Michael Pollan

And the reason was that our food system, it turns out we have two food systems. One supplies supermarkets and consumers and the other supplies institutions, whether it's restaurants or schools or factories. And that one completely shut down because nobody was going to work or school. And so everyone got all their food at the supermarket or tried to, and the system crashed for a period of time.

And the reason was that our food system, it turns out we have two food systems. One supplies supermarkets and consumers and the other supplies institutions, whether it's restaurants or schools or factories. And that one completely shut down because nobody was going to work or school. And so everyone got all their food at the supermarket or tried to, and the system crashed for a period of time.

And the two systems don't relate to one another because we've had such concentration. So the kinds of companies that are selling, say, liquefied eggs in the institutional food chain didn't have the containers to sell their eggs in a supermarket.

And the two systems don't relate to one another because we've had such concentration. So the kinds of companies that are selling, say, liquefied eggs in the institutional food chain didn't have the containers to sell their eggs in a supermarket.

And the two systems don't relate to one another because we've had such concentration. So the kinds of companies that are selling, say, liquefied eggs in the institutional food chain didn't have the containers to sell their eggs in a supermarket.

Ditto toilet paper. Remember the famous toilet paper shortage? There were giant rolls. Well, you know, the way that toilet paper is sold to institutions is on these giant rolls and they couldn't sell those in the supermarket chain. So we really learned something about the system, that it was highly centralized and specialized and really brittle. And that, of course, is the cost of efficiency.

Ditto toilet paper. Remember the famous toilet paper shortage? There were giant rolls. Well, you know, the way that toilet paper is sold to institutions is on these giant rolls and they couldn't sell those in the supermarket chain. So we really learned something about the system, that it was highly centralized and specialized and really brittle. And that, of course, is the cost of efficiency.

Ditto toilet paper. Remember the famous toilet paper shortage? There were giant rolls. Well, you know, the way that toilet paper is sold to institutions is on these giant rolls and they couldn't sell those in the supermarket chain. So we really learned something about the system, that it was highly centralized and specialized and really brittle. And that, of course, is the cost of efficiency.

You can get a very efficient system, and we have that in some ways, but it's only efficient if there are no shocks. And as soon as you get a shock, the brittleness of the system reveals itself. The other thing that revealed itself was the political power behind the food system.

You can get a very efficient system, and we have that in some ways, but it's only efficient if there are no shocks. And as soon as you get a shock, the brittleness of the system reveals itself. The other thing that revealed itself was the political power behind the food system.

You can get a very efficient system, and we have that in some ways, but it's only efficient if there are no shocks. And as soon as you get a shock, the brittleness of the system reveals itself. The other thing that revealed itself was the political power behind the food system.

And the most telling instance here, and this really got our attention that spring when we were deciding whether to make a sequel or not, was the day that John Tyson took out ads in the Washington Post, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, an open letter to the president. And the reason they were doing that is because the public health authorities

And the most telling instance here, and this really got our attention that spring when we were deciding whether to make a sequel or not, was the day that John Tyson took out ads in the Washington Post, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, an open letter to the president. And the reason they were doing that is because the public health authorities

And the most telling instance here, and this really got our attention that spring when we were deciding whether to make a sequel or not, was the day that John Tyson took out ads in the Washington Post, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, an open letter to the president. And the reason they were doing that is because the public health authorities

were trying to shut down some of their processing plants in the high plains in Iowa because they had become vectors. They were bringing COVID into these communities. These people were working really close to one another in the cold with no PPE. And people were like turning off the production lines and vomiting and going right back to work. They were sick.

were trying to shut down some of their processing plants in the high plains in Iowa because they had become vectors. They were bringing COVID into these communities. These people were working really close to one another in the cold with no PPE. And people were like turning off the production lines and vomiting and going right back to work. They were sick.

were trying to shut down some of their processing plants in the high plains in Iowa because they had become vectors. They were bringing COVID into these communities. These people were working really close to one another in the cold with no PPE. And people were like turning off the production lines and vomiting and going right back to work. They were sick.

And the public health authorities in these towns and Waterloo, Iowa is the one we focused on. We're trying to like close them down for a while to clean them up and put some protocols in place.

And the public health authorities in these towns and Waterloo, Iowa is the one we focused on. We're trying to like close them down for a while to clean them up and put some protocols in place.

And the public health authorities in these towns and Waterloo, Iowa is the one we focused on. We're trying to like close them down for a while to clean them up and put some protocols in place.