Recently, Michael Pollan, author of bestselling books, In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, published a letter in The New York Times – it is a letter to the next President about the nation’s food. It offers an interesting perspective on how food, and how it is grown, will play an increasing role in the world’s issues. Pollan uses the letter to tie food to issues of health, energy independence and the environment. Since the focus of Ignite is on health, I thought I’d look at the way food is grown and transported and how it may be affecting our overall health.
One of the most interesting statistical comparisons Pollan offers up is that since 1960, the US spending on health care has increased from 5 to 16% of national income while at the same time spending on food decreased from 18 to less than 10%. In the most basic way, Pollan is showing that we’re spending less on food but health costs are going up – and much of these costs are due to the fact that our health is getting worse.
Pollan makes a rather convincing argument that changing the way we grow food can change our overall health. Possibly the most important point is that much of the food grown in our country is corn, soybeans and wheat – products that are ultimately used to create fast food meals. He argues for crop diversity (where different crops are farmed, rather than just one) rather than monoculture (producing just one type of crop). He believes the way to achieve this is by not using fossil fuels to grow and fertilize crops, but to use sunlight. This would mean a very different way of farming, processing and transporting food for our country.
Another interesting point Pollan makes is that US farms should be decentralized. He believes that by allowing for more localized faming, we can have food that is fresher (due to shorter transportation) and more nutritious (because there is less processing).
Finally, Pollan suggests a need to change “America’s food culture”. He cites how many of us are engrained in lifestyles that include fast/easy-to-prepare and cheap food. He thinks we need to change this mentality, beginning with children – suggesting schools teach programs about growing and cooking food. He also advocates more transparency in foods (e.g., nutritional labels that include information on how the food was processed and grown).
So what does this letter mean for us when it comes to our health? Whether or not we agree with Pollan’s recommendations, we know that the health of our country is an important issue. When we look at some of the major factors in disease – lack of exercise, smoking and obesity – it’s clear that we also need to consider how, where and the type of food that is grown in order to help us all live healthier.
Kerry
