Analysis Of Michael Pollen's Lecture On Food Inequality

Michael Pollen’s lecture on food inequality offered much insight on food and food processing. One of the many insightful aspects of his lecture was how much corn goes into our diets. From soda to fries to cereal to meat. Corn, along with soy, is one of the most widely consumed food resources in America. During his lecture, I began to think whether or not this was beneficial or detrimental to the American people. Michael Pollen does offer his reasoning on why he believes this is detrimental, and I thought that he made some very valid points. One detrimental aspects of this he explains is that with so much corn being grown to meet demand this has led to more widespread use of pesticides by the farmer who grow corn. This has in turn been very bad for the environment, so this …show more content…
While viewing the lecture, this began to strike me as perhaps an aspect of food production that can illustrate inequality. For example, a wealthy individual could perhaps view Michael Pollen’s lecture, gain insight into their regular eating habits, change their eating habits, and perhaps be more selective about where they shop for food and where they eat food. They may even perhaps begin to shop at organic food stores and live a healthier life as a result. However, although Michael Pollen acknowledges that in some instances the cost of organic foods may be coming down, he also does acknowledge that organic or sustainable foods can in general cost significantly more than traditional corn based food products. For those who do not belong to a privileged class and wish to change their eating habits to healthier alternatives such as organic food, this can perhaps prove to be problematic. They may have significantly less income, and therefore may not have the option to shop at organically grown food stores. Organic foods can perhaps be more costly to produce and therefore may cost more in a local grocery