You are what you eat. Literally. Our bodies are collections of chemicals so we truly are the result of what we eat.
Which is to say that food is important. It may be the most important decision we make every day, yet people seem to spend very little time educating themselves about this decision. A decision that is getting more complex every day.
Today I heard a terrific interview by author Michael Pollan. His book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma : A Natural History of Four Meals", sounds great - informative and disturbing at the same time.
"The Omnivore's Dilemma : A Natural History of Four Meals" by Michael Pollan
Even before Wall-Mart announced they would sell "organic" food, I knew there were issues with what organic actually means. Now you can be sure that there will be a lot of price pressure on "organic food" which will cause businesses to stretch the definition as far as they can.
In truth, "organic" means a lot less than most of us assume. For instance there are plenty of organic cows that never eat (or see) a blade of grass and organic chicken that never goes outside the Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO).
- Pollan talks about the industrial food industry, the industrial organic industry, and the "deep" organic farms.
- He talks about the dependence of industrial food on transportation, ie oil fuel, and the expectations we consumers have about choice.
- He points out that Americans spend less on food than any other country and any people in history (only 6%) - so we can afford to spend more on healthy food.
Pollan is speaking in Seattle tonight to promote his book. If you cannot see him, buy his book or listen to the interview podcast.
'The Omnivore's Dilemma'
05/12/2006 9:00 am
Do you eat healthy? Do you know where the food you eat comes from? If not, Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma; A Natural History of Four Meals, has done the research for you. To discover what we should and should not eat, Pollan researched three food chains; industrialized food, organic, and the food we hunt and gather ourselves.
So, what's for dinner? Maybe you'll change the menu after this hour of Weekday.
Guests:
Micheal Penn is the author of three previous books: Second Nature, A Place of My Own and The Botany of Desire; a New York Times bestseller. He is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and a journalism teacher at Berkley. His new book is The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.Related Events:
Michael Pollan will be speaking tonight at Third Place books (Lake Forest Park) at 6:30 PM
