Spotlight
March 2008
Fussy Eater
Michael Pollan—the big, unpasteurized cheese of ethical eating—comes to town By Kathryn Hayward
Image credit: Alla Malley
Railing against everything from agri-business to Twinkies, Michael Pollan, a New York Times contributor and Knight Professor of Journalism at Berkeley, has done more than any other writer to get us thinking about what we eat. His arguments are refreshingly logical (eat things your grandmother would recognize as food) and relatively easy to swallow (enjoy dinner, don’t eat in the car). Can’t quote him chapter and verse despite his celeb status? Don’t worry—we’ve turned the pages so you don’t have to.
The gist: How apples, tulips, marijuana and potatoes have thrived by satisfying our desire for sweetness, beauty, buzz and control.
Startling revelation: Giving dark overtones to the phrase “eat your veggies,” Monsanto’s NewLeaf potato, genetically engineered to produce its own insecticide, is itself registered as a pesticide.
The gist: With the industrialization of food, we no longer know where our grub comes from. Pollan traces four meals back to their source.
Startling revelation: If you are what you eat, you are probably corn. To wit: a Chicken McNugget has 38 ingredients, 13 of which are derived from corn.
The gist: He spills the beans on the first page: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” This means no Go-Gurt in a tube, people.
Startling revelation: The FDA recently signed a health claim for Frito-Lay (eating chips fried in polyunsaturated fats is apparently better for you than eating other fat-fried chips).
Matt Galloway interviews Michael Pollan and hosts a Q&A. Feb. 27. $10. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave., 416-920-2665.
