A recent Washington Post article cautioned “Go Slow, Foodie”, suggesting that the Food Movement needs to articulate it’s goals more clearly, and avoid rushing to accomplish too many food policy changes, now that President Change is in office.  And while I agree that we need to be specific about what needs to change, I also think that overhauling a broken food system will not be as easy as following the steps of an old recipe.  There are many issues to address, and a variety of ways those concerns can be addressed.

Just as Obama’s campaign won from the ground up, I believe a grassroots approach will serve us better than simply expecting a food czar to take care of everything.  That said, I do think having a champion of sustainablity as Undersecretary of Agriculture would be extremely helpful for getting things done in D.C., but we need to address the issues from other angles, as well:

• Symbolically, I think a White House garden would do wonders to encourage the nation to source our food more locally.
• A revitilized food stamp program that allows for more fruits, vegetables and whole grains would help improve help provide a healthier diet for low income families.
• Eliminating High Fructose Corn Syrup from our diets, could help begin to address rising levels of obesity and diabetes, and now mercury poisoning.

At the end of the day, I mostly agree with Jane Black’s article.  I also think it’s more important to focus more on concrete goals than soft cheeses.  I just don’t want to see any critical issues put on the chopping block, simply for the sake of a more conveniently packaged food policy.
takepart by getting involved with one of the many food issues addressed in the upcoming film Food Inc.

Photo: Godverb’s Flickr Photostream (Creative Commons)