Michael Pollan Talks Politics and Victory Gardens

Last week Michael Pollan came to Seattle as part of Bastyr University's Founders' Day Weekend. I attended the talk and took away a few key points. I strongly recommend everyone read his last two books: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and  In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. A full review of the evening can be found here.

On politics

• The big problematic issues we face in this country all have roots in the food system and the problems with that system. Our current food system contributes 1/3 of the total greenhouse gases we produce and consumes 20% of the fossil fuels we use. 30%-40% of the increase in the cost of food we've seen over the past few years is due to the conversion of farmland from producing REAL food to producing ethanol. The foods we're eating (speaking generally here) are not "REAL" foods and not healthy. So we've tied food back to Climate Change, Health Care, and the Energy Crisis.
• Wouldn't it be great if we had a Victory Garden at the White House. What if President-Elect Obama had not only a head gardener, but a head farmer. Just turn 5 acres of the White House lawn into a garden. The White House could give the food away to local food banks, who would have fresh, locally grown food.

On eating locally

• We are very lucky here in Seattle. We've got farmers markets all around the city. Many inner cities simply don't have any. We need to create incentives that get the farmers markets into the cities.

On organic

• One of the problems with organic (and particularly big organic) is that people are now conditioned to ask vendors "Are you organic?" If the vendor answers no, that's the end of the conversation and some people will just walk away. Organic certification is expensive (just for the paperwork). So while a farm might actually be organic, or even better than organic, they might not have paid for the certification.

On changing behaviors

• The average American eats 9 oz of meat per day. If everyone set aside one day a week without meat, we could save the equivalent greenhouse gases of taking 20 million cars off the the road.
• Grass fed meat can actually give back to the environment. Sure, the cows produce methane, but they also take care of the soil and help it absorb carbon dioxide.