GEF

Unit 7  |  The Economics of Sustainability 155 Large-scale corn production is subsidized by the government, keeping the price artificially low. As a result, corn and corn-derived products are used as live- stock feed and turned into sweeteners and food additives. These sweeteners and food additives may contribute to unhealthy American diets and obesity. If true cost accounting was used on U.S. corn, it would include the cost of subsidies, as well as the cost of energy, fertilizer, and pesticides required to grow and transport corn. It would also consider the negative health effects of food produced with inexpensive corn, as well as the economic harm to small-scale farmers who cannot com- pete with subsidized corn prices. The 2014 Farm Bill passed in Congress is designed to limit subsidies and provide crop insur- ance and protection plans for farmers. SUSTAINABILITY CONCEPTS In Grand Banks, off Newfoundland, Canada, cod has been largely depleted through overfishing. This situation was described by ecologist Garrett Hardin as the “tragedy of the commons” in a 1968 article in the journal Science . Hardin recommended privatization of common resources or government regulation as solutions to resource depletion.