Blog 1: Food Nutrition and Politics

The readings this week refer to the history of GMO's and the involvement of government in regards to nutrition and general dealings within agriculture. With heavy government involvement in the 20th century the whole agricultural make up of the United States had changed, this noted in the heavy subsidies and the reliance from farmers on the government to provide in times of economic burden.

I found it immediately interesting that 92 percent of Americans said they do not want to eat GMO's, it was however less surprising to read that 90 percent of Americans would like GMO's labeled. Transparency in the food system should be a bigger issue than most give it credit for, to know where your food is from and to understand the conditions it was grown or raised it seems to be an issue that has gained much more traction in recent times. While transparency might be something the people want GMO's make that tough in regards to the idea that they are patented ideas and items which might be threatened by the idea of people knowing what exactly they are and where they are sourced. The inclusion of former agrobusiness, in most cases Monsanto, big wigs in politics has helped to limit the amount of labeling one might find on GMO products as it, as these companies would put it, is associated with a negative stigma. The biggest problem I believe with GMO's is the possibility of the loss of biodivesity and the eventual extinction of certain crops.

It was also very interesting to read about just how involved the government has become in agrobusiness and agriculture in general. For the sake of securing food supply the government had to get involved. Starting primarily during the great depression where farmers found themselves unable to support the business of a farm, the government were forced to step in with propositions laid out in the New Deal. The problem with this government intervention was the eventual mass surplus of crops and the elimination of smaller farms due to the idea of big agriculture and the whole agrobusiness movement. Another area where the government intervened was their establishment of food regulations to label how nutritious ones food might be  and the general laying out of guidelines towards a balanced and healthy diet. With changes coming over time as it becomes more clear as to what is best for ones body the food pyramid and all prior incarnations of it have evolved into a plate diagram to literally show one the portions sizes they should have and types of food they should eat. The American food identity, while not totally in tune with government suggestions, has certainly been shaped by it.