Prepare to pay more for your food. The House Agriculture Committee on Thursday unanimously passed a 2007 farm bill that, in the words of a committee press release, “makes historic investments in conservation, nutrition and renewable energy while maintaining a strong safety net for America’s farmers and ranchers.”

For “investments,” read “spending increases,” and for “a strong safety net,” read “subsidies and trade barriers to keep commodity prices and production artificially high.”

Sadly, the new 2007 farm bill looks a lot like the old 2002 farm bill that is due to expire on September 30. No real changes were made in the Title 1 commodity programs that lavish production subsidies on farmers who grow corn, wheat, cotton, and other program crops. Trade barriers remain against imports of lower-priced sugar, rice, and dairy products.

As we have pointed out in a number of recent Cato studies on farm policy, tens of millions of American families will continue to pay for these programs through taxes and higher prices at the grocery store. Once again, members of the House Agriculture Committee, Democrats and Republicans alike, have demonstrated that they represent a small number of farmers rather than the general interests of the American people.