I'm writing to recommend a scathingly insightful letter by Andy Griffin in critique of our food-writer in chief, Michael Pollen. I whole heartedly support this piece that comments on how Pollen continually fails to mention the backbone of our food system: farm workers.
Check it out here:
http://www.ladybugletter.com/?p=64
3 comments:
hey jessy!
so because of your lovely comment on something i wrote i found out you have a blog!
i just read pollen's piece on "farmer in chief" which was helpful for me because i honestly know very little about the food systems movement. and it's a fantastic point that no where in his article does pollen mentions the farm workers.
i was wondering: are there ideas on how to help the transition from factory farm worker to sustainable living? because while i agree that we need a change, i'm worried that the low-income workers living on the edge will be unemployed and untrained for the alternative.
anyway, i'm glad i stumbled onto your blog. any and all recommendations for food systems movement reading material would be much appreciated. emailing me or using facebook would probably be easiest.
hope you're well and happy new year!
~hillary
Hello Hillary,
Thanks for your comment. There are definitely templates for designing alternatives for low-income farm workers. One excellent example here in California is an organization called ALBA. They are a land-based training program that teaches current farm workers how to acquire land and farm organically. However, in regards to your question about transitioning people out of the factory farming system to other jobs- it will most likely be a reverse pattern. Our current industrial model requires far less farm workers than a 'sustainable model' that will use less fossil fuels and more human power. I believe that that is the crux of Griffin's article as he's critiquing Pollen for calling for 50 million new farmers to fuel this sustainable food movement without addressing the farm worker issue.
As far as reading is concerned, if you haven't read much on the issue I'd recommend:
Books
- Fast Food Nation
- An Omnivores Dilema
- Stuffed and Starved
Movies
- King Corn
- The Future of Food
Take Care!
Jessy
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