FOOD

So I checked out the farmers market this past Wednesday and it went as it always does when I go. I want the food, and juices that are there ready to eat and I don't find much appeal in the vegetables or meat products.  Mainly because of price.  I feel my dollar goes further at the store so that is where I will by such products.  I wish it wasn't this way, I wish I could buy all of the produce for a cheaper price at farmers markets because I would rather support them.  This brings me to my problem with agriculture and food in the US. Ideally products off the farm being sold by farmers should be the cheapest! They have no middle man to drive, deliver, and stock the food. But our government here has found a solution to that, subsidies and other policies. I wish I could fully understand why this happens this way since it goes against common sense and basic economics. The less transportation costs, the less middle man there is the cheaper the food should be.  It makes perfect sense but it sadly does not work that way here.  Along the same lines here highly processed food are often less expensive than non processed alternatives. It makes no logical sense how foods that must be produced in factories, sealed in plastic and cardboard, and shipped hundreds and thousands of miles are cheaper than fresh local foods. Again I believe we can thank our government for that.  When I studied abroad in Ethiopia there were street vendors everywhere selling bananas, potatoes, and all kinds of agricultural products for very low prices.  At the same time if you were to go to the store and try and buy processed foods they would often be double the price they are here in America.  It is cheaper and easier to eat healthy in developing countries, but here it is the opposite.  Here the wealthy are the healthy because lower quality highly processed foods are more affordable for those less well off. It is sad...