WASHINGTON, D.C. — As gridlock in Congress continues over how to fashion a new five-year farm bill, consumer and public policy activists are renewing their calls to cut farm subsidies that go to support what they call ingredients for unhealthy food options.

Specifically, the U.S. Public Information Research Group (PIRG), based in Washington, D.C., but with state chapters throughout the United States, released a study last month which states federal dollars – including crop insurance, direct payments to growers and other farm subsidies – have totaled more than $292.5 billion between 1995-2012.

Of that total, according to the study, about $19.2 billion was spent to help manufacture products such as corn syrup, cornstarch and soy oil-based items used mostly as additives unnecessarily and which have contributed to the nation’s growing obesity rate.

Instead of the $19.2 billion going toward production of those items, the group notes, it could have gone toward supporting healthier food items such as apples or peaches, or growers of organic items.

The report, titled Apples to Twinkies: Comparing Federal Subsidies for Fresh Produce and Junk Food, claims to have tracked all farm subsidies from 1995 through 2012. It was the focus of several national and regional protests this month, including in Washington and in the states of Illinois, New York and California.

“The way our subsidies are distributed right now is a strong example of how skewed our system is,” said Dani Neuharth-Keusch, a member of the Illinois PIRG group.

Neuharth-Keusch noted under the farm bill passed in 2008, policy is skewed toward benefitting large ag corporations instead of helping smaller family farms. “We need to push back against subsidies skewed toward big agribusiness and inadequate subsides for fresh produce.”

According to the study that can be accessed at www.calpirg.org of the federal funds allocated for crop insurance between 1995-2012, 75 percent went to only 3.8 percent of American farmers, while 62 percent of U.S. farms did not receive any subsidy.

“Corn sweeteners, cornstarch and soy oils have directly cost taxpayers $19.2 million since 1995. Federal subsidies for these products have underwritten an obesity epidemic whose hidden costs – measured in expenditures related to healthcare and economic loss – are much higher,” according to the study’s report. “And yet, the federal government continues to subsidize ingredients for empty-calorie products at much higher rates than they subsidize fresh fruit and vegetables.

“While apples are the only fruit or vegetable which receive an appreciable subsidy, the billions going to commodity crops dwarf the $689 million in funding this fruit received over the last 18 years.”

An Illinois nutritionist – a dietician who teaches at Southern Illinois University and at John A. Logan College and who owns Southern Illinois Nutrition Therapy in Carterville – said consumers long have had a “unfortunate” sweet tooth that has been “encouraged” by additives such as corn syrup to products such as soda and other items, including ketchup.

“Soda simply is liquid candy, and ever since corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup was introduced in the 1970s, companies have been adding it to products for no good reason other than that Americans love sweet things,” said Sharon Peterson, a doctorate holder who often presents at health conferences throughout the region about healthier foods. She is not associated with the PIRG group.

“The typical American is consuming 162 pounds of added sugars to products each year, and people wonder why we have an obesity problem. Just look at the labels of most processed foods everyone buys, and you’ll see why,” Peterson said.