Sources on the Global Food System

Many people in class this semester noted that they were only marginally aware of the deleterious issues inherent to the global food system.  For those of you interested in an accessible and relatively quick read that would provide more insight on the matter, I would recommend Raj Patel’s Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World’s Food System.  Patel outlines a number of cases worldwide wherein food producers in the Global South are living in extreme poverty, barely able to feed their families, as well as explains the paradoxical situation in the Global North where relatively few are able to afford the nutrient dense food that is produced so cheaply on the South’s backs.  Because of the efforts of multi-national corporations to achieve ever larger profits, producers and consumers of our global food supply are both in a position that leaves them, in many cases, unable to feed themselves or their families.  Patel himself notes the high stress levels experienced by farmers, discussing the growing number of suicides by farmers in the Global South as well as their Northern counterparts in the U.S. in the second half of the twentieth century.  Clearly this is an extreme example of the manifestation of stress as it relates to the global food system, but it is no less relevant because of this extremity.  Thousands upon thousands of people are dying as a result of the symbiotic relationship between stress and the food system, and whether by suicide or not, often by their own hand in the food choices they make or that are forced upon them.

Consider if you will the plight of millions of Americans who are unemployed, underemployed, or find themselves in the midst of food deserts.  Many of these people are forced to choose food based on price or availability rather than nutrient content, even in cases when they know the food is not the best option.  Despite the rhetoric used by politicians and policy makers, I think we would be hard pressed to find any individuals who would actively choose to be unhealthy or choose chronic long term disease so that they may continue to eat energy dense foods that seem more appealing in the long term.  To the contrary, it seems that many people make these decisions in an effort to reach some sort of caloric satiety so that they and their children might go to sleep without rumbling stomachs.  Unfortunately for many, this means choosing the cheeseburger and fries off the dollar menu or the energy rich, nutrient poor foods found in the dollar sale section of any grocery circular.  The problem is compounded when chronic disease inevitably develops and the family is further burdened with healthcare and medication costs, as well as lost time at work.  All of these costs are incurred so that the few in charge of the food processing corporations continue to see rising profits at the expense of the marginalized and poor.  This situation grows exponentially when we consider the high levels of stress that are associated with working multiple jobs and still finding oneself unable to adequately feed and care for a family.

Although Patel argues for a comprehensive overhaul of the global food system as it stands in its current state, this alone would not solve the problems being faced by a majority of the world’s population.  Efforts must be made to increase activity levels and promote lifestyle changes.  Furthermore, we must eradicate the growing number of neighborhoods that are centered in food desserts, as well as work to create a system that provides a living wage instead of a minimum wage.  Much of this work will need to start with government policy, but it is critical that restoration of a sense of humanity and community is restored to our nation and others. 

Patel, Raj.  Stuffed and Starved: the Hidden Battle for the World’s Food System.  Brooklyn: Melville House, 2012.

Another accessible entry point to the conversation would be the documentary Food, Inc., Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, or the assorted works of Michael Pollan.