The Cultural Phenomonon: In Food and Finance

A great comparison of our food system and our finance system from James over at Baseline Scenario. 

I just read Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food, and what struck me was the parallels between the evolution of food and the evolution of finance since the 1970s. This will only confirm my critics’ belief that I see the same thing everywhere, but bear with me for a minute.

Pollan’s account, grossly simplified, goes something like this. The dominant ideology of food in the United States is nutritionism: the idea that food should be thought of in terms of its component nutrients. Food science is devoted to identifying the nutrients in food that make us healthy or unhealthy, and encouraging us to consume more of the former and less of the latter. This is good for nutritional “science,” since you can write papers about omega-3 fatty acids, while it’s very hard to write papers about broccoli.

 The only thing I might add is that I think you can protect yourself from BOTH systems if you have the appropriate wealth, skill and desire.  Of course, it is a lot easier to change even a lifetime of food habits than it is a lifetime of financial habits since the latter is tied up in any debt and career decisions that you have made (and are difficult to change mid-course.  It is possible, of course, but as one who is trying to change his relationship to both systems, I would rather coach someone in changing their food milieu than their financial relationships.