Farmer in Chief Reading and Discussion

Michael Pollen's article, Farmer in Chief, is a letter written to the President elect warning of the importance of the country's agricultural system and food industry, and the need for it to change in order to ensure a safer, healthier and more sustainable future. This was one of the most organized and flawless arguments that I have ever read.

During the socratic seminar our class seemed to focus on whether or not the government should be able to oversee the American people's diet and initiate changes that would benefit their health. Should the American people be given the responsibility to choose what they eat even if it does not benefit their health. During the discussion I made the comparison of the previous notion to the example of the U.S. government outlawing citizens from injecting harmful drugs and substances into their bodies. I believe that the U.S. government should reduce the number of subsidies that it provides for 'unhealthy' foods, and increase the number of subsidies for healthy food.

However with this suggestion comes another issue regarding the government's judgment. What exactly constitutes 'unhealthy' food? Should the healthiness of a food be judged on the number of calories that it contains? Or possibly the number of preservatives and additives that it contains. Pollen stated in his article, "We have traded quality for quantity." The American food system has been flooded with an array of foods that have lead to increased cases of health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol. I believe both of these should be taken into consideration if the government were to initiate changes that would greatly limit the diet of American citizens.

I believe that the most immediate way toward a safer, healthier and more sustainable food system is for Americans to buy from local farmers and producers. The majority of local food producers tend to offer healthier alternatives to many of their regional counterparts that are using more sustainable methods of production. I support the idea of requiring all public schools to teach students to make healthy dietary choices.