Pastureland in County Cavan, Ireland

I had the chance to visit Ireland last week with my boyfriend who was born and partially raised in Ireland. I met a lot of his family who are all farmers and  it was fascinating. I was struck by the similar struggles they faced but I could also see how supportive the EU has been to traditional farming practices. I was pleased to see farm subsidies benefit small farmers who raise their animals on pasture.  That does not mean that farm subsidies in Europe do not benefit agribusinesses but because there is such an ingrained tradition of grass-fed farming in Europe, and especially in Ireland, there are subsidies given to Sheep and Cattle producers who raise their animals on pasture.  Unfortunately, this cannot be said for American grass-fed producers who receive very little support from the federal government.

Nonetheless, Farm Subsidies are not without controversy in the Europe. With 40 percent of the EU budget going toward farm subsidies there is a lot of money and a lot of farms at stake when policy is created.  Critics of European farm subsidies feel that they keep food prices high and do not help small farmers to the extent they should. Even France has been charged with favoring large farms over small farms and many in the EU have been pleading with France to change policies that benefit large cereal farms over small traditional farms that promote biodiversity.  President Nicolas Sarkozy has pledged to help preserve traditional farming communities in the pastoral communities of the Alps, and in central and western France.  This is good news for grass-fed producers in France but what about producers here in the states?

Grass-fed producers in America have two battles to wage: one is to re-introduce America to grass-fed farming and also to stay afloat. These two obstacles are not easily surmounted but with increased awareness and consumer demand there is room for optimism.  Not only that, policy makers are starting to see the huge amount of power farm subsidies have had in shaping what Americans eat and the plight of small farmers across the nation. Even President Obama talked about reexamining agricultural policy in his address to the nation. This is exciting because there could be a lot of good done if some of our subsidies were put towards sustainable agriculture.   Maybe it is time to be a bit more optimistic after all.