NCGA
Rebuts Inaccurate Time, ABC Reports on Obesity (6-3-04)
Federal farm
support programs and the corn industry are under attack this
week as
Time magazine and ABC News kicked off a “Summit
on Obesity” in Williamsburg, Va., yesterday. In separate
reports this week coinciding with the summit, both news organizations
attempted to link the U.S. obesity epidemic to farm support programs
and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
The National
Corn Growers Association (NCGA) today refuted the unfounded claims
made by
Time and ABC and urged the media to consider
the facts before wrongly pointing the finger at U.S. producers.
Citing the results of numerous credible studies, Ron Litterer,
chair of NCGA’s Public Policy Action Team, said the obesity
crisis is the result of poor dietary habits and lack of exercise – not
U.S. farm policy.
“The cause of America’s obesity problem is obvious
to everyone but the media – people are eating too much and
doing too little. It’s as simple as that,” said Litterer,
who is attending the summit on behalf of NCGA. “It’s
absolutely ridiculous and insulting to hear Time and ABC repeatedly
blaming farmers and the federal support system for this problem.”
Time and ABC
have given the issue extensive coverage. Time’s
June 7 edition – devoted to obesity – contains an article
suggesting farm support programs have caused growers to generate
an overabundance of cheap food. And Peter Jennings continued his
assertion that “hidden calories from corn contribute to obesity” on
the Tuesday broadcast of World News Tonight. Jennings, who unfairly
blamed farmers for obesity in his December 2003 report “How
to Get Fat Without Really Trying,” also said obesity is an “unintended
consequence of subsidizing America’s farmers.”
“It’s obvious that these media giants don’t
understand how farm support programs work,” said Litterer,
a grower from Greene, Iowa. “Economic assistance to producers
is limited to the times when aid is most needed. Farmers are not ‘subsidized’ to
overproduce – it just doesn’t work that way.”
In fact, Litterer pointed out, House Agriculture Committee Chairman
Bob Goodlatte recently said farm support payments are $15 billion
less than anticipated for the first three years under the 2002
farm bill.
Meanwhile, the summit garnered attention on Capitol Hill Wednesday,
as Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) criticized Time and ABC for taking
a misguided approach to the obesity issue. On the Senate floor,
the former Kansas agriculture secretary called the attention of
his colleagues to a National Association of Wheat Growers petition
demanding that farmers are given a voice in the summit.
“The agriculture community is not alone in its frustration,” said
Brownback in reference to the petition that had more than 2,300
signatures. “I’m frustrated, too. So are many of my
colleagues…who have also been vocal in their opposition to
those who would blame farmers for America’s bulging waistlines.”
Brownback said
there is no scientific evidence to support claims made by ABC
and Time. “In the December special, Peter Jennings
claimed ‘not many people in the government have made the
connection between subsidies to agriculture and obesity.’ At
least ABC got one thing right. We haven’t made that connection,
because there’s no connection to be made,” Brownback
said. “America’s farmers deserve our praise. They deserve
our thanks. What they don’t deserve is to be blamed for America’s
obesity.”
Many consumers who voiced their opinions on ABC’s
message board say farmers are owed an apology and that
personal choice is the main ingredient in this weighty issue.