Voting with a fork: The politics of food

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"When you choose organics, you are voting for a planet with fewer pesticides, richer soil and cleaner water supplies--all better in the long run. When you choose locally grown produce, you're voting for conservation of fuel resources and the economic viability of local communities," she wrote.

Yet even organics face political turmoil.

To get a certified organic seal, a food producer must follow a phonebook-thick set of rules set by the Department of Agriculture, Nestle said. Among those rules, the food cannot be grown with chemical pesticides, antibiotics, hormones or chemical fertilizers. After interviewing a range of inspectors, food producers and suppliers, she said certified organic producers largely follow the letter of the rules, with few breaking them purposely.

Yet the certified organic rules are under constant attack by Congress and big organics--the companies that entered the organic business because they can charge more for the foods, she said. Those parties want to weaken the rules by adding chemicals to organic food but keep the same label, Nestle said.

"We need to keep organic standards free from the influence of big business. I can tell you it's not going to be easy to do," she said.

Is organic food healthier?
Nestle said that, without a doubt, if food is labeled "certified organic," it's better for consumers and for the planet.

Yet many people can't afford the higher price that comes with certified organic foods. Milk, for example, is a staple food, but can cost double the price if it's certified organic. (She also says that grocery store marketers put milk in the back of the store so that people buy things they see in the aisles.)Conventional milk, however, can contain cow growth hormones such as bovine somatotropin (bST), which is genetically engineered, as well as antibiotics injected to protect overcrowded cows from getting sick.

Nestle said that if a consumer can afford no other organic products, organic milk should be the priority.

One ray of hope for U.S. food politics is what Nestle described as a "grassroots social movement" in communities around the country, aimed at counteracting child obesity and the phenomenon of buying foods from across the country when those same foods are farmed locally. One example she cited was the famous chef Alice Water's program "Edible Schoolyard," in which adults teach kids to cook from a local garden.

Outside of paying attention to politics, Nestle advises that people simply, "eat less, move more, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and go easy on the junk funks."

As for the leafy greens: "In Manhattan, I would not buy spinach in a bag," she said. "If you hold it up to the light, you can see the slime on it."

[nicmart]

Nestle: reliable voice of the nanny state

Nestle is an unreconstructed Naderite leftist. The reflexive answer
to all problems is "more government."

[dysonl]

No, not "more government"

but less corporations.

[Dead Soulman]

It's like "groovy man"

Come on people. I hate to sound like the cynic, but how is this related to understanding technology. This is clearly "pro-flower power granola forcefeeding" propaganda. It's ridiculous. This is nonsense and a selling pitch to buy "organic foods".

Now, I do agree that our meal portions are way out of control. I've gone to restaurans and have had to take the rest of my meal home, which has fed me for two additional days. It's outrageous how much food we're expected to eat these days.

This is not a balanced article. It's a clearly an intentionally mistitled pro-organic foods article. Don't call it "Voting with a fork: The politics of food." It should've been called "Voting for organic foods: Our agenda."

Anyway, leave to San Franciscans to lead us straight onto the yellow brick road.

[Betty Roper]

Agreed...

This is politics, not technology. Reeks of elitism.

The big bad American food industry, so often criticized, has provided a better standard of living for more people than at any time in history. Many parts of the world *wish* they had the problem of "too many calories".

There wouldn't be a so-called epidemic of obesity in this country if people just exercised more self-control.

[thanhvn]

discuss the merits of the subject, not the author

Ummm, I have no idea what political leaning the author has, nor do I care. What we should be discussing here is the merits of the subject at hand, not the personal beliefs or the political leanings of the author (unless they bias the evidence or the conclusion). What I take away from this article is that the food industry (and related) benefits from people consuming more food and they will do many things to get people to consume more food. Getting the message out so people understand this fact and that eating more is not necessarily healthy is a good thing. It's much like getting the message out that smoking is not good for your health. Once people understand these points and still choose to do things to damage their health anyway, then it's their fault, not the fault of the food and tobacco industries (within certain marketing behaviors, of course).

[Pop4]

A comeback is in order "Foriegner4" ; Organic Pro Talk:

Lend me your ears. Bottom line and further outcome to this woman's constituancy is to either IPO or increase grocery prices in the 99% consumer market beyond a current 29%-50% indexing. I began my produce industry career at a (-3%)-22% consumer index which closed out when the organic industry bewildered its first triple net lease.
The value of 'Organic Produce Shopping' is a cancer cure! No doubt the gal I am referring too is a zelot and should have been paid and not a free spot on the news in Phoenix Arizona. "no names"?

[Mister C]

Ignorant Bliss!

Dim wits that never even passed HS Biology much less a college level Biology or, god forbid, college Bio-Chem class rant on about things they have no more knowledge of then what they got from Fox news!

They dismiss all they do not understand, that is until their kid nearly dies from eating tainted food. Then it is all about why didn't the government do more to protect us!

Before you Rocket scientists blow this off you may want to have a talk with someone who actually understands the issue, say a college Biology of Bio-Chem teacher.

Those who know, have been complaining for years that the primary concern of the food industry is profit. Safety is secondary and only when it hits them in the wallet, is it a real issue.

[Pop4]

Even before the 'Vegan' craze ABCO (formerly Alpha Beta 500-600) $vegiwash.

Do you wash your spinach? Well then, there are already USDA mandates on pestisides to maintane current yeilds in the produce industry. And plenty of (protobioteniques) to the .00001 for the beef industry. What? Now we use "Avian Flu" to invade every constituant that plants a crop using Canadian money in the north of South America. Come on California Organic growers and their Florida citrus partners even have New Jersey flanking the 'Vegan Food Piramid' on their "Farmer Market" brand of food products. Just Do it!