Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

letter to the editor:

Higher taxes for meat, dairy

The U.S. House of Representatives, on a party-line vote, broke with tradition by stripping from the farm bill the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps). What’s left are billions of dollars of subsidies, mostly for farming conglomerates. The U.S. Senate passed a much more balanced bill.

Over the past 18 years, our government has doled out an average of $7 billion per year of taxpayer funds to support the livestock and dairy industries.

Instead, the products of those industries should be taxed to reimburse the medical costs and lost productivity associated with their consumption. Conversely, a sound national nutrition program based on greens, onions, mushrooms, berries, beans and seeds can save billions in reduced social costs.

I am all in favor of reducing our national deficit, government waste and medical costs. But that’s not going to happen by taking nutritious food from the mouths of 47 million of our society’s least privileged members.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy