Do Government Subsidies Make Meat Cheaper? Not Really

Do Government Subsidies Make Meat Cheaper? Not Really

One of the chief purposes of the Department of Agriculture is to support American agriculture, and in practice, that means supporting meat. It’s long been argued that these agricultural subsidies result in cheaper meat to American consumers. But do they really? The answer is not really. If agricultural subsidies reduce the price of meat for consumers, it’s likely only a very small reduction. The bigger reason for meat’s relative inexpensiveness …