[permaculture] Michael Pollan (author of The Omnivore's Dilemma) - Google lecture | In Defense of Food: NPR interview with Michael Pollan

Lawrence F. London, Jr. lflj at intrex.net
Tue May 6 04:14:27 EDT 2008



Authors at Google: Michael Pollan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-t-7lTw6mA
March 06, 2008  (Less info)
Michael Pollan visits Google's Mountain View, CA, headquarters to discuss his book, "In Defense of Food." This talk took 
place on March 4, 2008, as part of the Authors at Google series.


In Defense of Food: NPR interview with Michael Pollan about "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/15/in-defense-of-food-n.html
Book: Amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1594201455/downandoutint-20

Last week, Michael Pollan (author of the acclaimed The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals)
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0143038583/downandoutint-20) did an interview with NPR's Science Friday in order 
to discuss his new book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto 
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1594201455/downandoutint-20), whose contents can be summed up as, "Eat food. Not 
too much. Mostly plants."

Hidden in those seven words is an indictment of "Nutritionism," the philosophy that says that food must be approached as 
a scientific challenge, valued for its nutrients, which can be delivered in purer, industrialized (and highly 
profitable) forms in packaged, prepared dishes and ingredients.

Pollan makes a convincing case -- citing credible research -- that the science behind nutritionism is, at best, 
"promising" but not ready for primetime (he likens it to sixteenth century surgery: fascinating but not the kind of 
thing you want to be on the receiving end of). He explains how nutritionism has captured politics, so that the FDA isn't 
allowed to say, "Eat less red meat," but is backed into saying, "Make eating choices that are lower in saturated fats," 
prompting an industry to spring up around further industrialization of food to remove saturated fats. Nevermind that the 
science says, "Eat less red meat" -- by demonizing a nutrient, a blow to the cattle-ranchers is turned into an 
opportunity to create even greater markups on their product by charging a premium for engineered, "low in saturated 
fats" beef.

Pollan has a set of simple rules for eating that really resonate: "Shop the edges of the grocery store, not the middle," 
"Eat things your great grandmother might have eaten," "Eat nothing that bears a health or nutritional claim," and so on.

It's a delightful interview and it's led me to ordering the audiobook to listen to on my morning walks. Link, Link to In 
Defense of Food
posted in:  Audio  , Book


Michael Pollan - In Defense of Food (broadcast Friday, January 4th, 2008)
NPR: Science Friday
http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200801043

Chances are that your holiday meals weren't completely natural. But where is the dividing line between 'real' food and 
some sort of artificial pseudo-food-substitute? In this segment, Ira talks with author Michael Pollan about his latest 
book, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto." He suggests that people can improve their eating tremendously through 
relatively simple rules, including 'Don't eat anything that your great-grandmother would not recognize as food.' Pollan 
boils down his philosophy of nutrition to just seven words: 'Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.' We'll find out more 
about his ideas, and how to apply them to your local grocery store. Teachers, find more information about using Science 
Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.
Guests

Michael Pollan
Author, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" (Penguin Press HC, 2008)
Contributing Writer, The New York Times Magazine
Knight Professor of Journalism, University of California
Berkeley, California
Related Links

     * Michael Pollan: In Defense of Food
       http://www.michaelpollan.com/indefense.php
     * NPR: 'In Defense of Food' Author Offers Advice for Health
       http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17725932










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