In the USA, direct government aid to farmers rose to a record $46.5 billion in 2020, equalling about 40 per cent of net farm income. While we were being told that the pandemic was having a huge effect on farmers, these direct payments meant that US agriculture had its third most profitable year in half a century.5 They were being increased at the same time that President Trump was trying to cut funding for food stamps, which would have seen 700,000 people lose access to them during the pandemic, neatly demonstrating where our current priorities lie.
