Food Writer Michael Pollan Visits Zingerman's Roadhouse

On April 11, Michael Pollan joined the Zingerman's Roadhouse gang and Chris Bedford, Michigan Food Filmmaker, to talk about his favorite topic: food. I joined about 100 lucky people to eat Zingerman's food - mostly Michigan-sourced - and hear what he had to say.

He discussed food shed assessments - that we need to do an overview of what food sources we have in our region, and whether there are gaps. He defended conventional farmers, saying that the organizations representing them are often not doing things that benefit them. Monopolies in farming threaten both eaters and farmers.

Pollan believes that the new food movement creates an alternative economy, with structures such as farmers markets, that eliminate the middleman. He says we need to diversity both economically and biologically.

He feels that organic farming should be subsidized, as conventional farming currently is. If it was, organic food would be more affordable for all. As it is, Pollan calls some of our inner cities "food deserts", with very few grocery stores. If tax incentives were offered to build groceries in inner cities, there would be many more food choices there. Also, when farmers market vouchers are put in inner cities, the farmers markets will follow.

When asked about microwave ovens, Pollan said he feels that they have changed eating in America. They've destroyed family dinners, in that each person has his or her own entree', and they're heated and eaten at different times. He feels that all eating the same thing is important to a family.

Pollan feels the way we get our food now - often being trucked thousands of miles - is unsustainable. Once oil prices go up, and water is scarcer (for irrigation on a large scale), things will change. We need to build up alternatives now so when the breakdown comes, we can still eat. He mentioned Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface Farm featured in Pollan's "Ominvore's Dilemma". He feels that Salatin's methods and philosophies of food production and distribution (local) is the tip of a reformation.

-Cathy Muha