Food

In addition to subsidizing urban landowners, wasteful farm programs also subsidized the equivalent of 19 Twinkies per taxpayer per year from 1995 to 2010.

Additives in junk food are contributing to the growing obesity and diabetes crisis, but each year, our tax dollars pay for enough corn syrup and other junk food additives to buy each taxpayer 19 Twinkies, but only a quarter of one Red Delicious apple. "If you want to know why junk food is so cheap, now you know," said Bruce Speight, director of Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group.

Regarding Wednesday's editorial, "Don't swap one subsidy for another," if cutting agricultural subsidy programs because they're wasteful isn't enough, then here's another reason. Many of these same subsidies are also subsidizing childhood obesity.

A watchdog group is pointing at the government as one cause of childhood obesity.  A recent study shows billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent on agriculture subsidies, which in some cases, lead to junk food additives.