If milk were $6 a gallon, would you be able to afford to buy it for your family? Because that's a realistic possibility if Congress doesn't come to an agreement on the fiscal cliff negotiations and also resolve a farm bill issue that would ... let's just say it could put the prices of milk and cheese out of reach for many Americans, doubling the price of a gallon of milk.
It's some wonky political wrangling that could have a real impact on the health of our kids and families if our elected leaders don't step up and act. Why might milk become more expensive? Because they're arguing about food stamps.
Conservatives want to make deep cuts in the food stamp program, because, unlike Newark Mayor Cory Booker, they have no idea what it's like to be a hungry kid whose family depends on those food stamps to live. The milk legislation is tied up in the same bill.
That cutting food stamps is even an idea on the table makes me angry. And that a basic dietary staple for many kids could also be made unaffordable for many families because of politics is disgusting. Arguing over these things hurts children, plain and simple, and it's just plain wrong.
So many of America's kids suffer from food insecurity and hunger, and we need to be doing everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen. Hungry kids can't learn. Can't grow up feeling safe and secure. And they face a much harder road than kids who've never had that stress in their lives. Making sure milk is affordable isn't just an issue of charity or infringing on markets, it's the right thing to do so the next generation of Americans grows up strong and capable.
Let's hope our legislators get their acts together, negotiate their way off the fiscal cliff, and resolve the farm bill issues so that we don't make milk a luxury item.
Would the price of milk rising to $6 a gallon affect how much your family buys?
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Comments 26
our family would have to severely cut back on milk, and with two growing kids, that just isn't a sound option. in the end, i'd have to cut back from somewhere else (but good grief, where?!) to make it up, because i want them to have the best nutrition possible.
and this is yet another reason i hate politics: sticking bills together that don't relate so that they can piggyback something in as law. there should be a rule that the laws need to cover the specific act or action it is in regards to... the price of milk going up should not be related to cutting food stamps!
I would still buy it for my children obviously. I would cut back on other areas I spend in to make up for the price hike. Do I think it's ridiculous to jack up the price on something that's beneficial and necessary for healthy development? Hell yea it's ridiculous. But my children come first so I will do whatever is necessary to make sure they get what they need.
First off, there is no good reason for Food Stamps/SNAP/whatever to be tied up with the Farm Bill. None. The only reason it's in there is so politicians can say, "You want to cut the Farm Bill.. You want to HURT CHILDREN!! You want to STARVE THE POOR!!" Looks like it worked. Way to fall right into their manipulative hands.
Each issue should be a stand-alone issue. Want to discuss food stamps and the proven abuse that exists with the program? Let's do that. Want to cut out subsidies to places like Monsanto while still giving a hand to small family farmers? Let's do that, too, but lets also acknowledge that they are very separate issues that should NOT be tied together. THIS is why the Line Item Veto should exist and be used by a RESPONSIBLE President (and I do not include our current Commander in Chief in that category)
Yes, expensive milk is a major issue. And not just for food-stamp users, but for all of us. INCLUDING the farmers who own the cows who make the milk. They're not making very much at all. This whole thing is an ugly mess and I wish our "leaders" would get their heads out of their backsides and deal with it instead of dicking around and issuing idiotic press releases.
Oh noes! Our children need breast milk from cows in order to thrive - our bodies NEED IT. The government and dairy association told me so. Fer realz.
I buy raw milk every week at almost $9 a gallon. I feed my family a clean, organic diet, and I trim costs everywhere else. My husband works 80-100 hours a week and we quite happily do without many things other people consider "necessities." It isn't a real sacrifice, because we have what others dream of: good health and a strong family.