If Only Our Government Supported Health
In Response to Marion Nestle’s, “Utopian Dream: A New Farm Bill”
Most people do not really think about why our grocery stores, super markets and convenience stores shelves are lined with mostly processed and refined junk that Americans have come to know as food. But why are junk foods so prevalent, why are fruits and vegetables so expensive, and why is fast food available in every nook and cranny of our society? These are questions that I have pondered since I was a child and I am finally beginning to understand this complex story that our food system and government is telling us.
Marion Nestle, a professor at NYU, has been devoting much of her research to this very topic, and interestingly enough it seems that all of these questions are answered by this one thing called the US “Farm Bill”. When I think about what a US Farm Bill would cover, and what it should aim to accomplish for our nation, I come up with very similar conclusions as did Nestle’s students. “Ensure enough food for the population at an affordable price; produce a surplus for international trade and aid; provide farmers with a sufficient income; protect farmers against the vagaries of weather and volatile markets; promote regional, seasonal, organic, and sustainable food production; conserve soil, land, and forest; protect water and air quality, and natural resources, and wildlife; raise farm animals humanely; and provide farm workers with a living wage and decent working conditions” (Nestle, 15). I admit that most Americans probably are not thinking about all of these things during their daily lives, however all of these things affect each and every one of us. The Farm Bill to me, seems to be something that should ensure that the ethics, goals and criteria of our nation are carried out through farming, nutritional standards and overall agriculture, sadly this is not the case, and is about as far from reality as it gets.
In reality the farm Bill “favors Big Agriculture over small, pesticides, fertilizers, and genetically modified crops over those raised organically and sustainable (Nestle,15).” And most disturbing to me, “It supports commodity crops grown for animal feed but considers fruits and vegetables to be ‘specialty’ crops deserving only token support (Nestle, 15).” The crops with the most funding from the farm bill are food commodities such as corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, cotton, sugar and dairy. No wonder why our nation is struggling with obesity and heart disease, our government has decided to profit of our declining health. I find this all very ironic when our government then turns around and advises Americans to focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods, “A healthy eating pattern limits intake of sodium, solid fats, added sugars, and refined grains and emphasizes nutrient-dense foods and beverages — vegetables, fruits, whole grains… (USDA ix).” It seems as though our policy in the form of the farm bill is not at all supporting what our government is telling us about how to eat a healthy diet. On the contrary, it seems that our government is systematically and intentionally doing exactly the opposite. “The farm bill encourages weight gain by subsidizing commodity crops that constitute the basic cheap caloric ingredients used in processed foods – soy oil and corn sweeteners, for example – and by explicitly forbidding crop producers from growing fruits and vegetables (Nestle 16).” Why is our government telling us to avoid added sugars, refined grains and solid fats while behind our backs they are encouraging the mass production of these very commodity crops/foods?
Can it be that our government doesn’t really care about our health and well being? I believe so. But what about the dietary guidelines they publish, explaining in detail how much they really do care, and how we should eat for optimum health? The USDA’s dietary guidelines are as good as a piece of toilet paper if it is not supported with policy. Currently our government is functioning like a family that raises is children feeding them fried chicken, French fries and ice cream while telling them that they should be healthy. This model isn’t working for our health, for the environments health, for the workers health nor for the animal’s health. It’s time for a new model, and sadly it doesn’t look like it will be coming in the form of the next farm bill. Our government has paved the way for the medical industry to profit off of our sick bodies that it has systematically encouraged by allowing this entire phenomenon to occur. In a world where junk food, soda, candy, frozen meals, processed foods and hot dogs line our grocery stores shelves, we are in serious danger. The diseases that come along with this diet are 100% preventable and most of the time reversible with a good diet, and a good diet starts with a good farm bill here in the USA.
Citations
Nestle, M. (2012). Utopian Dream: A New Farm Bill. Dissent, 59(2), 15-19.
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. 7th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, December 2010.
This so potently points out what the gov’t is REALLY doing! I think there is a frighteningly large proportion of Americans who would reject this and say you are crazy because we have been told the gov’t is looking out for us (check out the video ‘One Less Child’ to see extremely crazy scary brainwashing in China). A new model is needed. Where do you think this new model can be found/created? Fighting global warming, food insecurity, poor sanitation, etc. are all huge issues to tackle by themselves, but add to that what this blog points out – that it is really a problem with the entire infrastructure of our gov’t – and what needs to be done can seem impossible to even approach. Instead, we need to take motivation from the horrible realization this post provides and use it to spur ourselves towards a future of equality in not only food systems but as a global community.