*Note - references refer to the text, 'The Omnivore's Dilemma', and are listed by the first letter of the author's last name (Michael Pollan), a colon, and the page number to find the reference I.e. (P: 245) refers to Pollan, page 245.
- In the broadest way you can think, considering health, the environment, social factors, and the realities of living in the post-industrial USA, what do you think is the best answer from the "omnivore's dilemma"? From the research you have done in the last few weeks, what do you think Americans should be eating for their meals?
The Omnivore's Dilemma asks the simple question, "What should we have for dinner?" (P: 1) In order to address this question, we must consider the term, 'omnivore' where all food (plant or animal) is an option and the 'dilemma' is the choice of picking a particular food to eat.
"The Omnivore's Dilemma is about the three principal food chains that sustain us today: the industrial, the organic, and the hunter-gatherer. Different as they are, all three food chains are systems for doing more or less the same thing: linking us, through what we eat, to the fertility of the earth and the energy of the sun." (P: 7)
Michael Pollan established that we should not just consider the food, but also the food chain from which it derives. Simply put: If I grow a crop of carrots and the carrots become coated in a lethal dose of poison, that poison is carried through to the consumer of the carrot. The organism that consumes the carrot also consumes the poison. Therefore, once an element within a food chain is tainted, everything up the chain is also affected.
"The discovery of synthetic nitrogen changed everything - not just for the corn plant, not just for the food system, but also for the way life on earth is conducted. All life depends on nitrogen; it is the building block from which nature assembles amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids; the genetic information that orders and perpetuates life is written in nitrogen ink (That is why scientists speak of nitrogen as supplying life's quality, while carbon provides the quantity.)" (P:42)
Most of us surely know that a plant growing in dark, rich soil will surely grow very differently from than an identical plant growing in in dry arid sand. If plants grow differently based on soil conditions, then understanding the composition of soil is certainly fundamental to making proper food selection choices.
"Liberated from the old biological constraints, the farm could now be managed on industrial principles, as a factory transforming inputs of raw material - chemical fertilizer - into outputs of corn. Since the farm no longer to generate and conserve its own fertility by maintaining a diversity of species, synthetic fertilizer opens the way to monoculture, allowing the farmer to bring the factories' economies of scale and mechanical efficiency to nature." (P: 45)
At first, the discovery of synthetic fertilizer seemed to be all-positive, even a miracle. However, experience now teaches us that while synthetic fertilizer does provide major key ingredients to soil and crop growth, it also sacrifices other beneficial ingredients such as amino acids and antioxidants. Even more significant is the breakdown in the natural cycle, the separation of food chain items, or the simple loss of natural order. Grass depends on the sun, cows and insects on the grass, chickens on the insects and the grass on the chickens and cows. There are numerous interdependencies and industrialization has isolated plants and animals from their respective place in the natural food chain and provided substitutes such as synthetic nitrogen and antibiotics to compensate for the breakdown in the natural order. It is important that sustainability and natural order be restored.
"And while our senses can help us draw the first rough distinctions between good and bad foods, we humans have to rely on culture to remember and keep it all straight. So we codify the rules of wise eating in an elaborate structure of taboos, rituals, manners, and culinary traditions, covering everything from the proper size of portions to the order in which foods should be consumed to the kinds of animals it is and is not okay to eat." (P: 296)
Michael established that especially or even solely in the U.S. there exists no national food cuisine. We are a culture of all cultures and are unique in how we are free to make our food choices. His point is that most, if not all, cultural cuisines have significant nutritional benefit tied to the traditional meals as well as benefits from the associated habits that coincide with the meals.
"What is striking is just how little it takes to set off one of these applecart-toppling nutritional swings in America; a scientific study, a new government guideline, a lone crackpot with a medical degree can alter this nation's diet overnight. One article in the New York Times Magazine in 2002 almost single-handedly set off the recent spasm of carbophobia in America." (P: 299)
Here it is emphasized just how easily Americans sway in their food choices and that we are easily led down unhealthy paths.
"The French eat all sorts of supposedly unhealthy foods, but they do so according to a strict and stable set of rules: They eat small portions and don't go back for seconds; they don't snack; they seldom eat alone; and communal meals are long, leisurely affairs. In other words, the French culture of food successfully negotiates the omnivore's dilemma, allowing the French to enjoy their meals without ruining their health."
(P: 300-301)
This seems to be the 'answer' to the omnivore's dilemma, but it is not quite inclusive enough. As noted earlier, we need to consider more than just proportions and a balanced selection of food enjoyed in mutual satisfaction with community. We need to ensure that the natural order is maintained. We should not fertilize with modified fossil fuel, we should allow each animal and plant to take their respective positions in the natural food chain. This means that diets should differ by region. A food chain in region does not likely survive in another region. Each region should seek to maximize its variety while maintaining food chains appropriate for their climate and locale. We should seek unprocessed local, organic, and natural food.
