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Comment by mrleiter | Hacker News Reader

Farming is harsh and without subsidies even more farms would go bankrupt. Prices for goods are low, manufacturing cost is high, margins are ridiculously low. Add the fact that maintaining a farm is hard work, both physically and mentally.

I worked on an alp in the mountains for a month, doing everything from cleaning the stables, milking cows, herding them on steep mountainous terrain, cooking, feeding the sick animals. I had a 16h work day; all while earning almost nothing (I did it to know what it means to work in tough situations). My boss and his family hardly had anything left when the month ended.

I don't know how to fix this, but it's important.

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Also, Americans are used to paying subsidized, artificially low prices for agricultural products. I don't think many of us realize the actual cost of food production.

Yes, correct.

I'm interested in the question of: how would the global food supply/economy be affected if the US were to halt agri subsidies and let the farmers go bankrupt (it seems to be happening in a twisted way through this trade war anyways so ...).

We know the US produces way too much food than it needs. We know that US food is artificially kept cheap due to subsidies. Would higher food prices lead to more starvation in other countries? More hunger in the US? Or would farmers around the world step up and compensate for the deficit? Would it perhaps lead to farmers in lesser developed countries being better supported and lead to economic growth in those countries?

Those are indeed interesting questions. All the West keeps its food prices artificially low by subsidies, or at least the EU does heavily. If food prices were to go up, market would either adapt or compensate by import. That entirely hinges on consumer choice.

But if you cut subsidies, what will happen in the short- to mid term is more farmers going bankrupt and an increase of imports. Would it lead to economic growth in those countries? Hard to tell. Usually what happens in an industry that grows is competition which will lower prices in the mid- to long term. So maybe more farmers would be well off by finding jobs. I don't know. Good thought of yours, though.

Why do we need to fix it? There's plenty of farms that do quite well. Just visit any organic farm that is near a city. There's a huge demand for locally sourced organic produce. We're just propping up the failing farms.

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