The Effects of Capitalism on the American Diet

An examination of the research into the historical and contemporary reasons for the unhealthy nature of the American diet reveals that unchecked capitalism has created a system where dangerous processed and fast foods have become overly popular as a result of their cheap and profitable nature. Most importantly, it is clear that the unwillingness of the government to regulate the food industry or help the population make healthy choices has led to a public health crisis of epic proportions. The commercialization of the food industry by large corporations intent on maximizing profits has led to the popularization of nutritionally bankrupt foodstuffs that can be directly linked to the dramatic rise in diet-related health problems in the United States. This paper will examine the historical, economic, and political reasons for this shift towards low-cost, unhealthy foods and explain the powerful impact of the industrialization of the food industry on American health. This review of the evidence makes clear the fact that the increasingly poor health of the American populace is inextricably linked to the unbridled capitalization of the food markets.

The economic basis of the increasingly unhealthy nature of the American diet is simple and readily apparent. As Michael Pollan states, “The American food system has for a century devoted its energies and policies to increasing quantity and reducing price, not to improving quality” (2007). This makes clear the profound impact that the commercialization and industrialization of the food industry have had on the poor health of the American populace. Capitalism is quite simply the source of most of the problems America has with maintaining healthy and balanced diets, due to the inherently selfish goals of large agribusinesses and corporations. Furthermore, these large corporations have also had a dramatic impact not only on the increasingly poor quality of American food but also on the political and social discourse surrounding the issue.

The link between the corporatized nature of the food industry and the health consequences suffered by the American populace cannot be underestimated. As Gyrgy Scrinis states, “the food industry has lobbied the United States government to shape official dietary guidelines in ways that undermine criticism of processed foods and of high meat and dairy consumption” (2008). This quote illustrates not only the destructive effect major agribusinesses have had on the overall quality of food products in the United States, but also their massive influence on the policy decisions and discourse surrounding health and nutrition. Not only have large food corporations worked tirelessly to create products with minimal nutritional value, but they have also successfully stamped out criticism of these products and misled the populace about the steps required for adequate nutrition. The consequences of these changes have been nothing short of catastrophic.

To properly address the negative effects of capitalism on American health it is imperative to first gauge the depth of the dietary issues facing the nation. As Pollan states, “people who eat the way we do in America today suffer much higher rates of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity than people eating more traditional diets. (Four of the 10 leading killers in America are linked to diet)” (2007). This quite clearly demonstrates the real and serious damage done by the food industry in their quest to continually maximize profits. Dietary issues in the United States have clearly reached the level of a serious public health crisis, one that manifests itself in increased rates of a wide range of serious and deadly illnesses. It is therefore extremely important to examine the exact reasons that this industry of death has been allowed to expand and flourish.

The most important reason why large corporations have been successful at pushing unhealthy foods onto the populace is their extreme influence on the political process of the country, particularly through lobbyists. In a remarkable and illustrative example, a governmental committee headed by Senator George McGovern “drafted a straightforward set of dietary guidelines calling on Americans to cut down on red meat and dairy products. Within weeks a firestorm, emanating from the red-meat and dairy industries, engulfed the committee, and Senator McGovern (who had a great many cattle ranchers among his South Dakota constituents) was forced to beat a retreat” (Pollan 2007). This example illustrates the tremendous influence of corporations and lobbyists on the American political process and the disastrous effects of this trend. Quite clearly, the corporatized nature of politics in America has negatively impacted the health of the citizens of the country in a variety of ways, due to the fact that powerful industries are capable of shaping the policies surrounding food and health on the governmental level. This becomes even more clear with an examination of the tactics and goals of the lobbyist groups used by major agribusinesses.

One of the clearest cut examples of the enormous power of the agribusiness lobby is the Farm Bureau. As Ian T. Shearn states, the Farm Bureau “the Farm Bureau leads the charge for industrial-scale food production. It opposes the labeling of genetically engineered food, animal welfare reform and environmental regulation” (2012). Not only does the Farm Bureau exist purely to protect the rampant capitalist changes that have seriously corrupted the integrity of the American food supply, but they have also done so extremely successfully, frequently exerting their pressure in congress and stifling attempts to reform the food industry. The success of these tactics has allowed the major companies in the food industry to adopt widespread practices that contribute negatively to the nutritional value of food and force out small farmers who use more traditional techniques that produce crops and animals with more nutritional value. It is therefore extremely important to examine how the food industry has utilized the extraordinary leeway they are granted within the political system to fundamentally alter the nutritional content of the American diet.

