Sustainability Starts (and Ends) Small

By Steven D. Schmitt

A Letter to the Editor in the September 17, 2009 Wisconsin State Journal could not have been timed better. A Madison resident who had farmed for aĀ career questioned why UW-Madison was spending its financial resourcesĀ to bring author Michael Pollan to the Kohl Center (Sept. 24, 7 p.m.) to speak on his book, In Defense of Food, especially because he has been so critical of the current agricultural production system.

I am reading Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, an account of his personal journey through the modern food chain that criticizes U.S. farm policies and large-scale industrialized farming for turning cheap surplus corn into a variety of consumer products that pose risks to public health and the environment.Ā  The man did a tremendous amount of research and interviews – and even bought his own cow.

Pollan’s word pictures and quotes from corporate and individual farmers do present an unfavorable picture of a food industry that travels a superhighway that a grain surplus intoĀ popular breakfast cereals, soft drink sweeteners and fake cheese — at huge profits.Ā  Even organic farming, he says, is adopting industrial processes to sell nonchemical products, some of which contains synthetic, albeit natural, additives.Ā  The final product is labeled “organic,” implying t]he benefits of health and nutrition.

Marjorie Stieve’s letter caught my attention because she is right about the value of farming careers and the benefits we enjoy from a diverse food supply, from local farms to supermarkets that sell arguably the freshest food available in the free world.Ā  Pollan, however, attacks large-scale farming and related policies — not farmers.Ā  He opposes selling Cheez Whiz made from processed corn in place of real cheese and natural corn.Ā  Career farmers — andĀ new ones — would certainly prefer the latter.

This is where Pollan and Stieve actually agree.Ā  The farmer is t]he most important person in t]he food production system. Federal policies that encourage cheap food that is attractive, convenient and tasty may be a cost-efficient boon to brand-name businesses but do not promote traditionalĀ alternatives at fair farm prices. Also, aĀ free range chicken mayĀ cost more at the store, but so would the Tyson competitor if the farmer made a living wage for his or her work instead of losing a dollar on each bushel of corn produced.

Everyone believes in rewarding hard work and eating good food. What we need is a system that pays t]he farmer 40 cents on the dollar for farm fresh eggs — not four cents – and investment in local farm to market roads for transport of nonhybrid, atrazine-free cornĀ to local manufacturers and distributors and, eventually, to consumers.

Pollan’s talk is a vehicle to energize discussion about integrated rat]her than oversimplified solutions to a complex food system. It also brings career farmers into the debate for a better, farmer-friendly system.

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1 thought on “Sustainability Starts (and Ends) Small”

  1. I read the Omnivore’s Dilemma and started to look at how pervasive corn is in our ā€˜natural’ bath and body products.

    My company makes castile soap and I have created a video called ā€ Are You Washing With Cornā€- view http://mountainskysoap.com/corn.php

    People have to make choices as to what they buy, as that will drive the market, their health and the planet’s overall sustainability.

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