Just how much does the average consumer really know about the modern food system? What are the critical issues facing the availability and cost of food, today and tomorrow? What do we need to do to make sure there’s enough safe, nutritious and above all affordable food for the literally billions of people that will join the global village in the next few decades?
Initial results from a survey of attitudes toward food-related issues indicate there’s much to be learned on this vital – yet largely invisible — important public policy challenge. Consensus on what issues are most important is elusive. Agreement on matters of food safety, food production, preservation of natural resources remains rare, even among segments of the population that might be expected to have similar views. Basic understanding of the current policies governing production of food and feed, environmental protection and international trade seems paper thin. The complex mix of policies shaping food production food manufacturing and distribution, food safety, food trade seem to defy understanding, yet alone mastery. So how do we begin to tackle such a challenge?
To take part in this important on-going research effort, contact me at gw@garlandwest.com. I’ll send you a short (20-question) form of the survey that explores your attitudes on a range of timely food-related issues. It’s not a test, with right or wrong answers. It won’t put you into a data base of any kind, and no salesman will call. It’s simply a way to gauge public attitudes toward a range of matters that shape how much food we have, what kind we have and who has access to it. Add your voice, and help identify the food issues our society needs to address to make sure we doing today what we need to build a sustainable food system capable of feeding an increasingly hungry world.