Parke Wilde is Associate Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, USA. He has a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University. He is past chair of the Food Safety and Nutrition Section of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and current member of the Food Forum of the Institute of Medicine. Previously, he worked for the Community Nutrition Institute and for USDA’s Economic Research Service. Since 2004 he has run a highly respected blog, “U.S. Food Policy: a Public Interest Perspective.”

He recently published the book: Food Policy in the United States. This week on What Doesn’t Kill You, Katy Keiffer chats with Professor Wilde for a economic perspective on the food system. Learn how capitalist principles inherently make farm life unpredictable. Hear how food safety is an information problem, and why lobbyists are not solely responsible for promoting big ag interests. Thanks to our sponsor, Route 11 Potato Chips.

“Part of what makes farm life difficult is that their prices are subject to competitive markets.” [4:45]

“Imperfect information is one of the biggest reasons that the government gets involved with food.” [13:00]

“Lobbyists aren’t the only problem in politics… people support big business because big business promotes regional economies.” [19:45]

— Parke Wilde on What Doesn’t Kill You