Some reading to get you through the week...

Hey there. I've been swamped, but I wanted to pass along some interesting articles that I've come across in the past week or so. Happy reading!

In Defense of Michael Pollan and a Civil, More Nuanced Food Debate: This issue completely slipped by me until I saw this article, but apparently the corporate food industry and their farmers are launching campaigns against the sustainable food movement. In many ways, this is probably deliberate, in others, it may just be a result of a major misunderstanding. This article lays out the case for the latter and what can be done to make the system more equitable for everyone involved - including the corporate guys.

The Farmworker Legacy In Your Fridge: One of the most frightening things when you start digging into America's food policy is not necessarily the pesticides used or the CAFOs or our over-processed diet, but the poor conditions some farmhands live and work in. This article lays out - better than any I've yet seen - the basics of this issue and what still needs to be done.

Big Food's 'Smart Choices' Label Raises Eyebrow at FDA: The 'Smart Choices' program was created by the corporate food industry (e.g. Conagra, Kraft, and Tyson's Food) and includes choices like fruitloops, lunchables, and mayonnaise. It seems to me that this is a clever way to take advantage of the public's newfound interest in healthy eating without making any substantial changes to existing products. Most of these products appear to have made the cut based on the number of calories or grams of fat - not the amount of sugar or sodium in them, and obviously without consideration for how processed the foods are or how the ingredients were produced.

Diet Coke Can Kill You: Melodramatic? Probably, but it's an interesting article that tracks with some other freaky stuff I've heard about artificial sweeteners.