Any reason not to nationalize basic food production?

Question

We can end price controls, sell at cost, and feed the hungry!

Answer 1

No. No reason. The banks, too.

Answer 2

Only if you first put a consumption tax on everything to pay for it and limit population and spending.
I'm a farmer, and I'm all for a simple system of generating farms that produce sustainably. Unfortunately, the government would hire corporate consultants to decide what kind of food, and how it is produced the most 'efficiently', and everyone around the world would be sick from eating cow hormones and chicken nuggets and hotdogs and mac and cheese. (the cheapest things to produce)
There would be no decent tomatoes left, no farmers markets, and no people taking care of the soil (it would all be robots and chemicals).
People are hungry in this world for two reasons: first, hungry people will work for less money at factories, and second, because wars sell newspapers and newspapers sell cars. There is plenty of food, even though there are too many people. The people who need the food don't have money to buy advertising or cars.

Answer 3

Well, it depends on whom you ask. There are reasons for doing this and you list some good ones, but of course there are a lot of people who make money in the basic food production cycle and *they* might not be very happy about nationalizing it. They'd probably come up with a million reasons why it wouldn't work.

Let me list some reasons why it might be difficult or risky to do this:
1) Nationalizing something essentially means putting it under the control of the Federal Bureaucracy. Large bureaucracies are generally neither very efficient nor very flexible, so it might be worrisome to put something that is as vital as our food supply under the control of one.

2) Competition can be beneficial. Under the right conditions, healthy competition leads to efficiency and innovation. If basic food production were under centralized control, competition would probably go away. It would be desirable if we could somehow level the playing field so that individual family farms could compete with mega-agribusiness corporations. That would give us the best of competition.

3) Federal institutions, because of their centralization of control, can be influenced by Big Money. Look at recent changes in the FDA's rulings, for instance. The Federal Government has devolved into a "one stop shopping" outlet for corporate lobbyists. Having a nationalized food production system might turn out to be equivalent to handing the keys to the Buick to your favorite corporate carjacker.

4) Finally, nationalization of anything is viewed by mainstream society as un-American, so any moves in this direction would face tremendous cultural, as well as economic obstacles.

Again, I am not saying that I disagree with your goals. You asked if there were any reasons not to do something, so I'm just trying to anticipate the arguments that you would need to overcome. Your notion of getting more food to hungry people is right on.

Do you think that expanding the Food Stamp program might be an easier way to approach that goal?

Answer 4

Sounds too much of a social democratic concept for this country. Our economy depends on competition between companies and industries, and these companies and industries that help make food so expensive are protected by the government. Anything that means a cut in profits ain't gonna happen.

You don't have to be poor to feel the sting at the grocery cashier. I'm a vegetarian and I never eat junk food or microwave meals or anything like that. I buy fruits, vegetables, rice, bread, BASIC STUFF and I still have to shell out like 400 bucks a month in groceries for me and my husband. And the quality of the produce is never worth what I pay.

Answer 5

What do you mean by nationalize?? Why do you think that will end price controls. Name one country that is successfully doing that. I don't think you can.

Answer 6

Where are you going to get the land, and the livestock? Take it. I'll kill you before you step foot on my farm. Then kill your family, just for trying. So no one from your blood line will ever walk this earth again. That means NO!

Answer 7

commercialism is what funds this country

nationalizing it will drive costs up.