My New Guru for Food Reform - Michael Pollan
I have been a big fan of the author and journalist Michael Pollan ever since I read "Botany of Desire" two years ago. Insightful and educational, it discusses the stuff we deal with everyday: our food.
Now to top it off, Pollan has written an open letter to the next U.S. President about reforming the food and agriculture industries. The New York Times Magazine published it in their Food issue and you can read it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin
Its a big item to read, so if you want the broad strokes listen to his October 20 interview on Fresh Air as a podcast here:
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=4985908
His basis is that government subsidies are influencing the kind of foods that are cheaply available, namely wheat and corn syrup. Those subsidies also negatively impact farm diversity and use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Besides government policies, he also makes plugs for revitalizing food culture, making it a regional thing again, and a point of education (for instance, make school lunch part of the curriculum).
I realize Pollan is doing some dreaming, and reponses to his letter have pointed out the tough realities of reform, but I say there's nothing wrong with a dreamer. I wonder how these ideas will influence the Victory Garden of Tomorrow art project?