Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Food controversies are as much about who sells the food as
how the food is grown. This is evident in the genetically modi-
fied food controversy, where the groups leading the opposi-
tion seem to dislike the corporation Monsanto more than the
technology itself. Type “Monsanto” into a Google search and it
will sometimes suggest you add the word “evil,” because that
is what many other users have done. Readers of NaturalNews
.com in a 2011 online survey even voted Monsanto the “Most
Evil Corporation of the Year.”
Food activists are not just leading a “small is beautiful”
movement or a “more regulation” movement; they are pursu-
ing a change in food culture. They are the Occupy Wall Street
of food in that they wish to inject more democracy into food,
not through a vertical top-down system of political power,
but a horizontal, informal network of concerned citizens who
ask at each point in the food channel, “How does this affect
society at large, animals, and the environment?” They ask a
lot of questions. They write topics. They form organizations,
and websites. They produce food documentaries. And when
they feel it necessary, they will lobby for laws to oppose cor-
porations—and when they do, they name their organization
things like “Food Democracy Now!” They lobby because
corporations lobby, and the arms race for political influence
wages on.
The offspring of this new food movement are not just new
products to buy at the grocery store, but new questions to
ask about food. We are not just asked to buy organic food
and support more regulations, but to think of the soil dif-
ferently, to be more mindful of our carbon footprint, and to
consider the emotions of farm animals. Consumers, food
activists, farmers, and the food industry are asking pro-
found questions about food, and the questions are worthy
of our attention.
These controversies concern chemical fertilizers, pes-
ticides, global warming, genetically modified organisms,
farm subsidies, market power, local foods, and how we raise
