Time Magazine Gets Real About the High Price of Cheap Food
Time, Aug 21 2009
The cover story of Time Magazine’s Aug 21 issue today puts cheap food in the spotlight, and lays out a strong argument against the conventional food system. Following in the footsteps of Food Inc. and King Corn, Bryan Walsh’s article runs readers through the standard arguments against the mainstream, corn-heavy food system. Industrial animal production comes under particular scrutiny.
Although the article brings little new material to the debate, it will (hopefully) serve to add to the momentum behind current challenges to the food system. Walsh argues that we need a scaled down food system — to “quit thinking big” — with more distributed local and regional production, and in turn, more farmworkers. This need for a growth in farm and food system employment is linked to the current surge in unemployment. Walsh also recognizes that price remains the biggest obstacle to food system reform. Demand for food produced sustainably continues to outstrip both supply and consumers’ ability to pay for more sustainable food at higher prices.
