Destiny of a Nation

 I'm currently reading a fascinating (but very wacky) book, "The Physiology of Taste", by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, from which I fell in love with his aphorism "The destiny of nations depends on the manner in which they are fed." Food is life force; it is essential to our health, strength and wellbeing. In many ways our health is directly tied to our diets and food is the closest thing we have to medicine (the way it can be understood to a physician or a pharmacist). This is widely understood across cultures and has permeated human intuition for thousands of years. So...

How does the United States feed itself? What does the United States prioritize in feeding its population? 

How do you feed yourself?

These questions jump out like Miles Bridges for an alley oop. They catalyze an abundance of thought. 

In addition to the juicy topic of food and the destiny of a nation, my interest has been piqued by dwelling on a rethinking of the brilliant Brillat-Savarin quote, ie...The destiny of nations depends on the manner in which they are housed and/or employed.

What is the destiny of a nation which feeds (almost entirely) on lifeless highly processed corn? (corn which was grown with incomprehensible amounts of petroleum based fertilizer and the byproducts of which can and do fuel our cars, make adhesives, etc...) https://www.iowacorn.org/education/corn-its-everything

What is the destiny of a nation in which rents (even during a period of very high inflation) are rising by 12%? https://time.com/6169844/rental-prices-going-up/

What is the destiny of a nation in which a fully employed (and educated) individual might be able to afford their rent? https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/rent-prices-all-time-high/

For many these questions are far more real than they are food for thought on a blogpost...unfortunately there is a deep disconnect among the large variety of shareholders which these kinds of questions are reference to.