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I'm so psyched! I get to meet/hear Michael Pollan tomorrow. (Now where's Doran??)

Colleen
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Colleen

Colleen

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I am so, so, SO psyched right now! Author/journalist/food activist Michael Pollan is speaking at the university here in Bellingham tomorrow night. Tickets went on sale in November and the event sold out before I'd even heard about it. Since then, I've been trying to no avail to get tix. Me-n-a lot of other people on craigslist! Someone actually contacted me last week with two tickets but I was away for the day and by the time I returned her email, she'd sold them to someone else. Drat!

 

Anyway, in the past day or so I've been reduced to begging. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? And it paid off, big time! A professor whose classes have toured our place has connections with the organizers. She's giving me her ticket (which I guess techincally she doesn't need) and I can also attend the pre-lecture reception for Pollan. (Which, incidentally, will have food to die for. Many of the business events I attend are catered by this couple and it's a divine experience.)

 

The downside is that the woman could only finagle this for one person. That'd be, um, me. Bummer for the real farmer in the family but he's happy for me.

 

wOOt!!!

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Doran

Doran

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What is his talk title? I'm so curious to know what he thinks (and you, too, for that matter) about H.R. 875, codex alimentarius, and that sort of governmental bungling with the food system. But, maybe he'll just stick to more uplifting topics, like how to eat locally.

 

I envy you. Take good notes. And a couple of books for him to sign, maybe. :D

 

 

p.s. Somebody found me on Facebook to let me know about your news!

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Liz CA

Liz CA

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What is his talk title? I'm so curious to know what he thinks (and you, too, for that matter) about H.R. 875, codex alimentarius, and that sort of governmental bungling with the food system. But, maybe he'll just stick to more uplifting topics, like how to eat locally.

 

I envy you. Take good notes. And a couple of books for him to sign, maybe. :D

 

 

p.s. Somebody found me on Facebook to let me know about your news!

 

So that is where you are hanging out these days, huh?

Pollan must be on tour, he is scheduled in CA in early spring.

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Colleen

Colleen

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Thanks for sharing my enthusiasm! It was a good evening. Not as great as I'd hoped, but definitely a winner. One problem was that I'd had a somewhat hectic day. Drove back and forth, here and there. Ended up missing my oldest son's swim meet. Had to get motivated to go back out in the dark, windy, very rainy night, and had some Issues figuring out which lot I was allowed to park in at the campus.

 

The reception was...just okay. It was only about 50 people, so that was nice, but I didn't get a chance to talk to Michael and that was not nice. I bided my time, chatting with various and sundry other people I knew while he was introduced to one person after another. Kept eyeing the clock because I knew how long this reception was supposed to last and I was bound and determined not to miss my chance. And then, just as I was headed over to chat, he was whisked out of the room. I swear I almost ran after him. (You wouldn't put it past me, would you?:tongue_smilie:) Unfortunately, I had no wine in me (there was NO wine at this reception...the horror!) so my inhibitions were in place and I let him go unharassed.

 

Naturally, since the woman who got me into the whole affair was right there, I wasn't about to throw a pity party but just between you-n-me, I was more than a bit bummed. I was really the only person there who actually earns a living from farming and yet one of the few who didn't have a chance to chat with him. Somethin' ain't right there. Not that I'm biased.;)

 

Then it was off to the talk and that was excellent of course. He's such a gifted speaker and the choir are willing recipients of the message. But he didn't present anything new, per se. Like you, Doran, I wanted him to talk more about policy but he really didn't, aside from general comments (hopefully we'll have universal health care soon, the farm bill is ridiculous, etc). He only spoke for a woefully brief hour; I thought it'd be much longer. But he sure knows how to pack a lot into 60 minutes.

 

When the talk was done, he spent time signing books. Unlike the hoards of students there, I'm not one to line up and wait for an autograph. Nope. I'm one to wait until the line is gone and then announce that we need a picture together.:D That, after all, was why I sported my Organic Valley button all evening. Alas and alack, I can't say we did more than chat briefly. Which is no wonder. He's "on" for hours, clearly, and no doubt wanted nothing more than to go back to his hotel and hit the hay. But one day, I promise, I'm going to actually sit and have a beer with this guy and really talk. Better yet, I'm going to sit and have a beer with him and George Siemon (CE-I-E-I-O of Organic Valley) and listen to them talk. How cool would that be?

 

Pollan_picnik.jpg

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Colleen

Colleen

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What is his talk title? I'm so curious to know what he thinks (and you, too, for that matter) about H.R. 875, codex alimentarius, and that sort of governmental bungling with the food system. But, maybe he'll just stick to more uplifting topics, like how to eat locally.
Yeah, he didn't go too deep. The title of the talk was "The Sun Food Agenda", described on his website as follows:

 

"By replacing the energy of the sun with energy from fossil fuels, industrial agriculture has made food impressively cheap and abundant. But this achievement has come at a cost. Today, our food system is implicated in three of the most critical problems facing our society: the energy crisis, the climate crisis, and the health care crisis. None of these problems can be addressed without reforming the way America eats. In this inspiring multimedia presentation, Pollan connects the dots between food and health (personal as well as environmental), and introduces us to some of the visionaries who are “resolarizing†the food system. The Sun Food Agenda – involving change at the level of the farm, the marketplace and the culture- promises to improve our health, cut our dependence on fossil fuel, and help solve the climate crisis."

