Questions for Tonight's Discussion

Here are some questions that will get us started!

1. Has Michael Pollan changed the way you think about food? Have you adopted any of his recommendations?

2. Michael Pollan has a particular friend to help him understand the food chain he is investigating: George Naylor in Iowa, Joel Salatin at Polyface, and Angelo Garro in northern California. Do you know anybody similar to these men?

3. Probably my favorite questions - If Michael Pollan were coming to your place for dinner, what would you serve him and why?

I also found some really good questions and a list of related resources from the Sierra Club -

Discussion questions

* Which of the four meals Pollan describes--fast food, industrial organic, "beyond organic," or entirely self-made--is closest to what you normally eat? Did you learn anything about how it's made that surprised you? Will you make any changes in your eating habits as a result?

* "If nature won't draw a line around human appetites, then human culture must step in," Pollan writes. Are there certain foods you won't eat for moral, philosophical, or environmental reasons? If so, when and why did you decide to stop eating them?

* Pollan believes that Americans are particularly subject to food fads and anxieties because we have "no strong, stable culinary tradition to guide us." What are your family or community traditions, if any, and how do they (or the lack of them) affect your relationship with food?

* Have you ever grown, fished, or hunted your own food? How does the experience of eating it compare to eating something from a grocery store or restaurant?

* Pollan writes that the pleasures of eating are "deepened by knowing." Do you agree, or are there some things you'd rather not know about your food?

* "Even if the vegetarian is a more highly evolved human being," Pollan writes, "it seems to me he has lost something along the way"--namely, his or her links to cultural and family traditions, history, and biology. What do you think?

* "Eating's not a bad way to get to know a place," Pollan writes. Describe a meal that deepened your understanding of a location you lived in or visited.

* "Is an industrial organic food chain finally a contradiction in terms?" Pollan asks, deciding that it is. Do you agree?

Related Resources

* Read a Sierra interview with Pollan about the importance of "food-chain journalism" and why Americans are so overweight.

* Listen to an interview with Pollan about The Omnivore's Dilemma and how cooking helps create a better world.

* Follow the story of one cow's life in "Power Steer," a 2002 article Pollan wrote for the New York Times Magazine.

* Explore the modern meat industry with Frontline.

* Read an excerpt from Organic, Inc., a book about how natural foods grew into a multibillion-dollar industry.

* Read and discuss Pollan's 1991 book, Second Nature.