In Global Ethics class we were asked to read a chapter from Michael Pollen's The Omnivores Dilemma. I thought this chapter was very interesting. It sort of changes the way you think about Organic foods. The word "organic" is one of the most powerful words in the supermarket today. It is an 11 billion dollar industry, which makes it the fastest growing sector of the food economy. All this wealth came from just farmers and consumers. There was no help from the government, which is incredible. One of the key innovations of organic food was to allow more information to pass from the grower to the consumer. In a way I guess that is true, but can we believe everything we are told? The story that struck me the most was the one about Rosie the chicken who was marketed as a "sustainably farmed" "free range chicken" from Petaluma Poultry, a ompany whose "farming methods strive to create harmonious relationships in nature, sustaining the health of all creatures of the natural world." When I first read this I thought, "Wow, this is really a great business and they must really treat their chickens well." After reading about the deceitfulness of some of these Organic companies, I began to question whether or not I could trust anything. I started doing some of my own research to see whether Pollen was right. I found out that the chickens are not allowed to go outside until they are 4 weeks old, but then they are slaughtered maybe two weeks later. They say they that they are a "free-range" farm but I think they are taking it way to far. We think of the world "organic" and we instantly conjure up some ideas. I think it is a great idea to provide information about each product but not when the truth isn't being told or when its being stretched too far. After reading this chapter I was able to make a connection with the company Enron. Both Enron and the Organic food industry care about one thing: Money. The Enron employees, included Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, put their "hubris" ahead of the people. In the same way, the organic food producers told false stories, stories that would make them look better, in order to sell a lot of their products. Both Enron and these organic companies are deceitful. Enron refused to tell the general public what was happening within their company and these organic farmers aren't telling their consumers how their products are made. "Hubris" is the one word that can really tie the Enron scandal and the Organic food industry together. Both are looking for ways to make money, and both will do whatever is necessary to ensure that they do make money. The organic industry is doing pretty good right now but if more people read the book The Omnivore's Dilemma, will this industry have a result similar to that of Enron?
