I’m watching the movie Food Inc. while writing this post.  The movie provides more examples of how America’s industrial food system is bad for both human health and environmental health.

Part of the movie discusses “Kevin’s Law,” H.R. 3160, a bill that never became law that would give the USDA greater authority to regulate the meat and poultry industry to help stop the spread of pathogens that result from CAFOs (concentrated animal feed operations) and factory processing.

The Farm Bill also plays a role in impacting American’s diet by subsidizing the production of cheap commodity grain like corn.  This means that industrially produced food, fast food, and snack foods are often cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables.  If you’re interested in learning more, read the articles Corn, Carbon and Conservation: Rethinking U.S. Agricultural Policy in a Changing Global Environment by Florida Law Professor Mary Jane Angelo and Paying the Farm Bill: How One Statute Has Radically Degraded the Natural Environment and How a Newfound Emphasis on Sustainability is the Key to Reviving the Ecosystem by Bill Eubanks.

If academic articles are not to your taste, try reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

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