4 ms·

Early 1900s was actually late in terms of industrial era labor movements, depending on which continent. Why is meat subsidized so much? Is it because farmers a

Early 1900s was actually late in terms of industrial era labor movements, depending on which continent. Why is meat subsidized so much? Is it because farmers are relatively organized?

baursak 8y ago
I would imagine it's because rural areas of the country are over represented in Congress per capita, plus it's not farmers but large corporations like Tyson who produce most of the meat?
spyckie2 8y ago
It is pretty late. I mentioned early 1900s to capture the steel era, which was when unions became popular in the US. You had a lot of worker's movements in Europe long before then (french revolution anyone?). I don't know exactly why meat is subsidized so much but I do remember that the US was very concerned about being self sufficient during it's isolationist period before WW1/2. This was the era of the great depression where a lack of stability in grain prices (really in the economy as a whole) put into question the nation's ability to feed itself, as farmers were going under and production was so volatile (dust bowl era as well). This led to the US government stepping in to set up policies to control grain and food prices, stabilizing farmers and food production. I think one unintended effect was the massive spike in production of cheap grains like corn. Because corn was in over abundance due to the profitability of it (due to subsidies), we needed other ways to consume it - corn syrup, corn starch, etc. Corn is also used as the primary feed for beef cows. Some conspiracy people think that there's a huge farming lobby that makes farming extremely profitable. It's probably only a bit true. The reality is that if meat got more expensive due to a reduction in subsidies, it could be a PR nightmare for the gov't administration due to the American love for meat, and a perceived standard of living drop. And while the American diet is changing, even healthy US diets still have a substantially larger quantity of meat in them than the rest of the world.
- extralego 8y ago
  Makes sense. I actually assumed that was exactly why you said 1900. Of all the history Americans were mistaught, I wish more of us just understood how long we lagged behind the civil progressions of Europe. I would have thought slavery would be a more effective eye opener but most Americans don’t even comprehend how recent our civil war was. Weird about meat. But it would be more a food lobby than a farming lobby, right? Now that I think of it, I’m pretty sure that farmers, especially livestock farmers, are just contractors these days.

Early 1900s was actually late in terms of industrial era labor movements, depending on which continent. Why is meat subsidized so much? Is it because farmers are relatively organized?

baursak 8y ago

I would imagine it's because rural areas of the country are over represented in Congress per capita, plus it's not farmers but large corporations like Tyson who produce most of the meat?

spyckie2 8y ago

It is pretty late. I mentioned early 1900s to capture the steel era, which was when unions became popular in the US. You had a lot of worker's movements in Europe long before then (french revolution anyone?). I don't know exactly why meat is subsidized so much but I do remember that the US was very concerned about being self sufficient during it's isolationist period before WW1/2. This was the era of the great depression where a lack of stability in grain prices (really in the economy as a whole) put into question the nation's ability to feed itself, as farmers were going under and production was so volatile (dust bowl era as well). This led to the US government stepping in to set up policies to control grain and food prices, stabilizing farmers and food production. I think one unintended effect was the massive spike in production of cheap grains like corn. Because corn was in over abundance due to the profitability of it (due to subsidies), we needed other ways to consume it - corn syrup, corn starch, etc. Corn is also used as the primary feed for beef cows. Some conspiracy people think that there's a huge farming lobby that makes farming extremely profitable. It's probably only a bit true. The reality is that if meat got more expensive due to a reduction in subsidies, it could be a PR nightmare for the gov't administration due to the American love for meat, and a perceived standard of living drop. And while the American diet is changing, even healthy US diets still have a substantially larger quantity of meat in them than the rest of the world.

extralego 8y ago
Makes sense. I actually assumed that was exactly why you said 1900. Of all the history Americans were mistaught, I wish more of us just understood how long we lagged behind the civil progressions of Europe. I would have thought slavery would be a more effective eye opener but most Americans don’t even comprehend how recent our civil war was. Weird about meat. But it would be more a food lobby than a farming lobby, right? Now that I think of it, I’m pretty sure that farmers, especially livestock farmers, are just contractors these days.