Michael Pollan

Right now I'm very slowly reading a book by Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma. I became aware of this book due to an excerpt from it that was published in Smithsonian a few months ago which aroused my interest.

The reason I mention this is that Michael Pollan is going to give a lecture here at UNC on Wednesday October 11th. Since several of the people that read my blog are here in NC I thought I'd mention the lecture in case anyone else wants to go hear Pollan talk. He's also going to be at a dinner gig Tuesday night but that's $100 a plate and my blood runs cold when I hear prices like that! Have I ever mentioned that I'm cheap?

In any case, his lecture at UNC on Wednesday night (7pm) is free though there's only limited seating since it's being held in a planetarium and those things tend to be smaller than the typical lecture hall. I expect to go but since I hate crowds I also suspect I'll back out at the last minute. Just me being me.

So far the book is really good. I don't agree with a lot of what he says, but I didn't expect to. Pollan's arguments are cogent as he follows each of the food chains that feed us--industrial food, organic food, and food we get for ourselves--from the source to an actual meal. It's very illuminating reading for anyone that is interested in how the food we eat actually gets to the table.

Comments

Carli N. Wendell said…
I am, like, afraid to read that book. But it looks interesting. Enjoy! I also avoid crowds like the plague. Please let us know what he has to say if you go.
2:18 PM
Carli N. Wendell said…
oh, and michele blah blah blah.
2:18 PM
Thumper said…
$100 a plate? No one is worth that much...I hope the money goes to a really good charity.

And I'm a little fraid to read the book. I think I like my ignorance about my food...

Got here via Michele's today :)
2:37 PM
The Mistress of the Dark said…
Sounds like a very interesting book. $100 a plate, not really bad. I've seen some speakers come through Pittsburgh at much higher prices.

Here via Michele's.
7:50 PM
Anonymous said…
Food supply seems to be getting more press. On Sunday the whole morning on CBC radio was interviews around that, heritage seeds, organic, farming state of economics, what is healthy food, etc.
9:41 AM
Anonymous said…
Reading about food can be scary. But we really should eat what grows by us.

I dislike crowds, also.

What do you get for 100.00 a plate? Is it going towards charity?
11:34 AM
Anonymous said…
well then, enjoy the talk and educate us later.
8:34 AM
carmilevy said…
I admire writers who aren't afraid to push readers' buttons. I admire readers who recognize that they don't need to agree with everything they read; that dialog comes from interfacing with those with whom we don't necessarily see eye to eye.

Nicely put. You've inspired me to add another great work to my reading list.
9:07 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nitroflex at home

Image
I mentioned a few days ago that I'd purchased off of Craig's List an exercise machine. A Nitroflex, to be more specific, for the grand sum of $75. The boxes you see to the left were bought by the seller as discontinued merchandise over a year ago and stored in his back yard storage shed. You might be able to see some of the bugs and such that had made their homes on these boxes. I left them out on my deck for a few days before opening them to allow the insects to leave gracefully or die in the sun. The picture to the left is the pieces from the box, unboxed, and up in one of my upstairs bedrooms. For the most part it wasn't difficult to move it around though two pieces were heavy and a number of them were kinda long and bulky to be wandering about the house with. Surprisingly, this kit didn't require any extra tools. There were two allen keys and one combo wrench included in the boxes and that was all it took to put it together. The whole thing only took about half an h...
Read more

ankle update

S ince a few people object to seeing my feet --poor misdirected souls--I have the two pictures below hidden behind links. Behold them at your own risk! *evil laugh* Actually they're not scary though the first one is a little colorful. T he first picture shows my ankle and foot from the side, as labeled. You can see a lot of general edema of the entire foot. There's also a good bit of discoloration of the ankle area and to a lesser degree the top of the foot all the way down to the toes. The side view is a lot worse in this regard than the top view. T he second picture shows the two feet from the top so you can compare the somewhat normal looking right foot to the injured left foot. There's not much abnormal color on this view but you can see the "sausage like" swelling of the left foot. It's this swelling that is causing my main problem--I can't get the foot into my boots and I need the boots to support the ankle. Damn Catch-22. Side view, looking inward ...
Read more

Ostrich poop found here

Image
I took these pictures last Fall while visiting the NC Zoo. On the left you can see what appears to be a nice polite ostrich just wandering around. This impression soon turns out to be false when her dowdy tail feathers raise up and reveal a puckered anus. Ewwww! If you look carefully, you can see that she's made a deposit on the ground. More ewwww! Feel free to click on the image to make them bigger. Details can make all the difference in these shots. In other matters, aren't those really bony legs they have? And couldn't they have a little more color?
Read more