aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Saturday, April 05, 2008

The good news on food prices spreads

I’m fascinated to see the Dallas Morning News editorialize on the upside of high food prices. Recognizing that it means a healthier overall system, the editorial explains:

Prices for locally grown produce and locally raised (usually grass-fed) meat are becoming more economically competitive with factory-farmed rivals. Typically, consumers who buy meat and produce directly from local farmers do so because of taste and health – and are willing to pay a premium. Now, though, best-selling food writer Michael Pollan tells The New York Times that higher bills for conventionally raised staples “level the playing field for sustainable food that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels.”

Mr. Pollan and other local food advocates argue that cheap petroleum and government subsidies have a profoundly distorting effect on the American diet and food system. These factors, they say, make food that is less healthy for us the easiest to afford. What’s more, they encourage an industrial agricultural system that dramatically stresses the environment. Their case is compelling.

It’s hard to dispute that creating a larger and stronger network of small farms that provide food for the local market is wise, given that the era of cheap oil is likely gone for good. Dallas consumers would be in a better position to weather future fuel price spikes if our food supply was less vulnerable to the oil market.

Nobody likes to see higher food prices. But if they unleash market forces that spur healthier eating and growth of a regionally self-sufficient style of farming, something good will have come out of our collective supermarket misery.

Pollan’s quote comes from this article in the Dining section of Wednesday’s NYTimes.