One of the major themes Steel discusses is the evolution of the food chain with cities. Back in the day, our cities used to co-exist with the food. Livestock and gardens simply had to be in people's backyards. Now of course farms are so disconnected with the urban that nobody actually knows where their food comes from. This all puts extra strain on the resources outside of the city and if the city grows large enough, such as London has, then food has to be imported from other parts of the country or world. Scary thought when considering the world is becoming more urbanized, especially in developing countries.
Steel also went into the food supply chain involving supermarkets. In the UK, and I suspect as well in America (which is concerning that I really don't know this), food is delivered from across the globe to food depots. The town of Crick in the UK is one of these depots centers. Food is then distributed into supermarkets in cities where consumers can quickly purchase what they want, no matter what time of the year it is. These supermarkets essentially allow the consumer to be ignorant of where their food is coming from and what it is has gone through to get there.
Personally, I believe the primary concern here is that the players involved in our "invisible" food systems are for profit. Everything is designed to be as efficient as possible to maximize profits, and while I like logistics, food should simply not be thought of as a product of industry. Supermarkets being for profit is a complete joke, and the effects of this are seen right here in America with food deserts. Grocery stores will only locate in areas that they can make a profit in.
Do you agree with me in thinking these food systems being for profit is a major concern we should have? Should the government have more of a role in the food market?
I would say the major problem factors are for-profit companies and the government. The government is allowing our major food producers and agribusinesses to self-regulate, gain positions within our regulatory agencies and develop policies that will continue to increase the profits of these conglomerate businesses at the expense of the everyday consumer. Allowing these companies to play such a heavy role in our food system, has limited the right of every American citizen to know where their food comes from and to make an educated decision on what food items they should include or remove from their diet. If our government heavily regulated our food producers and closed this revolving door, we, American citizens, may be able to get a more honest depiction of what is going on with the American food system.
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