I have read both of the books you mentioned, and I believe Michael Pollan is very well informed about Agriculture.
As a farmer/cattleman, I certainly can identify things in his books to take issue with, but I think he has some valid concerns. I agree corn on corn practices can improve soil health, but the lack of rotation can also promote weed resistance.
As far as soil health, a lot of that depends on who is managing things. Small farms can be better or worse than large farms at maintaining fertility and soil organisms or reducing erosion or compaction. Just as Pollan covered the industrial organic farms and showed their faults (it's worth reading about), he gives us a fair assessment of where we could improve in modern ag production.
My take away from both of these books was this: We are very blessed to have access to cheap and plentiful food. Some producers misrepresent being sustainable for their own gain, but many in Ag are trying to be efficient and responsible stewards. We have to either use resources (fuel, fertilizer, chemicals), or be less productive (which has an environmental impact over more acres to get the same result as being more input-intensive).
Pollan challenges you to think, and not everyone is comfortable with that. But I enjoyed his perspective, and it helped me realize that those of us in Ag have to do a little damage so that we can all eat.
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