikers, bicyclists, etc.. It's beautiful.
But, unfortunately, the market return to the farmers, even with a premium
product, does not support a middle class lifestyle with modest scale
production. So there are subsidies for young farmers (something like
$50,000 grant to get started or buy out the parents), subsidies for
producing in the mountains, so the landscape is protected, and so forth. My
rough estimate is that something like 30-40 percent of net farm income comes
from subsidies. Is this wrong? Our society subsidizes education, highway
construction, health care, military defense, rural development, recreation
in parks, and so on. Why not farming in regions that would otherwise be
depopulated? I wish it didn't appear to be necessary, and I agree that the
contract should be clear--internalize costs, no dumping, protect
biodiversity, water quality, etc..
Hal
Hal Hamilton
Center for Sustainable Systems
433 Chestnut St., Berea KY 40403 USA
Phone: (606) 986-5336; Fax: (606) 986-1299
hhamilton@centerss.org
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