We Have Lost Touch<br >There is something wrong with the American food system.<br > Most of us feel it， but few of us can put our fingers on the<br >problem. Despite constant assurances to the contrary from<br >the food industry itself and from many in government whom<br >we pay to protect and inform us about food， there is the<br >nagging feeling that things are not right.<br > Of course， "wrong" and "not right" are highly relative<br >terms. Compared to how the majority of the rest of the<br >world s people grow， get， buy， and eat their food， Americans<br >are quite well off. We spend a smaller portion of our family<br >budgets on food (around 22 percent); our food is plentiful<br >and available in great variety， regardless of the season; and<br >we devote little effort to wondering about the safety of what<br >we eat. Compared with the developing nations and even with<br >many of those that are highly developed， America has a<br >strong， safe food system.<br > And yet the nagging feeling persistshthe feeling that<br >maybe things could be even cheaper， even better， even safer.<br ><br >