Information about the Aspen Ideas Festival is here. I am scheduled for a session, The American Wellness Paradox, currently scheduled from 11:00-11:50 a.m., at the East Lawn Tent. This will be a discussion with senior HHS policy advisor, Calley Means. Here’s the blurb on it: “Americans are spending more than ever on healthcare, supplements, wellness trends, and “clean eating,” yet rates of chronic disease and metabolic illness continue to climb. As skepticism fuels the rise of movements like MAHA, debates over what Americans should eat have become deeply cultural, political, and economic. Two influential voices with sharply different perspectives on nutrition and food science explore how food systems, farming practices, consumer culture, and the wellness industry collided to create one of the defining public health debates of our time.”
Agriculture support payments go higher and higher
As I’ve confessed many times, I have a hard time getting my head around how US farm policy works in practice. Fortunately, we have Politico to help.
Politico Morning Agriculture, its not-to-be-missed daily newsletter, has a few gems on payments to agricultural producers under current farm policies.
Last ten years: farm payments have averaged $11.5 billion per year (the peak was $13.8 billion in 2018)
2019: payments are predicted to exceed $21 billion. How?
- $14.5 billion in direct trade aid for 2019 production.
- $11.5 billion in direct payments
Politico notes: These payments contradict “Trump’s claims that he’s turned the farm economy around.”
It also notes that federal payments are likely to account for 27 percent of farmer income this year.
Is this reasonable agricultural policy? No.
Don’t we need a better and more sustainable system? Yes.
