Nicholas D. Kristof, “Lettuce From the Garden, With Worms,” The New York Times, June 21, 2009

“Over the years… I’ve become nostalgic for an occasional bug in my salad, for an apple that feels as if it were designed by God rather than by a committee,” writes New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof in this op-ed article promoting Food, Inc., “a terrific new documentary” that purportedly offers “a powerful and largely persuasive diagnosis of American agriculture.” Kristof rehashes several key arguments made in the film, focusing on genetically modified livestock, conditions at “huge confinement operations” and “the massive routine feeling of antibiotics to farm animals.” He also criticizes agribusiness companies for allegedly exerting “huge political influence” and sending industry leaders to fill regulatory posts at the Food and Drug Administration. “We even inflict unhealthy food on children in the school lunch program, and one in three Americans born after 2000 is expected to develop diabetes,” concludes Kristof, who urges consumers to vote with their wallets to change the current system.