A couple of days ago, Tom Philpott put a great piece up at Grist called Why Eaters Alone Can’t Transform the Food System, noting that agricultural policy choices at the state and federal level are an overwhelming distortion in the food choices made by Americans (and globally, as we dump cheap food exports into world markets, undercutting the local ag economy).
It brought to mind a question I’ve been giving a lot of thought to for a while, namely: For what policies should food activists be advocating? I think most of us understand that corn subsidies are damaging human health, the environment, and distorting whatever passes for a free market around here, but if we were able to get the public to really demand a change, what should that change be?
Should ag subsidies be scrapped entirely? Do we want the subsidy system revamped to encourage local food chains and small production? What would that look like as a policy provision?
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[...] finally had a chance to sit and read the article linked in the Tom Philpott piece I mentioned a few days ago. Heather Rogers provides a good overview of the issues facing small, sustainable [...]