New York Times Writer: Food Is Too Cheap [and that's why people are obese...]

Consumer Freedom ^

[Sub-Driver]

New York Times Writer: Food Is Too Cheap Posted On October 13, 2003 In a New York Times Magazine cover story, food author Michael Pollan labels America "the Republic of Fat" and blames our over-hyped "obesity epidemic" on "a veritable mountain of cheap grain." Without talking to a single consumer or considering how most people make their food decisions, Pollan argues that food is just too darn cheap.

Pollan calls inexpensive corn "the building block of the 'fast-food nation'," complaining that "cheap corn, transformed into cheap beef, is what allowed McDonald's to supersize its burgers and still sell many of them for no more than a dollar." If you're wondering what's so bad about that, you're not alone.

Agricultural technology like "mechanization, hybrid seed, agrochemicals and now genetically modified crops" have led to "abundant and cheap" raw materials for food, Pollan notes. As a result, "the number and variety of new snack foods in the supermarket have ballooned." The horror!

Pollan is by no means the only author who believes food should cost American consumers more. Big Brother Kelly Brownell and food cop Marion Nestle think so too. Speaking at a public health conference last year, Nestle insisted: "[F]ood is too cheap in this country."

Pollan titled his article "The (Agri)Cultural Contradictions of Obesity" -- an intentional riff on The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, which argued that the success of capitalism will be its downfall. By the same misguided token, Pollan suggests that our present cornucopia of food options at relatively low prices is actually a bad sign.

One explanation for Pollan's counterintuitive thesis that food should cost more is his bias in favor of small, local, and (small and local) organic farms. In a May 2001 article for the Times Magazine, Pollan wrote:

[T]here are values that the new corporate -- and government -- construction of "organic" leaves out, values that once were part and parcel of the word but that have since been abandoned as impractical or unprofitable. I'm thinking of things like locally grown, like the humane treatment of animals, like the value of a shorter and more legible food chain, the preservation of family farms, even the promise of a countercuisine.

Pollan opposes large-scale agriculture and modern farming techniques for sentimental reasons like "the promise of a countercuisine." If he gets his wish and agriculture becomes less efficient, conventional food prices will rise -- making Pollan's favored products more competitive. While Pollan should feel perfectly free to pay through the nose for food, most consumers find no joy in spending more than they have to.

[Sub-Driver]

liberal logic at work.....

[lormand]

So, rich people are fatter than poor people?

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[tiki]

They want to do the same thing with gas. As a farmer though I wouldn't mind higher prices at all.

[Pete]

An interesting insight into the motives of the anti-obesity crowd.

[AdamSelene235]

Perhaps the CDC and the Federal Reserve could form a joint task force devoted to driving the price of bread up to $100 a loaf.

[sheik yerbouty]

Liberals are hideous idiots.

[Tank-FL]

There is to much air .. so pigs fly?

[Liberal Classic]

Could this be an argument for eliminating farm subsidies? :)

[Sofa King]

"[T]here are values that the new corporate -- and government -- construction of "organic" leaves out, values that once were part and parcel of the word but that have since been abandoned as impractical or unprofitable. I'm thinking of things like locally grown, like the humane treatment of animals, like the value of a shorter and more legible food chain, the preservation of family farms, even the promise of a countercuisine."

Wow. I've seen vacuums that were less transparent than these people's motives.

[CathyRyan]

Ok, jack up the price of pasta and then it will be expensive pasta I will not be eating. 49 pounds lost! Thank You Dr Atkins!

[Maceman]

Scratch a liberal, find a misanthrope.

[lormand]

"Pollan titled his article "The (Agri)Cultural Contradictions of Obesity" -- an intentional riff on The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism,"

One thing is for sure, if these Marxist take control, the cost of everything will go sky high.

[Sofa King]

Oh, yeah, I forgot, who wants to bet that this guy will be first in line to blame corporations for trying to starve our children?

[Semper Paratus]

How much does the NY Times Food Writer pay for his meals?

[blackdog]

I propose a food tax. The food can be taxed based on the purchasers certified weight and height index. John Goodman and Oprah pay like an 80% tax and Calista Flockhart and Willie Nelson pay like 2%. Any chick with Anorexia/Bulemia should just be allowed to pay no tax but should be required to pay a toilet tax instead. All that projectile purging/binging is hard on the plumbing.

That is my entirely sensible liberal logic proposal of the day!

[maestro]

New York Times Writer: Food Is Too Cheap [and that's why people are obese...]

Cheap!!.......Cheap?.......Lotsa Money for Fat without Nutrition!.........that's cheap....keep the folks FAT.

:-(

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

As a farmer though I wouldn't mind higher prices at all.

I wouldn't mind higher wages either.

Truth is that if you are growing something like corn or wheat and not doing it big time then you aren't going to make much money because of the slim margin of profit combined with the cost of transportation.

You could do what the founders did and convert your product into a product with a higher profit margin that is easier to transport. :)

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Obviously, if we had the liberals in charge, they'd manage this a lot better.

[Graybeard58]

"Could this be an argument for eliminating farm subsidies? :)"


...Nah, it's more an argument for eliminating New York Times writers.