Subsidies and Nutrition

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine looks at the farm bill and subsidies (also from Ritholtz):

The Farm Bill, a massive piece of federal legislation making its way through Congress, governs what children are fed in schools and what food assistance programs can distribute to recipients. The bill provides billions of dollars in subsidies, much of which goes to huge agribusinesses producing feed crops, such as corn and soy, which are then fed to animals. By funding these crops, the government supports the production of meat and dairy products—the same products that contribute to our growing rates of obesity and chronic disease. Fruit and vegetable farmers, on the other hand, receive less than 1 percent of government subsidies.
The government also purchases surplus foods like cheese, milk, pork, and beef for distribution to food assistance programs—including school lunches. The government is not required to purchase nutritious foods.

That threw me for a minute.  I couldn't figure out what they meant about meat subsidies, until I realized they were talking about corn and soybeans as feed grains.  I guess that makes sense.