In the past fifteen years, the sugar industry has been under has been under fire for numerous different reasons. Most of which has been the destruction of the Everglades and its habitat. Since then, sugar farmers have did their part to help protect the Everglades by donating millions of dollars and lowering the amount of chemicals in run-off water.
             Once again, they are under fire. The new Farm Security Act, or The Farm Bill, plans to change sugar policy for the next ten years. Reps. Dan Miller from Florida and George Miller from California have introduced an amendment to the Farm Bill that will have a negative impact on the sugar economy.
             The new farm bill if passed would devastate the economy in South Florida by raising employment rates and lowering revenue produced by sugar farmers. There are five provisions of the amendment. It would reduce the level of government loans by a penny a pound, double forfeiture fees to two cents a pound. It would also prevent the U.S. secretary of agriculture from imposing marketing limitations on domestically produced sugar. The Miller-Miller amendment would also earmark 300 million dollars for Everglades restoration that would come from anticipated savings resulting from reducing the sugar program.
             Since the passing of the last Farm Bill in 1996, sugar policy has had problems. Because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), other countries in North America such as Mexico have substantially entered the U.S. sugar market. Mexico's main export is sugar causing the U.S. sugar industry to produce a huge surplus. Since then, the need to export sugar has decreased drastically. Also, Mexico creates a 455,000 tons surplus and is able to get rid of it in the preferentially priced U.S. market.
             The grocers and food manufacturers are demanding more profits at the expense of American family farmers. To satisfy their quest for unreasonable cheap supplies of foreign subsidi...