We must be about the same age (I’m 47) because I remember those same newscasts where they talked about a war I didn’t understand and I do remember them talking about food prices.

It’s just more proof that the government causes problems and then tries to fix them. In doing so, they make things even worse.

Great diary. It just shows the power of unintended consequences.

Another angle on this is the price supports and tariffs that cause sugar in the US to be 75% more expensive than elsewhere. Mexicans drink Coke with sugar, but because of the awful policies of several administrations (and the fact that our first in the nation contest is held in Iowa), it is much cheaper for food companies to put HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup) in our food than sugar.

Mexican Coke tastes better

Mexican Coke tastes better #2

Why HFCS is bad.

I would also like to point out that in 2008, among the Presidential candidates, only McCain spoke truth to power in Iowa saying that he would end subsidies.

Back in the fifties and sixties, it was very rare that anyone kept soft drinks at home.

…wish I could rec this. I’m 31 and always was curious about the reports on food prices I’d see in old papers and clips of news broadcasts from the ’50s and ’60s. Why, I would wonder, were they reporting on this stuff; why was it relevant to anyone other than farmers? Another illustration of the creep of government and its power to screw up a society before we’ve even realized it.

If there is one thing that might yet stop nationalized health care, it is that the Democrats really screwed up and forgot to “creep”. Instead of the incremental, boiling-frog approach that would gradually implement socialized medicine one small step at a time over many years (not that they haven’t been working on that for a long time), they’re trying to ram through the whole enchilada in one fell swoop. While we may not notice the removal of a single brick in the wall — such as the gradual disappearance of news reports on food prices — we damn well notice when they try to take a wrecking ball to the whole building during a single Congress.

The Left has gotten so arrogant that they don’t even bother trying to hide what they’re doing anymore. That is what will undo them.

(Now I’m having second thoughts about ordering that $10.99 six-meat pizza from Papa John’s.)

Then watch the Documentary Food Inc., which explains how the corn/farm lobby in this country combined with fast food restaurants and our poor sense of nutrition in general, has created a self-perpetuation of poor food quality. Also, becaus we simply give all of this excess away to other countries in aid, thy have stopped a lot oftheir farming, which is detrimental to their own well being. It’s a fascinating documentary….sort of like Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”, but for the 21st century.

I’m a liberal, although I read RedState and a couple other conservative blogs to keep a balance on my information intake. But I gotta say, I agree with this diary 100%.

Agricultural policy in this country is completely out of whack, and I’m glad to see that people on the right are seeing it, too. There are definitely those on the left that want to see changes in these policies, as well. Maybe activists on both sides can start pressuring Congress to develop a better food policy in this country.

Great read…. You took me back quite a few years too!! I remember the news stories on the price of food… I had not thought of that in a very long time. I can vividly remember my parents asking : ” Did you here on the news about the price of meat today?” The would shop accordingly… and remember, we did not have deep freezers back then to stock up when the prices were good.

Another example that shows why regulation/control is bad. These policies have destroyed the balance.

I had to quit soft drinks because they were too bloating. Besides the carbonation, fructose can be difficult to digest and thus gas-producing. Otherwise, I don’t eat anything with a long ingredient list, and I don’t eat out.

I am stunned by people I see consuming these ENORMOUS drinks and these HUGE servings of food given by restaurants. I don’t know how they keep their stomach from rupturing.

I have to admit I am very thankful for regular corn syrup and maltodextrin, both of which came long before HFCS.

I do believe it is people’s own fault who choose to ignore nutrition and ingredient labels or to remain ignorant. Nearly all Americans continue to enjoy a big enough selection of any food in the world for most anyone to get anything he or she could want any day of the year, and anywhere in the country at mostly affordable prices. That was not always the case.

The seventies also introduced the microwave,highly processed foods that could be zapped, Mom’s went to work and we became a society of two family incomes - all unintended consequences….

had to go on a Gluten free, Casein-free and Corn-free diet. I began to read labels carefully. Unbelievable the amount of things either corn or wheat is put into. We have been shopping at Whole Foods and PCC because they put products on the shelf that do not contain harmful ingredients. It’s a little weird shopping around people wearing hand-knit wool caps etc. but gotta admit, they aren’t fat.

from year to year? Why do republicans keep voting for food stamps and this subsidies? I think food stamps hurt the poor in some ways especially those that don’t use them because it increases food prices. If you go to a store where everyone uses food stamps you will see this. The prices would have to drop if so many people didn’t have a basically unlimited food budget each month. It’s the same thing with medicaid and schip the price of pediatrician visits would drop so many did not have the gov payment.