The thought of driving 150 miles for a supermarket sounds outrageous. Why should we drive more than a few if there is a Wegmans, Walgreens, or Kings nearby? Quality over Price. In Pollan’s 13th Chapter in the Omnivore’s Dilemma, he deals with the importance of understanding what quality truly is. Very few people are taking the time and effort to understand where their meat comes from, but those few people are willing to drive hours to provide their family with healthy safe meat. They want to know what kinds of farmers are growing their kids food. Individuals have stopped questioning where there meat comes from, and regardless of the quality they are considering all meat the same. Meat and even produce used to have seasons, but with today’s technology supermarkets no longer have seasons. Pollan reinforces this issue as one of the many issues with our food system today, and he provides some solutions for a gradual change within our reliance on the industrial food system. Rather than always going to a supermarket for fresh food, Pollan suggests the idea of forming a relationship with the farmers in order to know directly where your food is coming from. Aside from just relationships with the consumers, local farmers and restaurant owners are starting to form relationships. Another idea was to pledge a certain amount of money to a specific farm, and then rather than going to your supermarket receiving weekly boxes of food. Pollan underlines the fact that “you can buy honestly priced food or you can buy irresponsibly priced food.” When we eat the mystery meat at McDonalds or buy the cheap steak off of Walmart’s shelves, how can we know what we are really eating? The key to success to transform our industrial food system is truly connecting the consumers with the farmers.
After reading more and more responses, I am starting to believe that Pollan’s so-called “solutions” are not so realistic anymore. Although we would all like individuals to pay more attention to where there food is coming from, very few Americans are willing to put in more energy and time into the food they eat. Just like Pollan said, today Americans spend more time picking a plumber than they do choosing the food they eat. I would like to think that American’s care about what they put into their body, but although our society has become more health-conscious, we still lack the ability to differentiate the meats and produce on the shelves of the supermarket. I wish I could say this didn’t apply to me, but I most certainly don’t have the time or the money as a college student to shop at the local farmers market or form relationships with the local farmers. I think this is where the government should come in, to create policies creating relationships between the locals and their farmers. It is unrealistic to believe we will drive 150 miles for a supermarket, but it is realistic to believe over time farmers can create new systems to attract new customers, improving the quality of the food we eat every day.
WHY?
What kind of policies can the government create to improve the relationships between the consumer and their local farmers?
Is it possible to start having two barcodes on the meats in chain supermarkets so that consumers can understand where their food is coming from?
In response to your second question, I definitely think it's possible to have two barcodes on food in grocery stores, and I believe it's a good idea to educate consumers. However, I don't think it is very practical. Like you said, few people are taking the time to learn about where their food is coming from.
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