Summary Of Stuffed And Starved By Raj Patel - 1216 Words

Reading Summary/Discussion Questions #4 This week we started reading a new book called Stuffed Starved by Raj Patel and were to read the first three chapters. Patel is different in his writing compared to Pollan because he is more emotional and forceful in his statements. He has worked for the World Bank, WTO, and the UN, so his social position makes him someone others would want to listen to. Unlike Pollan, Patel goes outside of the United States and takes a global perspective in his writing. Patel talks in the preface about how many more people are undernourished and overweight and he explains that the food system he describes in his book has been engineered to continue to increase hunger and obesity. It is surprising to me to†¦show more content†¦Like consumers, farmers do not have much choice either. Farmers plant crops that are demanded by the global food market. Essentially, farms are no longer owned by farmers and the farmers become the laborers. Also, it som etimes is all or nothing for farmers. For one, some land can only be used for one crop, for example coffee, and if something goes wrong with the crop, farmers lose everything. Second, unskilled labor jobs are dwindling, so there might not be much else a farmer could do if something were to happen to their land. It seems that when crops do well, farmers should be making a lot of money, however, the food processors and distributors are the ones who make most of the profit. Because of this, farmers are left with pennies compared to what the others make. Farmers and consumers have fought to control the food system, but what other choice do they have than to support it? The second section to be reviewed is chapter two. This chapter was devastating because it talked about the poverty that farmers face and the suicides that result because of it. Farmers cannot bare to see their families struggle or lose their farm that has been in the family for generations and, frequently, they use highly toxic pesticides used on their farms to commit suicide. Not only do these happen in poor developing countries, but also in wealthy, developed countries such as Australia and the United States. After a farmer passes, the family is