2 4 Unexpected Consequences
,3 2 scientists who conduct research on climate change, nearly per-
cent concur that humans are most responsible for a warming planet.
Yet a substantial portion of Americans choose not to see the problem or
to accept the evidence.
Unfortunately, ignoring what is happening does not immunize us
from the results. As unpleasant consequences go, the modern food
system’s contribution to global warming is enormous. Energy from fos-
sil fuels is to powering food production what the money supply is to
promoting the market economy. It powers the engines that plant and
harvest food. It produces synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. It is the
backbone of food manufacturing and packaging. It distributes food to
where consumers live. And it exposes the reality that society is over-
whelmingly vulnerable in its absence, yet we stroll along as if on a Sun-
day walk on the beach with no backup plan or imminent concern.
A major reason why is our fixation on short-term benefits. Be it food
safety, chronic food-related diseases, or adverse environmental impacts,
our actions have favored what is known in the present, not what we
learn over time. Not acknowledging that the absence of evidence is not
the same as the evidence of absence, we have set up our health and the
environment as a high-stakes gamble with long-term consequences.
These contradictions and their results are on display seventy miles
north of where I live. On the west edge of Midland, Michigan, a gar-
den more than a century in the making beckons visitors to come and
enjoy year-round. Alongside its paved walkways are some twenty thou-
sand annual varieties of flowers and plants. Species like milkweed and
butterfly bush illustrate the symbiotic existence between plants and pol-
linators. Others such as basil, lavender, sage, lilac, and boxwood offer up
pleasing sights and scents. So also does the vast selection of tulips and
roses chosen for their delicate allure.
The garden’s orchards produce cherries, plums, pears, pawpaws, and
over seventy varieties of apples. Quiet groves containing blue spruce, elm,
balsam, hemlock, and birch trees invite reflection. In the glass-walled
conservatory, wintertime is active with nonnative banana plants, or-
chids, and poinsettia. Springtime features thousands of brightly colored
butterflies from around the world in their tropical environment. All
around are well-manicured lawns and meandering streams. Everything
on display is a moving reminder of the diversity and beauty of the Earth’s