The US Farm Bill is about more than just what foods are subsidized and who receives those subsidies. It also governs the food stamp program, school lunches and more. In other words, it is not just of interest to farmers!

There is a great misconception that the Farm Bill helps out small farmers and is vital to helping the little guys stay afloat during crop failures due to natural disasters.

This lens hopes to bring to light the fact that the greatest amount of this taxpayer-funded program goes to large agribusiness companies, who in turn buy out the small farmers. Subsidies are sometimes several million dollars and are paid annually, whether there is a crop failure or not. Some of the recipients are city folk who never venture anywhere near a farm, simply renting out the land to farmers.

While commodity crops such as corn and wheat are highly subsidized, fruits and vegetables are categorized as "specialty crops" and receive minimal funding. There is also limited funding available for organic and sustainable farming practices. This artificial tampering with the free market means that no matter how high consumer demand is for organic fruits and vegetables, it will remain unprofitable for farmers to comply with demand. Instead they will continue to grow more and more corn, that appears as more and more high fructose corn syrup in processed foods. All the while, prices for organic produce remain artificially, yet justifiably high.

Learn about agricultural subsidies in general, the history of the US Farm Bill, current statistics on this Bill, who supports it and who doesn't.

Afterwards, take part in the poll and say what you believe about this important issue.