michael pollan at grace cathedral

saw food writer and environmentalist michael pollan at the grace cathedral forum this morning speaking about, well, food and his new book in defense of food, the follow-up to his excellent the omnivore's dilemma. the most basic message of the book, as written on the cover, is: "eat food. not too much. mostly plants." and by food he means, for instance, something your grandmother might recognize as such, rather than the hyper-processed food-like substances crowding our groceries. of course there's a more nuanced argument, or rather defense, in the book and pollan is remarkable for, among other things, looking, and writing eloquently about, the whole picture when it comes to what we put into our bodies, from the farms and policies subsidizing them straight through to our kitchens. which is why you should pick up a copy for yourself.

if you'd like to hear something from the man himself you can stream and, possibly, download the talk from this morning at the grace cathedral online library. (you'll need real player.) it was a great discussion, inside the actor's studio-style, touching on various aspects of food culture and the rise of nutrionism, and well worth a listen. and when you're done listening, buy, or rent from your local library, the book(s).

the little hands of asphalt - eating fish in hamburger heaven
thin lizzy - things ain't working out down at the farm
the dragons - food for my soul