The Longest Run

A couple of years ago I read (and enjoyed) Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals . The book is a great look into the food chain in the United States and presents a damning indictment of our current farm policy. Last week's New York Times Magazine carried a new article by Pollan in the form of a letter to our next president: Farmer In Chief . The article provides a condensed summary of the issues reviewed in Omnivore's Dilemma and sets out a series of recommended changes. While I don't agree with all of his ideas, it does seem the system we have now is kind of crazy. To wit: After cars, the food system uses more fossil fuel than any other sector of the economy — 19 percent. And while the experts disagree about the exact amount, the way we feed ourselves contributes more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than anything else we do — as much as 37 percent, according to one study. Whenever farmers clear land for crops and till the soil,...

A couple of years ago we published a book by George Friedman , founder of a private intelligence service called Stratfor . Leading up to Friday night's presidential debate, Stratfor is running a series of articles The first article, The New President and the Global Landscape , was posted yesterday. It's a great overview of the range of issues the next president will face, how they are interrelated, and what options the President will have to address them. Definitely worth a read.