Animal, Vegetable, Junk by Mark Bittman (2024)

Adam Marks

13 min read

May 12, 2023

Animal, Vegetable, Junk by Mark Bittman (2)

This book is quite simply a devastating takedown of the way we conceive of, process, industrialize, and consume the food systems around us — and how we take those systems for granted because food is so seemingly easy to come by. Bittman traces the entire history of food, from early humans to ancient times to the present day, where the food that we eat would be barely recognizable to our ancestors from perhaps as recently as a hundred years ago. There are numerous problems with our food system at present — soil degradation, pollution, forced human labor, basic human rights, disease, obesity, starvation, etc. — and Bittman has no problem digging deep into each of these inequities, fully castigating Big Ag, the power players and government actors involved in these processes as well. Each and every one of us is beholden to an insular, protected system where a very, very, small handful of companies are responsible for the vast majority of the food we eat, and the only way we can reduce the harm to our planet — and ourselves — is to recognize how this system hurts humans and the environment, and strive to create a fair and just one that is sustainable for the long-term. Bittman certainly does his research here, as he traces the evolution of how we got to this point in time, and he does offer a variety of salient solutions to some of these problems, including crop rotation, cover crops, fallowing, composting, and natural soil with a limited use of chemicals, to name a few, but until we humans realize and recognize that the current system is unsustainable — and we can, in fact, affect change — we are going to continue to harm ourselves and the world around us. Well written, well-researched, and even a bit “preachy” at times — which was perfectly fine by me — Animal, Vegetable, Junk is a vitally important read to ensure a better world for tomorrow.