The commercialized nature of the food industry in recent years has manifested itself in a variety of ways that have negatively impacted American health. However, as Michael Pollan states, “If there is one word that covers nearly all the changes industrialization has made to the food chain, it would be simplification” (2007). The simplified, refined, and more cost-effective methods of farming, cultivating, and processing food products have removed many of the natural elements of a healthy diet from the American food supply, leading to serious consequences for the health of those who consume these products. It is quite clear that these simplified changes are the root cause of many of the dietary and health problems plaguing the American populace. It is also clear that this trend manifests itself in a wide variety of disparate and far-reaching ways.

One of the most important ways in which the commercialization of food products has negatively impacted health is the over-reliance on certain foodstuffs, which contain excessive amounts of carbohydrates and sugars. As Pollan states, “The astounding variety of foods on offer in the modern supermarket obscures the fact that the actual number of species in the modern diet is shrinking. For reasons of economics, the food industry prefers to tease its myriad processed offerings from a tiny group of plant species, corn and soybeans chief among them” (2007). This is a clear cut example of the manner in which the capitalized food economy has created a system where health has been sublimated to the quest for profits. By making corn and soybeans the cornerstone of the American diet, large food corporations have injected needless amounts of tasty, but nutritionally corrosive products into the country’s food supply. This is best illustrated by the example of high fructose corn syrup and its meteoric rise as a food additive.

The lax regulation of the food industry and the powerful influence of corporate lobbyists within the government have allowed additives like high fructose corn syrup to grow exponentially in terms of their use. As the Public Broadcasting Service states, “high-fructose corn syrup has become the most valuable food product—among a vast array of oils, starches, glutens, proteins and other sweeteners made from corn...the influx of high-fructose corn syrup into everyday foods—even those not normally associated with sweetness—has helped boost overall sweetener intake by 19 percent since 1970” (“How Sweet It Is” 2008). Clearly, the carte blanche given to the food industry in terms of their ability to modify the American food supply without governmental oversight or any real form of accountability has resulted in a massive influx of unhealthy and unnatural derivatives of a select few agricultural products into the American diet. This is an unsustainable and serious change to the healthiest possible natural diet and one that has been made possible by the influence of major agribusiness in a capitalistic society such as our own. The unfortunate rise in the prominence of high fructose corn syrup in the food supply is sadly endemic of the greater political, economic, and cultural changes taking place in the American food landscape.

An analysis of the political and agricultural environment of the United States reveals a variety of reasons for the increasingly unhealthy nature of our society. As major agribusinesses and food corporations have amassed serious lobbying power and influence over the political system they have created an environment free from regulations and hindered the ability of the government to take action to effectively promote healthy dietary practices amongst the American populace. This has resulted in a society where diet-related diseases and maladies have reached crisis proportions, and the American diet has become increasingly rooted in cheap and artificial foodstuffs devoid of nutritional value and filled with dangerous additives. The focus on cheap and profitable processed foods over nutritional value is a direct result of the political and economic emphasis placed on the free market within American society, and the results on public health have been nothing short of catastrophic. A serious rethinking of American political ideals is required to curb the dietary crisis faced by the American public.

References

How Sweet It Is: The Rise of High-Fructose Corn Syrup. (2008, April 14). PBS. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/kingcorn/taste.html

Pollan, M. (2007, January 28). Unhappy Meals. Michael Pollan. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/unhappy-meals/

Scrinis, G. (2008, Winter.). On the Ideology of Nutritionism. Gyorgy Scrinis. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://gyorgyscrinis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/GS-Ideology-of-Nutritionism-Gastronomica.pdf

Shearn, I. T. (2012, July 16). Whose Side Is the American Farm Bureau On? | The Nation. The Nation. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.thenation.com/article/168913/q-whose-side-american-farm-bureau#