Food Industry In The 1930's

The Roaring Twenties was a strong time period for mass American culture, morale, and the economy. Contributing to this economic prosperity was the agricultural and food industry. However, this boom did not continue for long. In the height of World War I, farmers were producing more goods than ever before. Britain and France presented a huge demand for foreign food supplies to feed their populations on a regular basis. After the first World War ended and countries returned to relying on their own agricultural production. The expansion that first aided the agriculture industry, came back to aid its quick spiral downward. Overproduction plagued the entire industry. Market prices began to fall. Farmers found it increasingly difficult to sell their
Stocks in countless companies became, essentially, worthless. This economic crash was just one of several causes of the infamous Great Depression. The Great Depression was a horribly dark time in American history. Countless Americans were left without jobs, money, and hope. Without the demand, the agricultural product supply continued lower prices and profit for farmers. The underconsumption of the American public could not counteract the overproduction of the agricultural and food industry. What little productivity was left was destroyed by the effects of soil erosion, overworked land, and infertile soil. Accounts of farmers having to kill off their livestock and burn crop fields were common. More money would be spent than earned. Angry and desperate, farmers turned to the United States government for intervention on their behalf. They formed labor unions, held strikes, and created blockades to grab attention. With the election of 1932, farmers finally received the governmental intercession they had longed
No time was wasted. In the first hundred days of his presidency, Roosevelt won the passage of fifteen major laws through the U.S. Congress. Amongst these new directives was the Agricultural Adjustment Act (hereafter, AAA). Passed in May of 1933, the AAA’s ultimate goal was to restore the market prices paid to farmers for their goods. A leading excerpt from the actual bill solidifies the AAA’s purpose “to establish and maintain such balance between the production and consumption of agricultural commodities…” The course of action taken to achieve this goal involved curtailing farm production, reducing export surpluses, and raising the prices of goods. Payments from the government were used as an incentive for farmers to comply with these new means of change. These compensations from the government, or subsidies, soon became a sustaining factor for farmers and their families. By 1936, subsidies totaled $1.5 billion. The core of the act held a provision that levied a tax on the processors of agricultural commodities. That tax money went straight into the subsidies for farmers. An example of this could be seen in the cotton industry. Cotton gin operators were taxed for the benefit of cotton farmers who had agreed to the terms of the AAA. The AAA was limited, yet favored by most farmers of the