food drove evolutionary changes
plants turn sunlight, air, water, and soil into stuff, including food
thousand years ago, humans started to intentionally grow plants and raise animals
land became the foundation of wealth
but there was a dark side
engineered edible substances, called “junk”
more damage to the earth than strip mining, urbanization, even fossil fuels
what would a just food system look like?
we’re hardwired to eat what we can, when we can
little or no built-in counterweight to overindulgence
impossible to overstate the importance of cooking
greater longevity and general health than in almost any other time before or since soon after humans began cooking
cooking helped build community
cooperation and equality were norms among individuals, family groups, clans, bands
malnutrition was the exception for early humans
hunter gatherers ate what their surroundings gave them
agriculture developed gradually and spontaneously, simultaneously and sequentially, independently and eventually cooperatively
no collection of events had a greater impact on early human civilization than the development of agriculture
domesticated animals were often too valuable to be eaten
families grew larger
humans have been farming for less than 5% of our existence
life turned out not to be easier
diets became monotonous, crop failures common, malnourished, vulnerable to disease
surplus, inequality, elites
soil is a living thing that changes and grows
civilizations live and die by the strength and resilience of their food system
these depend on healthy soil
if you don’t use it, in time it replenishes — fallowing
plants not intended for harvest are called cover crops
nitrogen fixing crops are planted instead of the main crop = crop rotation
as agro succeeded and populations grew, more was demanded of soil
health was sacrificed and productivity declined
social classes were inevitable
slavery became profitable only once humans settled into sedentary societies
rice growing people, basically vegetarianism, or close to
Asia developed permanent agro, strong patient, persevering, thoughtful
4000 BC, exploitation of earth became more efficient
erosion increased tenfold
roles shifted towards patriarchy as the plow and other heavier equipment that required brawn were introduced to farming
as men took over, ideologies changed too
pressure to fulfill a growing food demand is arguably the foundation of imperialism and colonization
Rome’s collapse was in part a result of food storages
Western Europe, ascent to world dominance would forever shape human existence and its relationship with food
enclosure ruptured traditional feudal arrangements, where peasants could remain on land regardless of output, always had acreage they could work for themselves
land became pasture
spices — wealthy Europeans were obsessed with them
sugar and slaves rose above all others in the quest to satisfy Europe’s demand for wealth
sugar, no other food product whose growth was as dynamic or universal, spawned so much trade, demand matched its supply so closely
slavery’s impact, food was produced far afield, exploited labor overseen by strangers
riches coming out of Western Hemisphere quickly changed life for millions
land itself, desperately needed food, was an important motive
17th century, market economy, unrestrained capitalism
Irish thrived on the potato
if there was a superfood, a potato would be it
Irish potato famine is famous, but hardly unique
inability to maintain soil health while pushing productivity to the max was making it apparent that agro would eventually fail to keep up with population growth — era of famine
English colonization of India, 31 famines in 100 years
Opium Wars, designed to muscle China into “free” trade economies that would benefit the British Empire
millions starved while British drank sugared tea, pushed opium
group of people who understood nature and its working was disposed of by another in the America’s
Manifest destiny — pseudo-religious excuse to overrun, buy, and sell land
globally, land under cultivation nearly doubled in the 19th century, nothing compared to the U.S., where it quadrupled in the second half of the century
soil drives food
yield and volume are far more important than sustainability and long-term planning
by late 19th century, there was a crisis of soil depletion
Andea — key to healthy agro was locally recycled; guano-mania, extractive and soil-depleting agro
thousands upon millions of years of fertilizer was being carted across the globe, exhausted in decades
in the U.S., wheat, corn, and meat grew together
combined value of enslaved people exceeded that of all the railroads and factories in the nation
had there been a fair redistribution of land in the last third of the 19th century, the 20th would have looked much different
1860–1890, number of farms nearly doubled
economic engine that was America became the most powerful the world had ever seen
“extractive” — take more out of the earth than can be replaced, and far more than the earth can afford
more change happened in agro in the century following the Civil War than in the previous hundred centuries combined
humans were now interchangeable
tractor freed up millions of acres of farmland that had once been devoted to feeding draft animals
farms became less diverse
fewer farmers per capita than ever
more food was being produced than ever, and yet hunger and the fear of hunger remained
more farmers, more wheat, changing weather was a recipe for disaster
Haber created ammonia by pulling nitrogen from the air for the first time
basis for artificial fertilizer
nitrogen based chemical weapons as well
Zyklon A, B, Nazis used
WWI was won by wheat
Germany could not import food by sea
wartime and post war hunger fueled social unrest, underlying cause of the Russian Revolution
farms continued to become fewer, bigger, more similar
scientists and researchers became allied not with farmers but with bankers, manufacturers
