What’s for dinner? Most of us think about this question every day—especially as we get hungry in the late afternoon. But we also might consider this question more broadly, from the viewpoint of our overall society. What decisions about food might we face as a people? This discussion guide looks both ahead and sometimes far afield as it encourages us to explore and develop some of the many different questions we face about our food, about what’s for dinner . . . or breakfast, snack, brunch or lunch.

Some of the common concerns about our food that were important in developing all six of the policy possibilities in this guide, include–

• both the quantity and quality of what we’re able to eat. Judging by the significant increase in obesity and adult-onset diabetes, it’s clear that many of us are eating too much and/or eating too many of the wrong things.
• access and distribution issues:  hunger, malnourishment, cost, and concerns over access/availability.
• the safety and health/nutritional values of our food supply and how might they best be regulated?

This topic and discussion guide also encourages us to consider and explore  concerns about where our food comes from and how it gets to our supermarkets, restaurants, and dinner tables. Will our food come to us from local farms and a nearby farmer’s market or from Wal-mart, Costco, and container ships from Chile and at what costs? Who will be producing it and how? How will changing technology, global warming, energy policies, and other changes affect how and what we eat in the future? And what will be the broader impacts on our environment, our economy, and our way(s) of life?