Baylen Linnekin on a Tidal Wave of Threats to Food Freedom
February 2014 may go down as the worst month for food freedom since the New Deal era. The lowlights began with President Obama signing a new trillion-dollar Farm Bill into law. While this Farm Bill eliminates the pointless direct subsidies paid to farmers, the new law is rife with crop insurance subsidies that will cost taxpayers untold billions. Soon after, word came that tort lawyers were busy pitching attorneys general in sixteen states on the idea of a broad lawsuit to "make the food industry pay for soaring obesity-related health care costs." The same week that news broke of lawyers itching to cash in on the food industry, California legislators proposed adding a warning label to all sweetened drinks like soda sold in the state. As the year began, Baylen Linnekin predicted that supporters of food freedom would face considerable hurdles in 2014. But even he couldn't have imagined that the year would bring so many challenges.