The statistics having to do with food in America are pretty grim. Thirty-two million Americans — that’s one in nine families — had trouble consistently putting food on the table even before the current economic problems. There’s been a 25 percent growth in need at food pantries, mostly among members of the middle class.

And at the same time that families are struggling, a report from the Government Accountability Office shows that between 2003 and 2006, $49 million in crop subsidies went to farmers making more than $2.5 million.

President-elect Barak Obama told Time magazine that the way we produce food in America today leads to more disease like obesity and diabetes, but he backpedaled after farm lobby protests.

Bill Moyers tackled all these issues in a discussion last week with Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, among other books, longshot candidate for Secretary of Agriculture and the author of a lengthy article in an October issue of the New York Times magazine called an open letter to the new president about the need to change the way we produce food in America (we summarized his arguments in an earlier post).

Food policy adviser needed

Pollan says the agriculture post isn’t for him because it’s too beholden to the special interests of the farm lobby. What Obama really needs (a position he also says he’s not vying for) is a food policy czar, someone who can look at policy across the agencies when it comes to food.

“The challenge is not just what we do with agriculture, it’s connecting the dots between agriculture and public health, between agriculture and energy and climate change, agriculture and education . . . it’s an interdisciplinary problem if you will,” Pollan said.

For example we need a government where there is not a surgeon general talking about the epidemic of diabetes at the same time the farm policy subsidizes high fructose corn syrup, he said.

How things got so bad

Pollan says the big issue in food is those subsidies for commodity crops — especially corn and soy — that have allowed increased production and low prices, which has led Americans to eat about 300 calories more per day and weigh about 10 pounds more than earlier generations did.

“Overabundant, too cheap food can be as much a problem as too little food,” he said, noting that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predict that one in three kids born in the year 2000 will at some point in their lives have diabetes.

While lack of exercise also plays a part, “this is about how we’re eating,” Pollan said. “We are basically subsidizing fast food.”

And all that fast food is using a whole lot of oil. The American food supply requires on average 10 calories in fossil fuel to make one calorie of food, once you factor in fertilizer, pesticides, production and transportation. Huge centers of production are also a danger, because a harmful microbe (inadvertently or intentionally added to the food supply) gets quickly disseminated and can sicken thousands quite easily.

“Food is the shadow issue over all those other issues,” he said. “You’re only going to get so far with health care if you don’t look at food.”

Healthy solutions

Pollan argues that a good place to start is with the meals kids are served at school. He says the current system just allows the government to get rid of surplus food without paying much attention to whether it’s healthy.

Instead, he says the school food program should be part of either the Department of Education or the Department of Health and Human Services, more money should be put into purchasing food and a certain amount of the money schools get should be required to be used on food produced within 100 miles of the school. This would help local farmers and the local economy as well as teaching kids more about where food comes from.

In addition he says the new first family should eat locally when possible and hire a White House chef who will set an example by using good quality, locally produced and seasonal products. He wants five acres of the White House lawn turned into a garden so that people can again see how much of their own food they could produce.

For the inner cities where people aren’t always able to have a garden, Pollan suggests giving all food stamp recipients vouchers for farmers markets, which would encourage markets to locate in cities and help small, local farmers stay in business.

Change starts at home

Pollan says the food movement in America is still very small, but it has made a lot of progress with basically no help from the government. Just as organics have grown with no federal support, pushing for affordable, good quality and local produce can happen with or without Washington.

“The great thing about this issue . . . is you don’t have to wait for Nancy Pelosi or Barak Obama or Collin Peterson [head of the House Agriculture Committee] to get their act together on this issue, you can act now, there are alternatives, you can vote with your fork,” he said. “We are building an alternative food economy, it’s being done without virtually any support from the government, it’s burgeoning.”

So what can individuals do? Buy at farmers markets whenever possible, and plant a garden yourself if you have a place for one. There’s nothing like growing your own food to make you question the quality of other ingredients and where the rest of your food comes from.

You’ll also have to cook more, but Pollan says everyone who thinks they’re too busy to cook should take the time they spend watching cooking shows to actually cook.

“Food is just too important to relegate to these 10 minute corners of our lives,” he said.

(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 and is filed under Food miscellaneous, Public policy. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.