The famous U.S. Supreme Court case of ''Wickard v. Filburn'' (1942) extended the scope of the Commerce Clause to allow Congress to limit how much wheat a man grows on his own property to feed his own family. How did that affect "commerce ... among the several States"? According to the Supreme Court, the farmer's growing of wheat on his own land, for his own family's use, enabled him to avoid buying wheat for his family in the market, and that affected the overall price of wheat in interstate commerce. Price, after all, is the result of supply and demand, and the farmer reduced the interstate demand for wheat by growing his own, and that affected the interstate price (ever so slightly). That effect on interstate commerce was enough for Congress to have the power to limit how much wheat someone can grow on his own land! | The famous U.S. Supreme Court case of ''Wickard v. Filburn'' (1942) extended the scope of the Commerce Clause to allow Congress to limit how much wheat a man grows on his own property to feed his own family. How did that affect "commerce ... among the several States"? According to the Supreme Court, the farmer's growing of wheat on his own land, for his own family's use, enabled him to avoid buying wheat for his family in the market, and that affected the overall price of wheat in interstate commerce. Price, after all, is the result of supply and demand, and the farmer reduced the interstate demand for wheat by growing his own, and that affected the interstate price (ever so slightly). That effect on interstate commerce was enough for Congress to have the power to limit how much wheat someone can grow on his own land! |