Industrialized Food and the Problem of Supermarkets While farmer’s markets and community gardens may be on the rise in U.S. cities, the vast majority of U.S. households still buy their food from chain supermarkets and supercenters, regardless of income level. Supermarkets provide a fast and accessible way to satisfy your hunger – one twenty minute trip can provide everything from… Read more »
(Michael Pollan in Defense of Food) Michael Pollan creates a vibrant critique of the world food system that spans criticisms of inequity in valuation of trading good by countries of the Global North compared to that of the Global south, to analysis of Nutritionism and the intricate and interlocking ways that companies profit off of science, journalism, and the food… Read more »
When scientists tried boldly to maximize the product and nutrient efficiency of our food over a hundred years ago, we succeeded, but along came the consumption of chemicals through pesticides, highly processed foods, and relative biological uniformity in our diet. These characteristics of our diet have in turn given us everything we need to be biologically healthy, except ironically, the… Read more »
All I could say when I finished reading Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food was: Okay, not intentionally racist, but racist in impact. As I put pen-to-paper finger-to-keyboard and write this out, I fully understand that my statement probably will have many supporters of nutritionism up in arms about its validity. Though, I do not intend to throw the baby out with… Read more »
While I’d like to say that my minimum wage job provides enough disposable income for my rent, groceries, lifestyle, and savings, it’s still a familiar struggle each month deciding how to allocate my income. Certainly I’m not the only student living in Seattle that feels this monetary pressure, and surely there are people less well off across the country facing… Read more »
Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food” did a great deal for me in explaining my misconceptions on diet and Nutritionism, but I felt it stopped short of coming up with any solutions that can have any widespread change. The article by Julie Guthman echoes these sentiments somewhat. Yes, it is important to strive the best we can to eat foods… Read more »
Recently due to the advancements in technology it has become more common to hear on the news or read articles about GMOs and other food modifications. This kind of food industrialization is not something new. According to Michael Pollan’s novel, In Defense of Food, food modification has been occurring for many centuries. In our society modifying foods has become the… Read more »
Although I have been aware of the intersectionality of American politics and the national food system for quite some time, I am overwhelmingly taken aback by the discovery of nutritionism’s influence within such a unique relationship. Before diving into Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, I perceived the bond between food and politics to be linked to grassroots movements towards… Read more »
As a college student, myself and many others are always lacking something. Time, energy, money, you name it. Despite this, according to the American Dream we are doing everything we should be doing. Our education is leading us well on our way to fulfilling that happy dream of living in a white picket fenced house with a perfect spouse (and… Read more »
President Trump has recently been considering the possibility of a U.S. involved Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which has surprised many domestic and international actors. Initially, Trump determined that the deal would hurt American farmers, but now that the U.S. is on the brink of a trade war with China, he feels pressure to reevaluate the TPP: “the president started to change… Read more »