The Broken Food System: Piecing It Back Together

The Nation ran a special « food issue » that addressed America’s values with respect to food, farming and policy. The main tenet of the issue is that the U.S. food system is broken. At Grassroots we believe this is true. We take the notion even further: the global food system is broken.

U.S. food and farm policy is foreign policy that shapes agricultural conditions globally. The results are devastating for millions around the world: hunger, environmental degradation and human rights violations.

In the « food issue », Alice Waters, a world-renowned chef and pioneer in U.S. community gardens, asks several food and policy experts to write about one thing that could fix our broken food system.

Michael Pollan, author of « The Omnivores Dilemma », believes that one thing is:

*The U.S. Farm Bill should be a « food bill », where all citizens–consumers, parents, farmers, farm workers and urban and rural people–have a say in its composition.

Peter Singer, a bioethicist and philosopher, believes that one thing is:

*Don’t buy factory farm products.

Winona LaDuke, founder of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, believes that one thing is:

*Restore our relationship to food and the natural world.

Vandana Shiva, founder of Navdanya, believes that one thing is:

*Rely on biodiverse farming systems.

Jim Hightower, a former Texas Agricultural Commissioner, believes that one thing is:

*Join the « good food » movement to take back the food system from corporate lobbyists, lawyers and economists.

What do you think that one thing is?

Read more about their opinions here.

Read the Nation’s « food issue » here.