Eat Good, Eat Well

In this TED Talk, Architect Carolyn Steel makes a more-convincing-than-average argument for developing government policy and architecture cities to encourage sustainable eating.  She argues that people need to be more intouch with where their food comes from, so that they will value it more and pay more attention to eating sustainability and nutritiously.  Beyond the individual level, her ideas have impacts on how cities should be planned to encourage such habits.

Ms. Steel makes as compelling an argument for responsible eating as I’ve yet heard, but it still doesn’t seem like her “sitopia” is an attainable solution. Yes, increasing awareness of where food comes from would help everything from nutrition to family bonding, but can our energies be spent better elsewhere?

I think we should be specifically targeting the 1 billion starving and 1 billion obese that she mentions in her talk. Obese people contribute to unsustainable healthcare costs and promote irresponsible eating and marketing habits. Helping the starving would allow hungry children to pay attention in school and hungry parents to look for work.

Neither of these two groups would benefit greatly simply from eating local or getting in touch with food culture. The obese have plenty of food and the starving don’t care where theirs comes from.

How about this for an idea: Sallie James of CATO says Walmart can provide cheaper access to fresh fruit to the poor.  Activists might be repulsed at the thought of Walmart being mentioned in the same breath as good food or nutrition, but the fact remains that the mega-chain has the most efficient distribution system in the world and an enormous percent of market share, particularly in the working class demographic.  Why not let Walmart get better food to people and make money too?