I have a love-hate relationship with Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything and The Best Recipes in the World, among other excellent cookbooks. I love him because he's the author of those cookbooks; the two I mentioned are the most food-splattered in my kitchen, evidence of their frequent use. His recipes are easy to make, which means they're terrifically useful for turning out tasty meals on weeknights. They're not what I would call gourmet, but in terms of bang for the effort buck, he's authored a lot of great stuff.
I hate him because he also writes crap like this. I read this article without looking at the byline at first, and through the first bullet point I was nodding my head emphatically. Yes, indeed, we should stop subsidizing corn and soybeans! After that, though, the article runs off the rails. Instead, Bittman says, we ought to be subsidizing farmers' markets, giving the FDA the powers that the USDA has now, taxing "unhealthy" foods, subsidizing home cooking, and "encouraging" recycling (Bittman doesn't specifically say that the government should be doing the encouraging, but it's strongly implied).
According to Bittman, "This isn’t nanny-state paternalism but an accepted role of government: public health." Well, just because public health is a commonly accepted role of government nowadays doesn't mean it isn't nanny-state paternalism!
Yes, I want the government out of subsidizing crops that make Americans fat. But I also don't want the government in the business of subsidizing food that will supposedly make us healthier, either. (Who gets to decide what that food is? Oh wait...LOBBYISTS!) I don't want the government making soft drinks more expensive (unless they do so by removing corn subsidies), I don't want the FDA deciding what I get to eat (goodness knows it does a crappy job deciding what drugs I get to take), I don't want the government paying me to cook at home. All I want is to be able to decide what I want to put in my belly, without interference and based on prices and data generated by a free market!
So, Mr. Bittman, stick to cooking and writing recipes. It's what you're good at.
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2 comments:
Last week, before his manifesto, he tweeted against some subsidy followed up by tweeted for another subsidy. I replied "@bittman Can't badmouth one subsidy, turn around and support another (even for "the kids").That's not principled thinking. Gov't makes no $.
I was very surprised when he messaged back saying "Of course we can. There are good things to spend money on and bad ones."
So to answer your question: Mark Bittman is the one who gets to decide what food gets subsidized.
Side note: We bought tickets to see him at the MFA on Wednesday - this was before he started on his subsidy tour.
When I first read his article, I too gave a huge nod through the first point. Then, I read further, and didn't even finish reading the entire article. I'm glad that you blogged about it.
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