Week 1 Food Nutrition Politics

Food Nutrition Politics reveals the powerful role the food industry plays in the vicious cycle of agriculture business. Historically crop variation has helped increase biodiversity but within the recent decade a monopoly on genetically modified seeds has allowed food industries to control farmers through intellectual property rights. Farmers initially bought these genetically modified seeds because it meant they could spray pesticides without killing their crops and then obtain higher yields. However, the food industry’s lack of “precautionary principle” resulted in new weeds that were resistant to the weed spray so that farmers became reliant on only using these specific GMO seeds (Blatt 2008). They also did not consider how GMO’s would contaminant non-GMO crops if they were located on the farm next door.

            The food industries see their GMOs as a large success and have proven repeatedly that they want a positive image for their crops so that consumer’s will buy them. However, the surplus of their crops has gone to social programs for things such as food stamps, which in turn has caused lower class families to purchase this less nutritious food. Despite efforts for change through petitions and advocacy, only families that cannot afford non-GMO or organic crops will be able to purchase them, leaving lower class families with no choice but to buy goods which continues to fund the food industries cycle. If lower class families are thus suffering most from not being able to afford anything but these GM crops, I believe local communities should invest in community gardens to ensure fresh, non-GMO crops, at affordable prices or even free of charge through volunteering in the garden. Advocating the truth about where our food comes from and who controls it are very crucial, but so is finding a solution to these issues on afford, local levels.