Secretary of Food

Nicolas Kristof has a wonderful piece in the Times today suggesting we re-think the idea of the Department of Agriculture and call it the Department of Food.

He ends with a quote from Michael Pollan (the patron saint of this blog):

“Even if you don’t think agriculture is a high priority, given all the other problems we face, we’re not going to make progress on the issues Obama campaigned on — health care, climate change and energy independence — unless we reform agriculture".

This reminds me of something I wrote last week in my Microwave Oven digression:

"The food on our plates says everything about our world view: the environment, global warming, torture, fossil fuel dependence, terrorism. It's all there, staring at you from the gloaming of the open microwave door: your spicy chicken and chili bean whole wheat burrito with real cheese. It says everything, don't you think? If we were concerned about any of those things, how can we so cavalierly eat food that destroys the environment, helps create global warming, keeps us dependent on imported fossil fuel, and tortures and mutilates the animals their entire caged
life? "

Seems to me like maybe we are reaching a tipping point.