Have you ever wondered why certain ingredients like corn, wheat, and soy seem to appear in just about everything from boxed foods to beauty products? There is a simple answer, and it's called subsidies.
Subsides are meant to help farmers stabilize their income. The Dept. of Agriculture sets a price and if the crops fall below it, they reimburse the farmers. This sounds like a good plan, but the crops that are subsidized often become all anyone ends up growing, so these foods end up saturating our food supply.
It's interesting that the most subsidized crops are the same ones that are the source a large amount of food allergies. The human body isn't meant to be oversaturated with any one food.
Perhaps one day the subsidized crops will be more evenly distributed to encourage farmers to grow a variety of healthy produce.
Check out The Atlantic's list of the nine most subsidized crops and what it means to consumers and the economy.
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