We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, October 25, 2010

Food and Finance

by James Kwak from The Baseline Scenario.

The author comments on the recently published book by Michael Pollan entitled, In Defense of Food. We learn that capitalist incentives result in the poor quality of the food that most Americans consume.
...you have an industry that earns profits by convincing people to do things that are not in their long-term interests; that, in the process, creates negative externalities for the rest of society; and that has cowed regulators into submission, if not outright cheerleading.
I haven't read this latest book by Pollan, but I have read his earlier book entitled, The Omnivore's Dilemma, which profoundly impressed me. Pollan is an excellent, easy-to-read author who knows his subject well. 
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