Michael Pollan continues to address the food problem that America is experiencing in "Farmer in Chief." He claims that food plays a key role in the health care crisis, energy independence, and climate change. The food system contributes to a large part of fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Pollan also demonstrates how food is affecting America's public health. Heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer are among the top ten killers of Americans - all of which are linked to diet and food. Food prices have decreased greatly in the past few decades; however, this has increased the cost of public health. According to Pollan, "spending on health care has risen from 5 percent of national income in 1960 to 16 percent today." In the rest of the article, he provides many suggestions to improve the current food situation. He proposes many alternatives, such as switching back to polycultures, rewarding farmers for planting cover crops, and moving animals off of feedlots. In addition, Pollan recommends that the public should be educated about healthy food choices, schools should be given more money to provide better lunch options, and that we have a food system based on the energy from the sun, rather than from fossil fuels.
Although I agree with Pollan's ideas, I must say that all his suggestions are easier said than done. Actually, some of his recommendations are very impractical. For example, he proposes that the FDA should require a second bar code on all food products that, when scanned, tells the consumer the whole production process, including where it came from, its former diet, where it was slaughtered, and so on. The main purpose of this bar code is to educate the public, but how many people would take the time to read all of that? It is definitely a creative way to provide that information for consumers, but I don't think that many people will stand at the grocery store and read the whole production process before purchasing that food item. So, what other, more effective ways can we educate the public? Is there a way to distribute this information in an interesting, yet time-saving manner?
You are right when you say it is impractical to set up a second bar code on all food items. However, it is important for people to think of ways to affect buyers on site of what they are buying. We need to keep our country men safe so that the next generation can flourish. Pollan is a pioneer I just hope someone follows in his footsteps.
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