Author: Michael Pollan
I read this book a few years ago but recently discovered
Michael Pollan has been making a lot of noise in the world of food and decided
to re-read this book. My opinion regarding the politics of the agriculture
industry and US food culture cannot possibly fit into one post on this blog so
I’ll focus on this quote, which examines the role of the agriculture industry
in our complex economic system.
"The free market
has never worked in agriculture and it never will. The economics of a family
farm are very different than a firm's: When prices fall, the firm can lay off
people, idle factories, and make fewer widgets. Eventually the market finds a
new balance between supply and demand. But the demand for food isn't elastic;
people don't eat more just because food is cheap. And laying off farmers
doesn't help to reduce supply. You can fire me, but you can't fire my land,
because some other farmer who needs more cash flow or thinks he's more efficient
than I am will come in and farm it. Even if I go out of business this land will
keep producing corn."
The quote specifically raises questions about the US’s
increasing dependence on corn and the subsequent subsidies and incentives to
keep corn booming. As the age old saying goes; you are what you eat. And I
think it’s wise to look at what we eat and where it comes from.
Read the ingredients
on the label of any processed food and, provided you know the chemical names it
travels under, corn is what you will find. For modified or unmodified starch,
for glucose syrup and maltodextrin, for crystalline fructose and ascorbic acid,
for lecithin and dextrose, lactic acid and lysine, for maltose and HFCS, for
MSG and polyols, for the caramel color and xanthan gum, read: corn.
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