The Government Says Eat Real Food. So Why Do We Subsidize Processed Food Instead?
The Dietary Guidelines changed. Farm policy didn’t.
The federal government just released the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and for once the message is refreshingly simple: eat real food.
Whole, minimally processed foods are front and center. Vegetables and fruits, proteins, dairy, whole grains, and healthy fats. The Guidelines call for cutting back on the ultra-processed products that now dominate the Standard American Diet.
Now comes the harder part: making sure our farmers can actually produce it, and that families can actually afford and access it.
Because right now, the American food system is built to do the opposite.
The Guidelines Shape What the Government Buys, and That Shapes the Market
Most people think of dietary guidelines as advice for individuals. But the biggest impact is not what happens in your kitchen. It’s what happens in the federal budget.
As I told The Hill, the federal government is the largest purchaser of food in the country. These Guidelines influence what schools serve, what the military buys, and what public institutions feed people with taxpayer dollars.
That purchasing power shapes markets farmers depend on. It shapes which crops get planted, which sectors grow, which industries consolidate, and which foods remain expensive.
So when the federal government tells Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables and fewer processed foods, the next question is this:
Are our farm programs and procurement policies aligned with that goal?
Right now they’re not.
We Don’t Grow Enough of the Food We’re Being Told to Eat
The Dietary Guidelines want Americans to eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. That’s been true for decades. But we’ve never built a farm system capable of delivering it at scale.
In fact, the opposite has happened.
A 2023 Farm Action–commissioned analysis found that Americans were eating 50–70% less produce, legumes, and whole grains than recommended at the time. That means the Guidelines are effectively calling for 2–3x more of these foods than Americans currently consume.
Yet instead of increasing domestic production, we’ve actually reduced it.
From 2018 to 2022:
Vegetable acreage fell about 20%.
The U.S. became a net importer of all five top vegetables by 2021.
Imports rose and exports fell for produce and key food grains like wheat and rice.
Relying on imports for basic, healthy foods creates real vulnerability. We are increasingly dependent on other countries for the foods the Guidelines say we should be eating most.
And that trade imbalance is growing.
The Trade Deficit Is a Symptom of a Farm System That’s Tilted Toward Livestock Feed, Fuel, and Processed Foods
The United States is currently running an agricultural trade deficit driven in large part by rising imports of fruits and vegetables. These are foods we absolutely could be growing here.
Meanwhile, most American farmland is still dedicated to commodity crops, especially corn and soybeans, largely used for:
livestock feed
processed food ingredients (cheap sugars, starches, oils)
and fuel
At 2022 prices, it would take only 3.5 to 4.4 million acres of additional fruits, vegetables, and melons to generate enough sales to offset the entire trade deficit. That is less than half a percent of U.S. farmland.
That number is so small because fruits and vegetables are much higher-value crops than commodity inputs.
And that’s the point. If we can make that much difference with less than one percent of our farmland, then this and more is doable. We can build a farm system that actually matches the plate we say we want, and the system taxpayers actually finance.
The Guidelines Talk About the Plate, but Policy Determines What Ends Up On It
The Dietary Guidelines focus mostly on diet. That’s their job. But the biggest force shaping American diets isn’t personal choice.
It’s what’s affordable. What’s available. What’s marketed. What’s subsidized. What schools serve. What hospitals stock. What the government buys.
And those things are determined by policy.
Federal farm programs are still skewed toward a handful of commodity crops, while nutrient-dense “specialty crops,” including fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains, are treated as an afterthought.
If the federal government is serious about the “eat real food” reset, then implementation has to focus on the systems behind the plate:
what farmers are paid to grow
what risk management tools support
what procurement programs purchase
and who controls the supply chain
We Need a Food System That Rewards Real Food, Not Highly Processed Products and Consolidated Supply Chains
Right now, corporate power sits at the choke points of our food system. Seed, fertilizer, meatpacking, processing, retail.
A food system run by monopolies will always prioritize scale and margins over health.
So if the government is serious about reducing ultra-processed foods and returning to whole foods, the implementation has to match that ambition.
That means procurement and farm programs can’t keep reinforcing the same market dynamics that got us here.
If the Government Wants Americans to Eat Real Food, It Must Start Buying Real Food
Here’s the most straightforward test:
Do federal food dollars go toward farmers growing minimally processed food for people? Or toward the same consolidated middlemen who profit off cheap processed inputs?
If the Guidelines are going to matter, implementation must:
shift subsidies toward food crops aligned with the Guidelines
leverage federal procurement to build markets for farmers growing real food
expand risk management for diversified and regenerative farms
reform conservation programs so they support public health outcomes
and prioritize local and regional supply chains rather than corporate concentration
The Guidelines tell Americans what to eat. Now the federal government has to decide whether it’s willing to build a system that can deliver it.
This is very well done, great insight.
Important points and real problems. I’m also concerned about the loosening and removal of restrictions by the EPA allowing Dicamba and forever chemicals. What does this mean for our crops? Organic is just not affordable to the masses.