Issues — Plates, Pods, And Politics

Carver’s significance should not solely be accounted for by his creation of multiple new uses for agricultural crops. In a nation today roiled by debates over genetically modified organisms (GMO food crops), Carver’s “old fashioned” methods of composting, kitchen gardens, and conscious eating seem simultaneously quaint and prescient. He should rightly be lauded him as an avatar of responsible land stewardship and healthy eating.

The concept of GMOs as a “category” of food to be embraced or rejected, in whole or in part, is silly from a science point of view. The term “GMOs” is both meaningless and misleading. GM is a process. Each GM crop is unique.

People who say flatly that “GMOs are safe” are themselves being unscientific. A GMO is not a GMO is not a GMO. Each one needs to be tested; the safety of one does not show the safety of another, given that each genetic combination is different.

The developed world’s obsession with obesity has been ingrained in our culture for centuries. There was never a chance of modern America, or any other modern society, escaping it.

In a world where entire stock market indices can be built on castles of sand, where war can break out any moment, or your child’s happiness can turn on a dime into dread despair, stores such as Whole Foods make us small masters of our own destiny.

Disregarding the Confucian food narrative that shaped China centuries ago, food safety scandals resulting from the contemporary materialism of its character, coupled with GM food controversies fed by people’s distrust of official media, have swept China in spectacular fashion.

Farming is venerated in India, chiefly by those who are not farmers. An overwhelming majority of India’s farmers are unable to share this quaint adoration because they are impoverished.

When it comes to seed selection, a million heads are better than one. The process of farmer plant improvement is general right across the rice-growing region in West Africa, and keeping planting material in play through constant use and selection allows for a myriad of adaptation decisions.

Dan Barber is first and foremost a chef, and his book defines sustainability and food against their utility as vehicles for taste. This is a welcome addition to food studies.

“Grown in the light from which we all come, they made the most powerful of drinks.”

Emphasizing the need for food, the abuse of food, or the communal aspect of eating, somehow unlatches a secret, emotional spring of insecurity.