The Grand Food Bargain



H

e was a soldier’s soldier. A career military man who embod-

ied toughness and grit. So when President Polk feared that

war might erupt with Mexico over America’s annexation

of Texas, he knew just who to send to defend the border—General

Zachary Taylor. Known by his men as “Old Rough and Ready,” Tay-

lor had no hesitation leading his army against forces more than three

times larger. Not satisfied with driving Mexican troops out of Texas,

he defied orders and marched his troops well south of the border, lev-

eling a crushing blow that ended Mexico’s claims over what is now the

American Southwest.

Overnight, Taylor had become an American hero. As his popularity

soared, citizens pushed him to run for president. Although Taylor had

no interest in pursuing political office, let alone the presidency, he was

eventually persuaded otherwise. On March ,  8  9 , General Zachary

Taylor became President Zachary Taylor. Sixteen months later, he found

himself in another war, this one waged from within by an adversary too

small to see, yet too powerful to be defeated.

Chapter 8 The World’s Safest Food

The US enjoys one of the world ’s safest food supplies.

— FDA, USDA, NOAA Joint Statement on Food Safety

Kevin D. Walker, The Grand Food Bargain: And the Mindless Drive for More,

DOI 10.5822/ 978-1-61091-948-7_8, © 2019 Kevin D. Walker.