When I think of experiences that stand out above the rest it includes: family or close friends, sometimes an activity, but the consistent element is almost always food. Michael Pollan explains in his book, In Defense of Food, that food in America can be seen as an item on our to-do list that needs to be checked off. However, in… Read more »
The trends of food system industrialization and nutritionism outlined by Michael Pollan in In Defense of Food have not diminished in the decade since its publication. Neither have the global social, political and economic forces driving those trends. Pollan outlines the bodily and environmental dangers that our new food landscape presents, making a compelling argument that our food needs defending…. Read more »
Repercussions are rippling through many of our living systems due to the industrialization of food. Monoculture farming is causing untold disruptions in plant and animal systems. Processes we have invented to feed the capitalist food system are rendering our soil biologically inactive, striping it of minerals and nutrients. This degradation of soil is disrupting the symbiotic relationship of organic matter… Read more »
The industrialization of food has brought along with it billions of dollars of food marketing to get the shopper to spend that extra few dollar on the newest product. Pollan mentions that the food marketing industry has an annual budget of about thirty-two billion dollars (4). Along with the marketing being shown on television commercials, on billboards, there are more… Read more »
Gathering my thoughts about our first lesson, I am amazed by how complex food actually is. After having read Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, it’s surprising that even though there are things like the slow food movement and scores of people fighting for community gardens, the veil of nutritionism has not really lifted from the American psyche. Generally speaking,… Read more »
Whole foods are essential for health and well being; however, even some “whole” foods lack valuable nutrients based on where and how they’re grown. Pollan points out that there has been “a decline in nutrient content of…forty-three crops…tracked since the 1950s” (118). The industrialization of farming has created a nutrient-deficient world, even for those who attempt to eat in the… Read more »
Since I have the good fortune to have found a strong WiFi connection, I’ll take this opportunity to occupy my Professor’s Corner. Reading through your first week’s takeaways, I see that many of you are asking a central question: once we start waking up to problems with the food system, what do we do? The tempting answer is to change… Read more »
The American government has had a great effect on the food industry and consequently the people of the USA. Because of the industrialization of food and nutritionism the American government endeavored to change the diet of the whole population. Our government put guidelines in place to prevent people from overeating certain nutrients but with abstract wording as to not upset… Read more »
This course address these questions and more: Where does our food come from? What are the social, political, environmental, and public health roots and consequences of the industrialized world food system? Who wins and who loses? What are the trends? To what extent are non-state actors altering the world political system? How is climate change likely to impact the world… Read more »