With its goal to end the negative impact of federally assisted farming, New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG) launched yesterday its “Stop Subsidizing Obesity” campaign at Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus.
NJPIRG’s campaign focuses on ending federal subsidies of corn and soy to large factory farms, as NJPIRG campus organizer Katryn Fraher said this causes production of cheap unhealthy foods consumers choose over healthy choices.
“This amount of consumption has contributed a lot to the obesity epidemic, which has quadrupled in the last 40 years,” said Gideon Weissman, program associate for NJPIRG.
The abundant production of corn leads to a greater production of corn syrup, allowing unhealthy food to be sold cheaper than healthy alternatives, he said.
“[Subsidies] make it cheaper to sell Twinkies instead of carrots,” Fraher said.
Ankur Chauhan, event organizer, said consuming these products could lead not just to obesity but also to other health issues.
“When these children grow up, they won’t have a lot of nutrition in their body, which means that they will have a lot of deficiencies,” said Chauhan, School of Arts and Sciences junior. “Deficiencies in their eyes, liver and other organs will cause problems for them in the future.”
Chauhan cited the danger of having too much sugar, like high fructose corn syrup, in a diet.
“Too much sugar can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes,” he said.
During NJPIRG’s launch, people played a version of the game “The Price is Right,” and members collected signatures to garner more public support and raise awareness on the issue, Fraher said.
“I plan on going to med school and if I can help control this issue now, then it won’t proceed any further when I become a doctor,” Chauhan said.
Weissman said he did not believe there were any strong arguments supporting subsidies on agriculture.
“Subsidies had a use when they were first implemented 30 to 40 years ago, but now they’re just overused,” he said.
Weissman said the argument supporting how subsidies help small farmers was incorrect.
“Ninety percent of agricultural subsidies go to big factory farms and not to local farmers,” he said.
Fraher said she recognizes buying food is a personal choice but believes many people do not have that option.
“If somebody cannot afford healthier food, of course they’ll buy the cheaper food, which unfortunately is unhealthy,” she said.
Chauhan said people should understand where their money is going.
For instance, Fraher cited wasteful subsidies given in past years, like when Domino’s Pizza received $12 million to advertise their cheesier pizza.
“These subsidies are federal subsidies, it’s basically taxpayer money,” Chauhan said. “It’s being used to allow Oreos to be cheaper than bananas.”
Weissman said he believes cutting subsidies would be more beneficial than cutting spending on what people need like federal Pell grants and food and water inspections.
“The recent budget compromise, H.R. [House Bill] 1 included some cuts, but it’s not enough for us to be happy,” he said.
Weissman said the timeliness of discussion in Congress about reducing government spending benefited NJPIRG’s cause.
“The campaign makes sense right now because we want to cut spending,” he said. “We have a great opportunity to cut these unhealthy subsidies right now.”