The other day I attended a showing of the documentary “Fresh”, directed by Ana Sofia Joanes, organized by Chipotle Mexican Grill, the locally-grown restaurant known for its burritos made with sustainable ingredients. At 72 minutes, the documentary focuses on people working to make a more sustainable food system. Kelly Smith, a marketing strategist for Chipotle, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Michael Pollan’
Learning to Embrace The Slow Life
April 1st, 2012
Eric Wilson I was washing dishes the other day and bemoaning how time consuming it was. This sparked one of those internal conversations that seem to dominate my thoughts when doing mindless chores. “How much time would I spend going to a restaurant, not to mention money, to have a meal prepared that may or may not [...]
Taking Urban Gardens to the Next Level
March 8th, 2012
Eric Wilson In his 2006 book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Michael Pollan looks at the idea of foraging as one of the four meals he considers in his book (McDonald’s, Whole Foods, and a local farm represent the other three). He starts with the highly industrialized fast food meal and works his [...]
Book Review: Michael Pollan’s Food Rules
February 16th, 2012
Eric Wilson Compared to The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food (reviewed here), Michael Pollan’s Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual is less revolutionary. Instead, his latest book, published in 2009, is more of a reflection on what he’s learned through writing about food in his previous efforts. Comprised of 64 rules in three parts (What should [...]
How to Feed Our Growing Population
November 2nd, 2011
Megan Stilley The world just reached (and flew by) the day when the 7 billion people inhabited the Earth. 7 billion people, that is hard to imagine or comprehend. The crazy thing is, people are not going to stop reproducing anytime soon; current speculation is we will reach 9 billion by 2050. 2050 is not very far [...]
Apples Top List of Worst Fruits and Vegetables for Pesticides; Onions Best
June 15th, 2011
Justin Manger Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its yearly report on pesticides in foods. The short of it? Apples, celery, and strawberries lead on a list of 12 foods that contain “lots” of pesticides. The “Clean 15″, on the other hand, are led by onions, sweet corn, and pineapples. I say “lots” in parentheses [...]
Bringing Locally Raised Meat to Market
August 12th, 2010
Eric Wilson At the heart of the first green revolution stands the increased yields brought about by fertilizer. The food component of the second green revolution may be a mix of organic and locally produced foods. Getting produce to market is relatively easy with the explosion of farmers markets, but locally raised beef is more difficult to [...]
Movie Review: Food Inc
January 11th, 2010
Eric Wilson With some time off over the holidays I sat down in front of my computer and streamed Food, Inc. via Netflix. The film (trailer available below) depicts the current state of the nation’s industrial food system. Food, Inc.’s website provides the following synopsis of the documentary. In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil [...]
Book Review: Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food
July 30th, 2009
Eric Wilson Michael Pollan has written extensively on food and food systems. In 2005 he published The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which looked at the industrial food chain and alternative routes to food production. As an instructor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, Pollan brings a readable style and thorough research to his latest book, In Defense [...]
Farmer’s Markets and CSAs Proliferate Throughout The Country
July 25th, 2009
Eric Wilson Over the past decade, the number of Farmer’s Markets have nearly doubled in number across the country. According to Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, “farmer’s markets have blossomed in recent years, their numbers increasing from 1,755 a decade ago to 3,137 at last count.” Food scares, an increased interest in locally grown food (locavores), consumer [...]
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