1920–1932, before the Dust Bowl, 25 percent of farms were lost to debt or taxes
Stalin, collectivization, transformation of individual farms into larger, group managed operations — famine followed
7M people starved to death, as high as 12M
food availability had no correlation with the onset of famine; political freedom did
Great Leap Forward, Mao, 40M killed
Dust Bowl, result of the actions of settlers and the government programs that had directed them
lower prices forced farmers to borrow more, plant more, grow more
plow, sow, harvest, plow
1900–1914, population has never grown like that again, commodity supports have become permanent, now mostly insurance
cotton is a food as well as a fabric crop
seed is used for oil, animal fodder, fertilizer
New Deal — Black farmers were shut out, denied loans
number of Black owned farms peaked in 1920, 1M, made up 14% of the U.S. farming population
now make up about 1%
Great Migration, depriving millions of Black farmers of their land, government had used food as a tool to force them to flee
1931, nothing matched the scale at which California bent ecosystems to the needs of its primary business
Bracero Program, agreed upon by the U.S. and Mexican governments
workers hired on a seasonal, as-needed basis and then sent home when there was no need for them
surplus was used to invent new versions of food
industry learned to process and manufacture almost everything
fifty billion burgers a year in America, around 150 per person
only four major meatpackers in the U.S.
all of the cattle, there was a surplus of milk
milk has never been essential; it’s high in protein, but almost all Americans get enough of it
majority of humans, as many as 65 percent, are lactose intolerant
solution to excess milk was cheese, best way to preserve excess milk
Heinz — most important modification was doubling the amount of sugar
he mounted an innovative “public information” campaign against the dangers of preservatives
ketchup took over the market
by providing consumers with the name of every ingredient, government dodges all responsibility under the pretense of “freedom of choice”
disinformation and deceptive marketing
beginning of manufacturers adding sugar to virtually everything
branding was essential
as brands became important, determined what crops got planted and how those crops were processed and sold
standardization of American diet
Banana’s, world’s fourth largest crop, hundred billion of them are shipped every year
self service, where food and packaging did the talking, was a seismic shift
supermarkets were race to the bottom — services declined, as did quality and actual value of the food being sold
calorie reduced food to a measure of heat
a “calorie is a calorie” gained authority
1942, vitamin market was worth 200M, today it’s worth 30B
wheat producers were faced with a choice: local production, quick sale and higher quality, or mass production, long shelf life and nutritionally inferior product
never spoiling white flower became the norm
home economists = experts affirm that housework was a true job that could be done efficiently and with skill
business swooped in to harness, train women in consumption, rather than production
20M civilians died from starvation and associated diseases worldwide during WWII
machinery and chemical industries both highly dependent on fossil fuels — “petrofoods”
once literally millions of permutations of corn, now U.S. corn industry whittled its diversity down to a small number of genetically uniform hybrids
all hybrids don’t adapt to environment, they stagnate, high yield
families who worked the land to produce food for themselves and local markets were becoming extinct
PI, Public Law 480, “Food for Peace”, beginning in 1954, shipped commodities abroad while providing the destination countries with loans from the U.S. government to pay for them
overproduction that gave surplus to developing nations, processed food
capitalism vs. communism played a part
game changer was soy
soybean is productive, almost incomparably nutritious, and nitrogen fixing
soy and animals, soy took on a new life, joining corn as a foundation of the 20th century agro, processed into junk and overfeed animals for slaughter
chickens led the revolution
Nixon, Small Business Administration, Equal Opportunity Loan Program
businesses in inner city franchises of fast food chains
subsidy for fast food companies, Big Ag
a third of all Americans now eat fast food daily
diet related deaths affecting BIPOC communities more than others
average American man weighed 25 pounds more in 2002 than 1960
USDA publication in 1923 specifically set the stage for overeating
sugar is not a useful ingredient
Keys — escalating rate of heart attacks
observational Seven Countries Study — Northern Europeans and Americans had much higher rates of disease than Southern Europeans and Japanese
currently forty percent of the U.S. corn crop is used to produce 16B gallons of ethanol per year
Yudkin, physician, began advising people to avoid sugar altogether
Pure, White, Deadly, 1972
sabotaged by the Sugar Research Foundation
salt is essential ingredient — we can’t make it ourselves, can’t live without it — we don’t need dietary sugar
we’re being fed salt by those who want to sell more food
more often our bodies use insulin to convert sugar to glycogen, more insulin it takes to get the job done
need for more insulin is called insulin resistance
“bliss point” = precisely calibrated optimal meeting place of sweetness and/or savoriness and/or richness — salt, sugar, fat, — to produce a state of euphoria
eating sugar stimulates dopamine, same reward-confirming neurotransmitter triggered by cocaine, nicotine, alcohol
breastfeeding = single more effective intervention for the prevention of deaths in children under five
formula makers took over the education and caregiving process of young women throughout the world
