[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 2, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6340-S6341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     AMERICA'S FARMERS AND OBESITY

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, over the past 2 weeks, more than 2,000 
farmers--including over 600 from Kansas, the most from any State--have 
signed a petition that will be sent to ABC News and TIME magazine today 
or tomorrow. The signers of this petition are to be commended.
  Their request is simple. They want to ensure that their voices are 
heard in an upcoming summit on obesity sponsored by the two news 
outlets. At this summit, and in subsequent media coverage, ``experts'' 
will attempt to link Federal support for America's farmers to the 
country's obesity epidemic.
  The individuals who signed the petition are frustrated, and 
rightfully so. This summit is a follow-up to the December news special, 
``How to Get Fat Without Really Trying,'' where ABC dedicated more than 
15 minutes of airtime to bash Federal support for farmers.
  Unfortunately, no one from the agricultural community was afforded 
the opportunity to defend farming families or the policies on which 
they depend. And don't expect too many farmers to be on hand to defend 
themselves at the upcoming summit either, not with a $2,000 
registration fee.
  The agriculture community is not alone in its frustration. I am 
frustrated, too. So are many of my colleagues, like Senators Burns and 
Lincoln, who have also been vocal in their opposition to those who 
would blame farmers for America's bulging waistlines.
  In the December special, Peter Jennings claimed ``not many people in 
the government have made the connection between subsidies to 
agriculture and obesity.'' At least ABC got one thing right. We haven't 
made that connection, because there is no connection to be made.
  Consider this: federal farm support has been in place since the 
1930s. Yet,

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obesity is only a recent problem. Other nations that don't have obesity 
problems provide subsidies to their farmers to produce many of the same 
commodities grown in the U.S. The European Union, for example, doles 
out six times the subsidies that we do, yet obesity is less of a 
problem in the EU than here in America. Federal support is not causing 
drastically higher levels of production, as some suggest. In fact, 
America produced more wheat 20 years ago than today. Corn harvested for 
human consumption has only seen moderate increases from 10 years 
earlier. And soybeans--another commodity unfairly linked to obesity--
experienced supply issues over the past year. According to USDA 
consumption statistics, Americans consume much less wheat than 
consumers in other countries that don't suffer widespread obesity 
problems. Data from the Centers for Disease Control indicate that in 
the past 20 years, the calorie intake of American kids has risen only 
about 1 percent, an increase that's in keeping with their increased 
heights. The big change is that they now get 13 percent less exercise.
  Bottom line: America needs farmers. And farmers need a strong Federal 
farm policy.
  America's farmers deserve our praise. They deserve our thanks. What 
they don't deserve is to be blamed for America's obesity.

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