On the peculiar American habit of demonizing food

On the peculiar American habit of demonizing food
By Tom Philpott  |  10 May 2007

Not long ago, a reader wrote in with an interesting response to one of my many articles condemning industrially grown corn.

Yes, you can buy it!

Photo: iStockphoto

"When sweet corn appears at the farmers' market next summer, can I buy it in good conscience?" she wanted to know. "Or is it bad for me and bad for the land?"

I can see why she might be confused. Even as U.S. farmers prepare for what will almost certainly be the largest concentrated corn harvest in world history, criticism has rained down like fertilizer on an Iowa corn patch. Michael Pollan placed corn at the center of what he called "our national eating disorder" in his best-selling Omnivore's Dilemma. I've personally joined the chorus tying corn to everything from the obesity epidemic to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone, and to the "biggest greenwash ever," ethanol. continue...