I envy you. Take good notes. And a couple of books for him to sign, maybe. :D
Book signing? Pish posh. Know ye me not, dear friend? As described in my post below, I bypassed a mere autograph and went for photographic proof that he and I share the same taste in eyewear.
Somebody found me on Facebook to let me know about your news!
Facebook? FACEBOOK? Say it ain't so. "Will the last person left not doing Facebook please turn out the lights?" That'd be...me.:D
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Carol in Cal.

Carol in Cal.

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Yeah, he didn't go too deep. The title of the talk was "The Sun Food Agenda", described on his website as follows:

 

"By replacing the energy of the sun with energy from fossil fuels, industrial agriculture has made food impressively cheap and abundant. But this achievement has come at a cost. Today, our food system is implicated in three of the most critical problems facing our society: the energy crisis, the climate crisis, and the health care crisis. None of these problems can be addressed without reforming the way America eats. In this inspiring multimedia presentation, Pollan connects the dots between food and health (personal as well as environmental), and introduces us to some of the visionaries who are “resolarizing†the food system. The Sun Food Agenda – involving change at the level of the farm, the marketplace and the culture- promises to improve our health, cut our dependence on fossil fuel, and help solve the climate crisis."

D

 

Obviously Pollan is a very capable, engaging writer, which gets him quite an audience.

 

But where he really breaks new ground is in synthesizing information that most people have only heard in bits and pieces, assigning it credibility (or not), and then bottom lining it into something eminently reasonable that can become a rallying cry.

 

For instance, I've read about Weston Price and own Nourishing Traditions, but I have not really been convinced about them until reading Pollan's summary of why they are credible.

 

His quirky arguments that we are mostly made of corn now, and the implications of that (more so than the Mayans! Boggle!) pull together a great deal about agriculture, politics, the petro-chemical industry, diet, disease, etc.--that's his synthesis coming into play.

 

Recently his book about what to eat--"Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much."--has been effective in bottom lining the combined efforts and research of many into something easy to remember and thus easier to implement.

 

And now, he is applying that same bottom lining to the broader issues--the Sun Food Agenda. That's going to be the tag line for a lot of 'beyond organic' sustainable agriculture and agricultural policy lobbying from now on, I'll bet. It's brilliant! I love it!

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Doran

Doran

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As I understand it, he is actually very approachable. But, probably less so when he's faced with a room full of "adoring fans." (Still, the photo is a keeper!) Here on the right coast, our former landlord's daughter & husband bid at a fundraiser on an auction item for a dinner with him. Pretty sure it was in Berkley. They spoke very highly of their time with him, and of his knowledge and accessibility.

 

I agree w/ Carol in CA -- he has a gift for synthesizing a lot into a sparkly gem. He has made some huge inroads into a very broken system (as, btw, have you and Hans), and I respect him tremendously for that. I'm glad you got to attend the talk, Colleen. At least it may inspire you a bit to continue working so hard at what you do.

 

Oh, and yes. Facebook. Let me know if you ever get over there. ;)

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Colleen

Colleen

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Obviously Pollan is a very capable, engaging writer, which gets him quite an audience. But where he really breaks new ground is in synthesizing information that most people have only heard in bits and pieces, assigning it credibility (or not), and then bottom lining it into something eminently reasonable that can become a rallying cry.

Absolutely! You expressed that well, Carol.

His quirky arguments that we are mostly made of corn now, and the implications of that (more so than the Mayans! Boggle!) pull together a great deal about agriculture, politics, the petro-chemical industry, diet, disease, etc.--that's his synthesis coming into play.

That's interesting to me that you'd describe this as a quirky argument!

 

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Colleen

Colleen

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As I understand it, he is actually very approachable.

Totally! When I came home last night, I used this very word when describing him to Hans. I didn't mean to imply he was otherwise. Just that meaningful, deep conversation isn't going to happen in the midst of a pre-lecture reception or post-lecture crowd.

Oh, and yes. Facebook. Let me know if you ever get over there. ;)

I will. But I won't.:D

 

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newlifemom

newlifemom

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Hehehe...I was wondering how long it would be before someone rated this one-star. People here are so dreadfully predictable ~ and amusing.

 

Not me! :D:D:D:D

 

I am happy for you and am also trying to adjust my budget so I can afford to only buy Organic Valley.

[Because I cannot get any closer to farming than that.]

:tongue_smilie:

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