--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While the surfeit of cheap calories that…" description: "\"While the surfeit of cheap calories that the U.S. food system has produced since the late 1970s may have taken food prices off the political agenda, th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/michael-pollan-408_1970s_while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that_3077077.jpg" --- # While the surfeit of cheap calories that the U.S. food… ![“While the surfeit of cheap calories that the U.S. food system has produced since the late 1970s may have taken food prices off the political agenda, this has come at a steep cost to public health.” quote by Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/michael-pollan-408_1970s_while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that_3077077.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/michael-pollan-408_1970s_while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that_3077077.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/michael-pollan-408_1970s_while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that_3077077.jpg) > “While the surfeit of cheap calories that the U.S. food system has produced since the late 1970s may have taken food prices off the political agenda, this has come at a steep cost to public health.” [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cheap, abundant calories have lowered food prices but increased health problems nationwide. **In simple terms:** Cheap food hurts health. Key Takeaway Prioritize nutrition over price. Themes public health food policy nutrition Mood concerned urgent Type analytical critical When to use this quote - policy making - personal diet planning - public health campaigns Key Concepts obesity dietary choices food industry Questions to Reflect On - How can we re‑price healthy foods? - What policies could shift consumer habits? A Different Perspective Economic focus on price can ignore long‑term health costs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1970s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1970s-440/) [Cheap Calories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheap-calories-5153671/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Food Prices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-prices-852825/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Prices Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prices-political-5232372/) [Public health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-health/) [Taken Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken-food-5232373/) ## Related quotes > [“Grains are a starvation food – they provide cheap calories without the vital nutrients of meats, fruits, and vegetables.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-james/grains-are-a-starvation-food-they-provide-cheap-calories-without-the/) [Abel James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-james/) > [“Oh, shut it. Look, the pills have to be taken with food. You got a ham 'n' cheese on rye on you? I don't."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/oh-shut-it-look-the-pills-have-to-be-taken-with-food-you-got-a-ham-n/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [And if that weren't bad enough, the next sound he heard was a loud click. The damned woman had locked him out. She'd taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/and-if-that-weren-t-bad-enough-the-next-sound-he-heard-was-a-loud/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [It's the embrace of corn-based ethanol that has driven up all food prices. It's not making agriculture more sustainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/it-s-the-embrace-of-corn-based-ethanol-that-has-driven-up-all-food/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [When the commodities go up and the cost of transportation is going up, and the value of the dollar is going down, it's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-catsimatidis/when-the-commodities-go-up-and-the-cost-of-transportation-is-going-up/) [John Catsimatidis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-catsimatidis/) > [The poverty line understates the true amount of poverty because it measures it as three times the breadbasket that a family needs, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/the-poverty-line-understates-the-true-amount-of-poverty-because-it/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [Pack snacks. Food prices once you pass through airport security or within blocks of a major tourist attraction can be double the price. Pack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-tans/pack-snacks-food-prices-once-you-pass-through-airport-security-or/) [Gillian Tans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-tans/) > [If commodity prices are no longer going up then food prices in the grocery store will no longer go up, at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-martin/if-commodity-prices-are-no-longer-going-up-then-food-prices-in-the/) [Matt Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-martin/) > [When you have weird policy decisions in the United States that then ripple out throughout the world, the rest of the world really takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/when-you-have-weird-policy-decisions-in-the-united-states-that-then/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [When food prices surge, poor families suddenly find themselves unable to afford enough nutritious food. If this happens during the first thousand days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/when-food-prices-surge-poor-families-suddenly-find-themselves-unable/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [The world is only one poor harvest away from chaos. We are so close to the edge that politically destabilising food prices could come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-zoellick/the-world-is-only-one-poor-harvest-away-from-chaos-we-are-so-close-to/) [Robert Zoellick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-zoellick/) > [Just about the time when my income gets to the point where food prices don't matter, calories do!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-about-the-time-when-my-income-gets-to-the-point-where-food/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Increased tariffs and a weakened pound would mean higher food prices, hurting the poorest families - and the women trying to make ends meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konnie-huq/increased-tariffs-and-a-weakened-pound-would-mean-higher-food-prices/) [Konnie Huq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konnie-huq/) > [If you're using first-class land for biofuels, then you're competing with the growing of food. And so you're actually spiking food prices by moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-using-first-class-land-for-biofuels-then-you-re-competing/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Food prices are often kept artificially high. The result is that the Millennium Development Goals set out by the United Nations at the start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/food-prices-are-often-kept-artificially-high-the-result-is-that-the/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) ## More by Michael Pollan > [“In the same way that the picturesque designers were always careful to include some reminder of our mortality in their gardens -- a ruin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-same-way-that-the-picturesque-designers-were-always-careful-to/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [My hope is that if people have the knowledge, and if they actually see where their food comes from and have access to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/my-hope-is-that-if-people-have-the-knowledge-and-if-they-actually-see/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [The problem is that we let special-occasion food become everyday food. That goes for soda and french fries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-problem-is-that-we-let-special-occasion-food-become-everyday-food/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Every peasant cuisine has incredible ingenious tricks for getting a lot of nutrition out of a small amount of ingredients. There are people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/every-peasant-cuisine-has-incredible-ingenious-tricks-for-getting-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“In ancient Greece, the word for “cook,” “butcher,” and “priest” was the