| Show i Are Americans Spending Too Food Much On tj j r 4 f of 1 f J 11 J By Ron Davidson We may not starve if the family farm goes bankrupt but we will pay higher prices for food according to Randy Parker executive secretary for the Utah Idaho Farmers Union speaking to students on the plight of the of American farmer He said Americans spend 15 percent of their incomes on food as compared J j to Chinese citizens who pay up to 60 percent on food That may change if the theL L L family farm g goes s bankrupt t turning the farm over to corporations The more farming done by corporations the more opportunity to manipulate late food prices he said In the last 5 years over farms have been liquidated and over 3 1 of existing family farms are in financial trouble Par ParK e emphasized h sized the f family farmer cant can't manipulate prices because there are too many factors in farming y 1 i. i good for one isn't necessarily good for another He pointed to k current government subsidies government subsidies to buy buyout out dairy cows aimed at regulating the price of milk and hurting the price of beef He noted that most corporations are losing money and writing it off as a tax loss Parker blames the farm plight on bad government farm policies He believes that President Reagan was the greatest obstacle for a farm bill this year and that Carters Carter's grain embargo against the Soviet Union in 1980 hurt the farmers greatest asset the international market Agriculture is by far the t. t United States States' greatest export product Over 40 billion dollars in farm exports is returned to the US U.S. each year Our own government is competing with American farmers by giving H subsidies to other countries to develop and grow their own food for export Instead of investing in other countries we should use the agriculture in America as a tool for creating capital and revenue said Parker For every dollar invested in agriculture over four dollars are returned to the economy If you dont don't believe me take a look at all the financially troubled towns in the grain-belt grain of the midwest said Parker r Parkers Parker's solution to the problem is quite simple Give farmers low interest rates on loans and a fair price at the market Farmers are currently paying higher interest rates while the rest of the population is paying less Utah's farmers haven't been affected like the rest of the nation because of the he diversity of farming g in thi this state But P Parker warns rn that unless something 11 01 is done Utah will begin to see its share of bankruptcies in the near future |
