Omnivore's Dilemma: Food Post 2

Omnivore's Dilemma: Blog 2

After such deep insight into corn in the opening chapter, it's intriguing to see how Pollan expands back from a historical context to bring us into the modern age of corn. What really stood out to me was the significance of corn that many often overlook; I must admit, I never bothered to think about the history of corn either. In the early 20th Century, Naylor's farm produced simply enough corn to "feed his family and twelve other Americans besides". Fast forward to the early 21st century, and it's amazing to even think that Naylor's grandson now feeds "some 129 Americans" with his produce, though much of this is through the industrial food chain. I found this interesting as it's a reminder of how humans have developed so many forms of food from a once household staple.

However, despite the massive increase in production (due to leaps in technology), farmers like Naylor are making less than ever before; despite increases in supply and an ever-growing demand for corn, its value continues to drop which has rendered many farmers broke. I particularly enjoyed the reference of the production of corn in relation to the Laffer Curver as it allowed me to relate a real-life example to content that I had learned in my Economics classes and gave my further insight into the case. Farmers today are forced into producing more, despite decreasing revenue, in order to make ends meet. This reminded me of the struggle to adapt with changing times, and how the effects of modernisation are really taking a toll on such a significant part of our history.

Drawing on from the adaptation to modern times, I particularly enjoyed Pollan's analogy of corn fields "settled as densely as Manhattan for the same purpose: to maximise real estate values". It's interesting to think of the similarities between scarcity of land to live on, and scarcity of land to grow food on. Both are man-made but the only difference is that one has is inhabited, whilst the other is not. I enjoyed this because it managed to tie two different aspects of life together in order to best satisfy the basic Economic concept of satisfying unlimited wants with limited resources. 

After such an in-depth look at corn, I really enjoyed how Pollan then grabs my attention by relating the history of corn to how we as people have adapted along with the production of it. I never thought about the parallels between agriculture and economic ideas; getting further into this book has given me new insight into how all forms of life have adapted along the way.