In recent times there has been an increase in awareness of the downsides associated with industrial agriculture. The loss of soil, inefficient water and resource usage, toxic chemicals, poorly regulated GMO’s, and the inhumane environments for animals. With such a long list of skeletons, it’s no wonder that a range of movements to shift away from this system have… Read more »
With an ever expanding world population and the impending threat of another world energy crisis, food production is in a precarious situation. Food production has been able to keep up with the population due to nitrogen based fertilizers and other technological innovations upping the yield of staple crops. Unfortunately, these innovations are incredibly dependent on fossil fuels and can cause… 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 »
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 »