Page 75 - Spring2020

All Thumbs Book Reviews

per year. About 80 percent of these subsidies go to the largest 20 cause they didn’t ever plant anything, their costs
percent of farm businesses and 65 percent to the largest 10 percent. on that field are low—usually much lower than
Additionally, the larger the farm, the more crop insurance subsidies the 60 percent payout. The authors also advocate
it receives per acre. The largest farms receive almost thirty dollars capping per-farm premium subsidies at a reason-
per acre, while those in the fiftieth percentile in terms of crop sales able level, say, forty thousand dollars per farm.
receive just over ten dollars per acre. Crony capitalism—not true capitalism—is
• The USDA spends about eighty million dollars a year administrating what happens when special interests influence
the crop insurance program and educating farmers on how to use the government policy for their own gain. Some
overly complex system. refer to this as “corporatism,” but this term can
• Private insurance companies are, unsurprisingly, huge advocates of be unhelpful because it insinuates that corpo-
continuing the program. They have made money every year except rations (particularly large ones) are somehow
two since 1980. In bad years, the government bears most of the losses; inherently evil. In and of themselves, corpora-
in good years, the private companies receive most of the gains. tions are not bad. They’re actually incredibly
important and beneficial to society as a whole
The bottom line is that crop insurance wastes money and benefits and are only bad when they ask for and receive
the relatively well-off. It’s bad policy. special favors from government. Such private-
APD suggests getting rid of federal subsidies for crop insurance public partnerships are what distorts markets
completely, but this is politically unlikely. The farm bill is popular on both toward the already powerful.
sides of the aisle because it combines farm subsidies with food programs In truth, the large corporations that run
for the poor—axing something on one end would require a cut on the American agriculture hate competition as much
other. The authors therefore recommend at least reducing subsidies to as the most ardent socialist. Their partnership
pre-2000 levels, when taxpayers paid a mere 40 percent of the premiums, with government is what keeps them in power.
a move that would save several billion dollars annually. They also ad- They are devoted supporters of regulations,
vise removing the “prevent plant” option, which is ripe for fraud. Under because regulation makes it harder for smaller
this option, farmers buy subsidized prevent-plant insurance, and if bad businesses and individuals to compete with
weather prevents them from planting before a government-established them. They love rules that pile up barriers
date, they can receive about 60 percent of what they’re covered for. Be- to entry in their own industry. Both sides of

BOOK REVIEWS IN Wise Traditions
The Weston A. Price Foundation receives two or three books per week, all of course seeking a Thumbs Up review.
What are the criteria we use for choosing a book to review, and for giving a Thumbs Up?
• First and foremost, we are looking for books that add to the WAPF message. Dietary advice should incorporate the
WAPF guidelines while adding new insights, new discoveries and/or new therapies.
• We are especially interested in books on the fat-soluble vitamins, traditional food preparation methods and healing
protocols based on the WAPF dietary principles.
• We look for consistency. If you talk about toxins in vaccines in one part of your book but say you are not against
vaccines in another part of your book, or praise fat in your text but include recipes featuring lean meat, we are
unlikely to review it.
• We do not like to give Thumbs Down reviews. If we do not agree with the major tenets expounded in a book sent
to us, we will just not review it. However, we feel that we have an obligation to point out the problems in influential
or bestselling books that peddle misinformation, and for these we will give a negative review. We also will give a
negative review to any book that misrepresents the findings of Weston A. Price.
• If you want us to review your book, please do not send it as an email attachment. Have the courtesy to send us a
hard copy book or a printout of your ebook or manuscript in a notebook or coil binding.

SPRING 2020 Wise Traditions 75