Barack Obama Gets It: Food = Fuel

Looking for more proof that Barack Obama understands the real challenges we’re facing when it comes to energy, food, the environment and sustainability? Then check out these comments from his interview last week with Time’s Joe Klein:

“I was just reading an article in the New York Times by Michael Pollen (sic) about food and the fact that our entire agricultural system is built on cheap oil. As a consequence, our agriculture sector actually is contributing more greenhouse gases than our transportation sector. And in the mean time, it’s creating monocultures that are vulnerable to national security threats, are now vulnerable to sky-high food prices or crashes in food prices, huge swings in commodity prices, and are partly responsible for the explosion in our healthcare costs because they’re contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in healthcare costs.”

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The answer, Obama tells Klein, is to “completely revamp how we use energy.” Doing that the right way, he continues, will address the full spectrum of concerns now on our plate: climate change, national security, economic stability and more. And, he adds, that will be his “number one priority” as president.

Has John McCain read Michael Pollan? No idea, but at least one energy expert doubts his cred in that area, as you can see here (scroll down to the paragraph that starts, “For an inspiring — if frightening — take on our current energy woes … “).

You can read the full Obama interview here.

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