In your recent article that appeared in The New York Times Magazine's Food and Drink issue, you discuss the American public's growing awareness of and interest in agricultural reform. While the food movement currently exists on the fringe of our industrial food system, you seem hopeful that the "soft politics" that comprises a lot of the food movement may finally engage with the "hard politics" of Washington - potentially spurred by California's upcoming vote on whether or not to label foods containing GMOs.
With the control that agribusiness has in the food system and the vast number of cheap inputs, subsidies, and externalities that our current food system relies on in order to guarantee low prices to which consumers have become accustomed, I sometimes question whether it will ever be possible to make changes that get to the root of our food problems rather than just provide short term fixes or "band-aids". Do you truly believe that large scale, significant reform to our current food system will be possible even if soft politics finally is able to influence hard politics? Additionally, given the corporatization of the current food system and its view of food as a commodity rather than a public good, how can politicians put in place policies that won't be balked at by those in favor of capitalism and a market-based system?
Thank you for doing this AMA - I read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" right when it was published and it completely changed the way I think about food.
eskaigee25 karma
In your recent article that appeared in The New York Times Magazine's Food and Drink issue, you discuss the American public's growing awareness of and interest in agricultural reform. While the food movement currently exists on the fringe of our industrial food system, you seem hopeful that the "soft politics" that comprises a lot of the food movement may finally engage with the "hard politics" of Washington - potentially spurred by California's upcoming vote on whether or not to label foods containing GMOs.
With the control that agribusiness has in the food system and the vast number of cheap inputs, subsidies, and externalities that our current food system relies on in order to guarantee low prices to which consumers have become accustomed, I sometimes question whether it will ever be possible to make changes that get to the root of our food problems rather than just provide short term fixes or "band-aids". Do you truly believe that large scale, significant reform to our current food system will be possible even if soft politics finally is able to influence hard politics? Additionally, given the corporatization of the current food system and its view of food as a commodity rather than a public good, how can politicians put in place policies that won't be balked at by those in favor of capitalism and a market-based system?
Thank you for doing this AMA - I read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" right when it was published and it completely changed the way I think about food.
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