Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch by Andrea Freeman
My Rating: ✩✩✩✩✩
What a dynamic and chilling political history of food policy in the Unites States. Like so much of country's defining social policies, the root cause is racism. While most of us know on some level that white supremacy is the underpinning of much American history, to see it in all its well-researched and outlined glory was an eye-opener.
Freeman's research absolutely shines here. When a book is 40% bibliography, the nerds are going to rejoice. While drawing many subtle connections across policy and history, the author never backs down from placing the blame directly where it belongs: with racist and elitist social policies. It is refreshing to read an analysis of food policy that doesn't default to individual responsibility and instead outlines, and understands, the social determinants of health.
My only quibble, and this is pervasive in public health and the greater health care industry so I can't really blame Freeman here, is the constant use of obesity rates as the primary marker for health outcomes. It is a little disappointing to see someone run right up to the flawed health model used in this country, then make a hard swerve away from the next step in reforming public and individual healthcare. Granted, one step at a time is probably needed here and decolonizing what we "know" about food and nutrition policy is good first step.
Overall a very informative read on the history of white-washing food policy in the United States. I would group this with The Truth about Baked Beans: An Edible History of New England and The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market as a trio of primers on how we got to 2024's sad state of affairs.
Published on 9 July 2024 by Henry Holt & Company, Metropolitan Books
What a dynamic and chilling political history of food policy in the Unites States. Like so much of country's defining social policies, the root cause is racism. While most of us know on some level that white supremacy is the underpinning of much American history, to see it in all its well-researched and outlined glory was an eye-opener.
Freeman's research absolutely shines here. When a book is 40% bibliography, the nerds are going to rejoice. While drawing many subtle connections across policy and history, the author never backs down from placing the blame directly where it belongs: with racist and elitist social policies. It is refreshing to read an analysis of food policy that doesn't default to individual responsibility and instead outlines, and understands, the social determinants of health.
My only quibble, and this is pervasive in public health and the greater health care industry so I can't really blame Freeman here, is the constant use of obesity rates as the primary marker for health outcomes. It is a little disappointing to see someone run right up to the flawed health model used in this country, then make a hard swerve away from the next step in reforming public and individual healthcare. Granted, one step at a time is probably needed here and decolonizing what we "know" about food and nutrition policy is good first step.
Overall a very informative read on the history of white-washing food policy in the United States. I would group this with The Truth about Baked Beans: An Edible History of New England and The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market as a trio of primers on how we got to 2024's sad state of affairs.
Published on 9 July 2024 by Henry Holt & Company, Metropolitan Books
Book #2 of 2024
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