Michael Pollan on Oprah: woo hoo!

Whoa. Did you watch the Oprah show yesterday? I thought the Michael Pollan and Food, Inc. parts were fantastic (naturally). They touched on all the important stuff: being aware of where your food is coming from and how it is produced; mostly eating food that your great-grandmother would recognize; eating mostly plants; the health consequences of eating a diet focused around convenience foods. It was a lot to pack into an hour. But it felt monumental -- like, was this the first time these issues have been discussed on such a huge platform that reaches such a diverse audience? Maybe I'm making more of it than it was. But maybe this gets the food reform ball rolling? Cutting corn subsidies? Making fresh produce more available and affordable?

I was a tad disappointed in the Alicia Silverstone segment, and I wondered what our vegetarian and vegan readers thought about it. I liked listening to her talk about her health transformation and her thoughts on the treatment of animals. But she kind of gushed about processed vegan foods, which are expensive and, well, processed. I've never been under the impression that non-meat eaters depended on processed foods much. And I just never really identify with the lifestyles of celebrities. Thoughts?

Anyhoo, I thought all-in-all it was pretty cool. You've got to see Food, Inc. if you haven't already. (If you have Netflix you can 'watch it instantly' online.) And pick up a Michael Pollan book from the public library (though you might want to make it part of your permanent home library)! 

Did you watch it, like it, learn anything new?