By working with some of the county’s 3,000 small farmers to provide food banks and underserved communities with local produce, the group is addressing food insecurity and building climate resilience.
January 29, 2010
On Wednesday, Michael Pollan appeared on Oprah to discuss the food system and the film Food, Inc. At the beginning of the program, entitled “Before You Grocery Shop Again: Food 101,” Oprah said that she saw Food, Inc., and it inspired her to host this discussion. “We all have to start paying more attention to what we’re putting in our bodies,” she said. “Do you know where you food really comes from? What’s been added, what’s been taken out? What goes down before they put a label on it?” Interspersed throughout the show were clips of the film, including the film’s introduction on the disconnect between our idea of food production and its reality; chicken production, featuring a farmer speaking out against the industry; and a family that can’t afford to eat real food and is forced to choose fast food.
Pollan explained how “the less we spend on food, the more we spend on healthcare,” siting statistics that show that in 1960, we spent 18% of our income on food and 5% on healthcare nationally, while we now spend 9% of our income on food and 17% on healthcare nationally. They got into the nitty gritty about the western diet and its pitfalls, and Oprah got a laugh when she exclaimed, “the low-fat kick made everybody fatter!”
When Oprah asks Pollan what he eats, and he speaks in favor of cooking: “I think cooking is really key because it’s the only way you’re going to take back control of your diet from the corporations who want to cook for us,” he said. “The fact is, so far corporations don’t cook that well. They tend to use too much salt, fat and sugar—much more than you would ever use at home.” The best line in the program came from Oprah: “We need a food revolution, because people want the corporations to cook for them because it all boils down to convenience.” Pollan agreed, saying that when you understand what it takes to make the food we are currently eating, “you lose your appetite.”
Oprah later asked Pollan if he eats meat, and he talks about being “picky” about the meat he eats and making sustainable choices, saying “I don’t eat feedlot meat.” Oprah then provoked a laugh by asking “you’re not worried about saying bad things about beef?” referring to the lawsuit filed against her by the beef industry 1996. (That episode focused on mad cow disease, and one of her guests described the industry’s practice of feeding processed livestock back to the cows, to which she responded to by saying that it “just stopped me cold from eating another burger.”)
The full episode is worth watching, and we’ve posted the available videos from around the web below:
Part 2:
…which gets cut off, and the ending is very worth watching:
December 7, 2023
By working with some of the county’s 3,000 small farmers to provide food banks and underserved communities with local produce, the group is addressing food insecurity and building climate resilience.
December 5, 2023
December 4, 2023
November 29, 2023
November 28, 2023
November 28, 2023
That was a great show! I spend a lot of energy on vehemently resisting watching Oprah. But my wife convinced me to sit and watch this episode...it helped that Michael Pollan was the guest.
I am a small grass based Texas cattle producer,a boisterous advocate of the local "ag" producer, and a "preacher" on buying locally grown food.
I would like the general public to understand that there many like myself, and growing, who have a huge respect for the land, our crops, and especially our animals. I truly love "my girls"; providing them with nutritious forage, room to roam, and an "ear scratch" when they come up. As I said, there are many more like me.
The "buy local" thing is not just about saving the small farmer. What people need to realize is the personal health benefits as well. We should all stay informed, especially when it comes to our food. Where did it come from, how was it grown, and when was it harvested(?) are questions we should all ask.
Thanks for a great post...and, having just discovered this site, I am having fun reading all the good stuff here.
Thanks for all the hard work you do to support a more sustainable food system!
Judi aka LA Farm Girl
Stay tuned for The Pocketbook Shows.
For a great insight into our animal torture food system, read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. And The Ethics of What We Eat by Peter Singer. Both very valuable in their own way. They don't step on each other's toes but add significant insight.
By the way, for the grass-fed cattle farmer who commented above,can you stop the insanity at the slaughterhouses? Cows going thru the line ALIVE?