Newsweek
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Jun 12, 2009 09:00 AM
By Nicki Gostin
The last few years have been interesting times for food and eating
habits, as "slow food," locavores and farmer's markets have entered
mainstream conversations about how we eat. This spring saw Michelle
Obama planting the first garden on White House grounds since the era of
President Roosevelt. One of the Pied Pipers leading the movement to eat
more fresh, local fruits, vegetables and meats has been author Michael
Pollan. In books such as In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto and The Omnivore's Dilemma,
Pollan explains why junk food really is junky and why it's so important
not to eat food that has ingredients that you can't even pronounce. Now
Pollan appears in the new documentary Food Inc., a disturbing
look at giant food companies in the United States, with a focus on the
beef industry. NEWSWEEK's Nicki Gostin spoke with Pollan about whether
the cost of food at farmer's markets is worth it, why Europeans eat
better than Americans and the steps we can all take to improve how we
eat. (For more Pollan, check out head-to-hoof article on pork, for which he was interviewed). Excerpts:
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