- Can cooperation (as defined by the 7 cooperative principles) succeed as a business model in the United States? Provide evidence to back up your answer. Check out cooperative development websites online.
The 7 Cooperative Principles
1) Voluntary and open membership
2) Democratic member control
3) Members’ economic participation
4) Autonomy and independence
5) Education, training and information
6) Cooperation among cooperatives
7) Concern for community
Can the principles succeed as a business model? First, I need to consider what is meant by the term, succeed. I could define that success requires that at least one cooperative continues to exist based on the principles. I could establish some minimum level of market-share. I could require some form of market-dominance. I could also require some form of profit minimum, or a volume minimum, or any of many potential markers for success. Before I do, I want to consider the heart of a cooperative:
"A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise."
(http://www.ncba.coop/abcoop_ab_values.cfm)
Based on this definition of cooperative, I would deem success as some measure of existence (cooperatives must exist to succeed) and that each respective cooperative is satisfactorily meeting the needs of its members (based on their perception).
Some cooperative statistics:
"Cooperatives, both rural and urban, have been part of the American economy for more than 100 years. By one estimate, nearly one-third of the population belongs to some type of cooperative." (http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/pubs/pa1590.htm)
"29 cooperatives have annual revenue in excess of $1 billion, including such well-known names as Land O'Lakes, Inc., and ACE Hardware. The top 100 co-ops have a combined $117 billion in revenues."
"U.S. co-ops serve some 120 million members, or 4 in 10 Americans." (http://www.ncba.coop/abcoop_stats.cfm)
"Since 1929, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) has been the voice of America's farmer cooperatives. Our members are regional and national farmer cooperatives, which are in turn comprised of nearly 3,000 local farmer cooperatives across the country. The majority of America's 2 million farmers and ranchers belong to one or more farmer cooperatives. NCFC members also include 26 state and regional councils of cooperatives." (http://www.ncfc.org/)
Cooperatives have successfully existed in the U.S. for some time (the NCFC since 1929). The number of total cooperatives originally rose sharply, then declined slightly and seemed to fluctuate and a reasonably stable level that might indicate some form of stagnation or plateau; however, overall revenue has risen, many cooperatives have combined (reducing the quantity of cooperatives but not their membership or presence), and there is no indication that cooperatives in general are failing or declining.
My personal impression, based on a rise in health food awareness, a rise in demand for natural foods, and a sense that many social factors are triggering greater community awareness leads me to conclude that continued growth is likely. Clearly, cooperatives as defined by the 7 cooperative principles can succeed as a business model within the United States.
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What do you think is the future of the organic food industry? Provide evidence to back up your answer.
"The global market for organic food and drink reached $23 billion in 2002, according to Organic Monitor. Increasing demand in North America helped fuel the 10.1 percent increase, as North America overtook Europe as the largest market for organic food and drink. Continued growth is predicted for the global organic food industry, although at slower rates than in the past year." (http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/business.html)
The desire for organic food is not just based on taste, it is not just based on nutrition, it is also based on sustainability and the proper ethical treatment of animals. As noted above, the global market - the world - grew at 10.1 percent. These projections estimate future growth, not decline; although, not necessarily continuing at a rate as high as 10 percent, globally.
"The status of organic agriculture has changed dramatically since USDA-NOP standards were finalized in
2002. The most recent estimates show that organic crop and pasture land doubled between 1997 and 2001 to 2.3
million acres, with production in almost every state." (http://organic.colostate.edu/research_docs/Thilmany_paper.pdf)
Within the United States organic land doubled. This is staggering and indicative of substantial growth. When I use my own sense of observation, I have noticed a trend of small specialty stores focusing on organic food expand into local markets and into the mainstream industrial grocery chains. Where only industrial food could be purchased in grocery stores, we now have ever-growing organic food sections. I envision that consumers will continue to raise standards and their awareness and that the organic industry will continue to grow and expand. Global and U.S. growth rates are both strong and the organic industry has clearly not peaked. -
What do you think are People's strengths in the local marketplace?
People's strengths include its focus on local and community. They include its openness and effort to seek a relationship with all members of its respective community. It also enjoys a physical location where walk-in traffic is likely high which encourages its small farmer's market style. The building is aesthetically pleasing and warm. Of course, importantly, the food selection is mostly top-notch with healthy local, natural, and organic foods emphasized.
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