same—mageiros—and the word shares an etymological root with “magic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-ancient-greece-the-word-for-cook-butcher-and-priest-was-the-same/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [In the end I'm still a writer. I'm still a journalist, and my first responsibility is to my readers. That's where I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-end-i-m-still-a-writer-i-m-still-a-journalist-and-my-first/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“The bubble logic driving tulipomania has since acquired a name: “the greater fool theory.” Although by any conventional measure it is folly to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-bubble-logic-driving-tulipomania-has-since-acquired-a-name-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Of the seven deadly sins, surely it is pride that most afflicts the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/of-the-seven-deadly-sins-surely-it-is-pride-that-most-afflicts-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn into food, has in no small measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/growing-corn-which-from-a-biological-perspective-had-always-been-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Eat with consciousness. When you eat with consciousness, and you know what you're eating, and you eat it in full appreciation of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/eat-with-consciousness-when-you-eat-with-consciousness-and-you-know/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [This is part of human nature, the desire to change consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/this-is-part-of-human-nature-the-desire-to-change-consciousness/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“...whenever I hear people say clean food is expensive, I tell them it's actually the cheapest food you can buy. That always gets their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/whenever-i-hear-people-say-clean-food-is-expensive-i-tell-them-it-s/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Imagine if we had a food system that actually produced wholesome food. Imagine if it produced that food in a way that restored the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/imagine-if-we-had-a-food-system-that-actually-produced-wholesome-food/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“CONSULT YOUR GUT.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/consult-your-gut/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) [Explore all 584 Michael Pollan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) ## More 1970s quotes > [As someone who came to New York in the 1970s, I was, like so many of my friends, a certified member of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/as-someone-who-came-to-new-york-in-the-1970s-i-was-like-so-many-of-my/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [The 1970s, the decade of my teenage years, was a transitional period in American youth culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-allin-cornell/the-1970s-the-decade-of-my-teenage-years-was-a-transitional-period-in/) [Eric Allin Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-allin-cornell/) > [Back in the 1970s, it was mostly all-black audiences coming into the theaters. So, we presented stories they could relate to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-ray-moore/back-in-the-1970s-it-was-mostly-all-black-audiences-coming-into-the/) [Rudy Ray Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-ray-moore/) > [I'm a product of the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/i-m-a-product-of-the-1970s/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [Once, bit-fetching was the job mainly of children. In the 1970s, if I sat too long looking bored, I'd be dispatched to the shop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/once-bit-fetching-was-the-job-mainly-of-children-in-the-1970s-if-i/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [When I joined Ford, in the late 1970s, I felt strongly we could not forever be a huge user of natural resources without there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-joined-ford-in-the-late-1970s-i-felt-strongly-we-could-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wings was one of the first bands in the 1970s to do stadium tours, as well as Led Zeppelin. We had all the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denny-laine/wings-was-one-of-the-first-bands-in-the-1970s-to-do-stadium-tours-as/) [Denny Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denny-laine/) > [The whole idea of making 'James' was to make an action film in the style of the 1970s and '80s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-gopal-varma/the-whole-idea-of-making-james-was-to-make-an-action-film-in-the/) [Ram Gopal Varma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-gopal-varma/) > [All I know about 1970s New York City is that it's where I grew up, and you always have an umbilical connection to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/all-i-know-about-1970s-new-york-city-is-that-it-s-where-i-grew-up-and/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I have lived my whole life just outside Youngstown, Ohio. We watched the steel mills close and 50,000 jobs disappear in the late 1970s.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ryan/i-have-lived-my-whole-life-just-outside-youngstown-ohio-we-watched/) [Tim Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ryan/) > [When I was growing up in the projects in Philadelphia in the 1970s and 80s, Cadillac was the car to have. But I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-staley/when-i-was-growing-up-in-the-projects-in-philadelphia-in-the-1970s/) [Dawn Staley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-staley/) > [I don't really have a treasured possession, but I do love my family's proper old photo album. We all have hundreds of photos on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-walker/i-don-t-really-have-a-treasured-possession-but-i-do-love-my-family-s/) [Nicola Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-walker/) > [My family had been involved in gangs since the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cabral/my-family-had-been-involved-in-gangs-since-the-1970s/) [Richard Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cabral/) > [When I was in high school in the early 1970s, we knew we were running out of oil; we knew that easy sources were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/when-i-was-in-high-school-in-the-early-1970s-we-knew-we-were-running/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [When I was younger, I remember families like mine who had to deal with the disastrous policies of the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-scheer/when-i-was-younger-i-remember-families-like-mine-who-had-to-deal-with/) [Andrew Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-scheer/) [Browse all 189 1970s quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1970s-440/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "While the surfeit of cheap calories that the U.S. food system has produced since the late 1970s may have taken food prices off the political agenda, this has come at a steep cost to public health.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Pollan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that-the-u-s-food-system-has/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "1970s" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that-the-u-s-food-system-has/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/michael-pollan-408_1970s_while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that_3077077.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/michael-pollan-408_1970s_while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that_3077077.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/michael-pollan-408_1970s_while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that_3077077.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“While the surfeit of cheap calories that the U.S. food system has produced since the late 1970s may have…” — Michael Pollan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Pollan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "While the surfeit of cheap calories...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that-the-u-s-food-system-has/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that-the-u-s-food-system-has/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```