belief in children’s preferences for “bland white foods” has no historical precedent, or scientific basis
Green Revolution did not end hunger
front for selling American ago machinery, chemicals
hunger fell nowhere as markedly as it did in China, no Green Revolution intervention at all
world’s most dramatic decrease in poverty ever
U.S. maintained a kind of geopolitical stability by keeping other countries dependent on its food
“comparative advantage” — if one party could produce a certain good more efficiently than another, it was best for the weaker producer to abandon production of that good, and trade for it instead
every country should grow what they were best at growing, and trade for what they needed
this failed
NAFTA, Mexico, “commodity” was their cheap labor
2M farmers were put out of work
U.S. supplies Mexico with 42% of its food
junk food to Mexico
now leads the world’s populous nations in obesity and diabetes
monoculture works by killing just about everything except the main crop — pesticides
GMO’s, U.S. has never really prioritized the precautionary principle, process of determining that a new product or process will cause no harm before releasing it
Europe’s approach is different
pesticide use has increased, no scientific consensus that genetically modified seeds yield bigger harvests than conventional seeds
emergence: notion that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, that elements may synergize to create something greater
humans are a part of nature, not above it
everything is connected to everything else
everything must go somewhere
nature knows best
no such thing as a free lunch
Capitalism is opposed to some of these things
Carver — traditional polyculture, minimal machinery, mostly chemical free
Steiner — biodynamics, required nutrients come from the soil of the home farm
living organism
Howard — there is no waste
composting: no mineral deficiencies of any kind occur
sustainable farming — old style
Silent Spring — consequences of rampant pesticide use
free breakfast and bags of food, Black Panthers were treating food as a human right
School Breakfast Program in 1975
USDA, FDA, nutrition research in general: whatever the agencies said was “good for you”, industry would pile into processed foods
if the agencies said it was “bad for you” the opposite would happen
food manufacturer’s dream and a move away from the actual food
to the label, it’s not the quality of the food that matters, or how it was produced, or the actual impact on the body
industry weaponizes labels to catch the attention of permanently confused eaters, while real food remains lost in the shuffle
no requirement that organic food be of good quality, or even real at all
organic junk food is still junk food
top five meat and dairy companies combine to produce more emissions than ExxonMobil
most glaring failure of our food system is not hunger, but disease causing diets
junk was born in America, but it’s spread worldwide, and everywhere the American diet goes, disease follows
international fast food market expected to approach 700B by 2022
food advertising budget in the U.S. is around 14B
total budget for chronic disease prevention and health promotion is 1B
five percent of farms sell 75% of U.S. agro products
industry has the power to define cruelty when it comes to animals
EPA has gone out of its way to avoid regulating the industry
80% of all antibiotics are fed to farm animals, and that’s allowed generations of germs to mutate and develop immunity
result is antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria
a third of all fish are caught at unsustainable levels
small fish are now being harvested to feed bigger fish in farms
fewer crops, fewer farms, fewer companies
always comes back to labor
eight of the ten worst paying jobs in the U.S. involve food
large extent, immigration “crisis” is a food and labor crisis
farmers leave home to look for work
agroecology — producing food in harmony with the planet and its inhabitants
autonomous, pluralistic, multicultural movement, political in its demand for social justice
growing in harmony with nature can be profitable, productive and enduring
food is, or should be, a universal right, lack of access is not a tragedy but a crime
Double Up, doubles the value of food stamps at farmers markets — started in Detroit in 2009
Chile — Law of Food Labeling and Advertising, world’s strongest combination of taxes, marketing restrictions and bans to date
soda taxes can reduce consumption by 20%
South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh — Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)
natural fertilizer, 160K landless poor have become home gardeners
precious little reform in the U.S.
Alex Waters, Edible Schoolyard — “kitchen classroom” that would put food at the core of the curriculum
lunch is in the classroom, with food and nutrition education integrated into meals prepared from scratch
scaling out, replicating small and medium scale sustainable systems in millions of places worldwide
capitalism depends on everlasting economic growth, which is impossible according to both science and common sense
peasant farming remains more efficient than industrial farming
when behavior change is driven by sound and ethical policy, we see progress
Max Roser: “Three things are true at the same time: The world is much better; the world is awful; and the world can be much better.”
good food should benefit everyone who produces it, everyone who works with it, and everyone who eats it
it must be fair and just in the areas of farming, labor, and the environment; it must be nutritious; and everyone should be able to find it and afford it
four pillars: starts with farming, labor, nutrition, access and affordability
good food prioritizes human well being over agro yield and corporate profit
change is inevitable
our job, as humans, as citizens, is to try and guide that change in the right direction

Animal, Vegetable, Junk by Mark Bittman (2024)

References