Washington Post piece on subsidies to the US sugar industry and the associated political influence makes for a fascinating read:
According to the Washington Post article:
“The industry is tiny
in comparison to other agricultural commodities, but it outspends all other
crop sectors combined on political-action-committee contributions to federal
candidates. Sugar interests have spent $49 million on federal campaign
donations and lobbying over the past five years.
On average, sugar
farmers and employees gave more than five times as much money to members of
Congress who sided with the industry than to members who did not, according to
an analysis of key votes conducted for The Washington Post by the Center for
Responsive Politics.”