Michael Pollan

And they came after me and they came after Eric Schlosser and it was a real reminder how much power there is in the status quo in food. I had a series, I used to get invited to speak at agricultural schools, land grant colleges, and I love going to talk to young farmers.

And all of a sudden, those invitations would get canceled, or I would go and there would be some counter-programming to shrink my audience.

And all of a sudden, those invitations would get canceled, or I would go and there would be some counter-programming to shrink my audience.

And all of a sudden, those invitations would get canceled, or I would go and there would be some counter-programming to shrink my audience.

That kind of stuff. And then I had a gig at Cal Poly where they announced that It couldn't be a speech without challenge. I had to do a debate instead. Subsequently came out in the Los Angeles Times that the owner of the biggest feedlot in California, Harris Ranch, had threatened the president of Cal Poly if I was allowed to speak unchallenged and threatened to withdraw a gift.

That kind of stuff. And then I had a gig at Cal Poly where they announced that It couldn't be a speech without challenge. I had to do a debate instead. Subsequently came out in the Los Angeles Times that the owner of the biggest feedlot in California, Harris Ranch, had threatened the president of Cal Poly if I was allowed to speak unchallenged and threatened to withdraw a gift.

That kind of stuff. And then I had a gig at Cal Poly where they announced that It couldn't be a speech without challenge. I had to do a debate instead. Subsequently came out in the Los Angeles Times that the owner of the biggest feedlot in California, Harris Ranch, had threatened the president of Cal Poly if I was allowed to speak unchallenged and threatened to withdraw a gift.

And in the same letter, which they got a hold of at the LA Times, he insisted they cancel a course on the grass feeding of livestock. of ruminants. And then I had a gig canceled at Western Washington University. And it all turned out to be Farm Bureau organized. And so it was an interesting reminder to me. It's like the McCarthy era.

And in the same letter, which they got a hold of at the LA Times, he insisted they cancel a course on the grass feeding of livestock. of ruminants. And then I had a gig canceled at Western Washington University. And it all turned out to be Farm Bureau organized. And so it was an interesting reminder to me. It's like the McCarthy era.

And in the same letter, which they got a hold of at the LA Times, he insisted they cancel a course on the grass feeding of livestock. of ruminants. And then I had a gig canceled at Western Washington University. And it all turned out to be Farm Bureau organized. And so it was an interesting reminder to me. It's like the McCarthy era.

A foodist. And the idea they don't want young farmers to hear from somebody like me is a sign of, I think, insecurity. Anyway, but I thought I was done after I did that. I wrote several books on food. In addition to Omnivore's Dilemma, there was In Defense of Food and Food Rules. Botany of Desire had a lot of material on food. So I thought I had said what I had to say.

A foodist. And the idea they don't want young farmers to hear from somebody like me is a sign of, I think, insecurity. Anyway, but I thought I was done after I did that. I wrote several books on food. In addition to Omnivore's Dilemma, there was In Defense of Food and Food Rules. Botany of Desire had a lot of material on food. So I thought I had said what I had to say.

A foodist. And the idea they don't want young farmers to hear from somebody like me is a sign of, I think, insecurity. Anyway, but I thought I was done after I did that. I wrote several books on food. In addition to Omnivore's Dilemma, there was In Defense of Food and Food Rules. Botany of Desire had a lot of material on food. So I thought I had said what I had to say.

And there was a whole generation of young food journalists who had taken the baton. And that was wonderful to see. And I moved on to other topics. But then when the pandemic hit... something really interesting and revealing happened with the food system.

And there was a whole generation of young food journalists who had taken the baton. And that was wonderful to see. And I moved on to other topics. But then when the pandemic hit... something really interesting and revealing happened with the food system.

And there was a whole generation of young food journalists who had taken the baton. And that was wonderful to see. And I moved on to other topics. But then when the pandemic hit... something really interesting and revealing happened with the food system.

And you'll remember, you have to go back to those early days in March and April and May of 2020, when suddenly you couldn't find food in the supermarket. The shelves were bare. And at the same time, you saw on your television this incredible split screen, the bare shelves on one side, on the other, farmer's euthanizing chickens and pigs and spilling milk out on the ground.

And you'll remember, you have to go back to those early days in March and April and May of 2020, when suddenly you couldn't find food in the supermarket. The shelves were bare. And at the same time, you saw on your television this incredible split screen, the bare shelves on one side, on the other, farmer's euthanizing chickens and pigs and spilling milk out on the ground.

And you'll remember, you have to go back to those early days in March and April and May of 2020, when suddenly you couldn't find food in the supermarket. The shelves were bare. And at the same time, you saw on your television this incredible split screen, the bare shelves on one side, on the other, farmer's euthanizing chickens and pigs and spilling milk out on the ground.

And the reason was that our food system, it turns out we have two food systems. One supplies supermarkets and consumers and the other supplies institutions, whether it's restaurants or schools or factories. And that one completely shut down because nobody was going to work or school. And so everyone got all their food at the supermarket or tried to, and the system crashed for a period of time.