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DENVER - A new report by a group critical of junk food says billions of dollars in taxpayer agricultural subsidies actually contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic.
The report, released by the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (COPiRG) is titled "Apples to Twinkies."
It asserts that taxpayer dollars are going to subsidize junk food additives, such as high fructose corn syrup.
It says that from 1995 to 2010, nearly $17 billion in tax dollars subsidized those types of additives.
It claims the money was enough to pay for the ingredients for 19 Twinkies per taxpayer, per year.
The report also says that over the same time period, taxpayers spent $262 million subsidizing apples.
That amount would buy each taxpayer less than a quarter of an apple per year.
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