A critique of the "Agri-Intellectuals"

Maybe you’ve seen Food, Inc or Supersize Me. Maybe you’ve read The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. These works have introduced mainstream Americans to a underexposed concept: much of the food we eat may not be healthy for us, for animals, or for the environment.

They argue industrial agriculture is polluting, inefficient, and inhumane, and the advertising used to sell the system is deceptive and manipulative. Family farmers are often positioned in these arguments as victims of giant agribusiness companies like Monsanto and Dean Foods.

So what do farmers think of all this? Like everyone else, they fit all along the spectrum. It depends on who you ask.

A life-long farmer from Missouri has published a critique of what he calls “the agri-intellectuals”. Read it here. It’s published by the conservative think-tank, the American Enterprise Institute. Whichever side you’re on in this growing debate over the most basic need in our lives – food – it’s worth a read.