In the US, we are really good at producing corn. What happens to the corn? Well, a lot of is used for animal feed, some of it is turned into high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or ethanol (often added to gasoline), and basically none of it is an ear you see on the dinner table. As the price of corn drops, the price of meat drops, and our diets end up out of whack. The result, is that "Health impacts are the biggest hidden cost of the food system, with more than $1 trillion per year in health-related costs paid by Americans, with an estimated $604 billion of that attributable to diseases — such as hypertension, cancer and diabetes — linked to diet." (from the Washington Post quoting this original research.)
However, the deeper we dig, the more we see. Climate change is affecting crops from corn to vegetables and fruit, and food production is just the first step in our food system. How does food processing affect the choices we have available to us, much less the choices individuals make? What is the impact of plastics throughout the supply chain? This article is a great summary of the many questions we need to investigate.
