VOICE ONE:

Farmers in Illinois move fertilizer to a field spreader on a newly harvested cornfield

Mister Pollan shows other ways that the modern farming of corn has harmed the natural environment. In the past, farmers grew many kinds of products. Today, most farmers use all of their land to grow only one crop, such as corn. This has done great harm to the biodiversity of farmlands. The writer shows that industrial farming is unsustainable because it destroys the resources it depends on.

Michael Pollan also explains how federal policies have damaged the American farming system. He explains how huge supply has reduced the price of corn so much that farmers often cannot stay in business growing corn without government payments.

VOICE TWO:

Corn-fed cows on industrial feed lots are another part of this dangerous food chain. The cows are fed corn so that they grow fat more quickly. But cows' bodies were built for eating grass, not corn.

Over time, cows develop health problems because of their living conditions, including their corn diet. So, the cows receive daily amounts of antibiotic medicines. People end up eating these chemicals when they eat beef. And, the corn-fed beef they eat contains a less healthy kind of fat than the fat in cows that eat grass.

Petroleum is a big part of this food chain. It takes huge amounts of oil to grow, fertilize and harvest corn and transport it from farm, to production center, to buyer, to eater. Mister Pollan says about one hundred ninety liters of oil is needed to grow every four-tenths of a hectare of industrial corn.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The next food system Michael Pollan explores begins with vegetables and a farm bird he buys from a health food store. Food that is organic is grown or raised without chemical insecticides or fertilizers. Historically, the organic food movement began on small farms as a way of rejecting industrial agriculture's increasing dependence on chemicals.

Today, the organic food market is one of the fastest growing areas of the food industry. To be called organic, producers are required to follow guidelines established by the United States Department of Agriculture.

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