Does Michael Pollan matter? Come join the conversation!

I like Michael Pollan’s books, and I like your blog.

But you said:
“Michael Pollan is not a vegetarian. To me, this is probably the single most influential thing about him. Why? It signals to mainstream America that he’s not an extremist ...“

Oh, hogwash! Vegetarians aren’t necessarily extremists.

Extremism is in the mind of the critic.

My friends consider me an extremist because I eat lots and lots of eggs fried in butter.

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I think Michael Pollen’s message is very important. Whether we like it or not, we need to advocate for ourselves when it comes to our health and the food we eat. We need to be conscious of what we are eating, how much we are eating, and where our food comes from. It is funny that people are wary of “extremists” when in reality the advertising of the unhealthy food we are bombarded with are “extreme” and profit those whose motives might not be entirely sincere.

I’m someone who loves to eat and I’m grateful for Pollen’s voice to remind me to think about how I am fueling my body. I don’t always like the message . . . but I’m glad he is out there.

Beverly, thank you for mentioning Michael Pollen.

Hi and thanks so much for your comments! I think I must feel inherently guilty for not being able to bite the bullet and become a vegetarian. I really like meat, and so for me, it was comforting to read that Pollan advocates the “circular” motion of animals raised on farms with their excrement going back to enrich the crops…

So today I’m headed to Whole Foods to scope out the meat case. I have to say that since I’m in the empty nest now, the expense of going Pollan’s way will be a lot less. I dunno how I’d feel about it if I was still feeding teenagers with their voracious appetites!

Some thoughts:
Patti makes a good point that the true ‘extremists’ are really those that are part of the massive food marketing of unhealthy foods that take up a huge mid-section (literally and figuratively) of our American supermarkets. I completely agree!

I’ve read Pollan’s In Defense of Food.  I’ve also recently watched Food, Inc which interviews Pollan. Both focus on the mistreatment of animals in factory farms, and the effect on the health of consumers (and more).  I personally do not want to purchase meat that has been part of a chain of mistreatment, so I choose to eat locally and organically much more after reading Pollan’s book.

I mostly eat vegetarian and I think the single-best way to protect our earth from abuse, is to eliminate factory farms and for all of us, especially Americans, to eat less meat.

A Cook in NY…just curious, was hearing Pollan your main influence to cut back on meat or were you doing that already? When you do eat meat, does it tend to be seafood or chicken or beef or pork? You’re in NY so you probably have no trouble finding local meats, but I wonder how hard it is to find in “mainstream” US?
Thanks!

Pollan has helped to open my eyes, along with Fastbook Nation and Supersize Me.

He makes me work harder to feed ourselves better.

Beverly - To answer your question: I was already cutting back on eating meat before I read Pollan, but he basically clinched the argument for me.  And yes, getting local organic meat is not an issue where I live but I live in a very rural area—not in NYC!  I think if you look, you can find local meat pretty much all over the US.

I went to Whole Foods in Miami yesterday and the only “family farmed” meat was from a farm in Georgia (and some in Canada that was organic, but unclear if it was from a family farm). So even though this family farmed meat fits Pollan’s criteria for “circular motion” meats, this is far from local and the shipping impact on the environment would certainly not comply!

So now I am going to research to see if anyone in South Florida sells family farmed meat. I know there are ranches in Central Florida, but that’s still 4 hours away.

I didn’t know who Pollan was until I read this post. He certainly sounds like an amazing guy. Thank you for sharing information about him and his philosophy.

xoxo

Nisrine

I finally got around to watching Food, Inc. Whew! Has anyone else seen the documentary and what did you think?

I love that these types of conversations are out there. I also love Micahel Pollan but I am also a fan of Dr. Mercola, Al Sears, Dr. Stephen Sinatra, Dr. David Williams, Dr. Bruce West and many others who have been speaking up for years in an attempt to get us all to realize that we are responsible for our own health. I think FOOD, INC. is the perfect “kick start” to this approach to living as the raw facts will astound you and shock you into action. Do not watch it as a family before you see it yourself as the cruelty to animals will be too hard for some. Go for organic cage free (preferably range) chickens which have been air chilled, eggs from organic cage free hens, grass fed beef and organic fruits and veggies. If enough of us do this the cost will come down. The old rule of supply and demand will kick in and we will start becoming a healthier nation. Follow Pollans FOOD RULES and you will know what NOT to buy ( i.e. stay away from the middle aisles of the grocery store)
Do share and spread your interest in our food supply and the role we play in the health of our families. We can all have so much influence.