Pollan on NPR

In a recent NY Times Magazine article, Farmer-in-Chief, Michael Pollan addressed the candidates regarding the close ties between major political topics and food policy - a topic upon which Pollan has written a number of books and essays.

Pollan recently appeared on NPR's Fresh Air. Audio of interview can be found here. (thnx Jonathan)

And NYT's Tara-Parker Pope blogged about Pollan and his concerns this morning. An excerpt from her post:

Mr. Pollan notes that food is a bipartisan issue, and that both parties have dismal track records on agricultural policy. Food, he argues, is the ultimate “solar” product, but the current food system, with its focus on the monocultures of soy, wheat and corn, is heavily dependent on natural gas and oil to make fertilizers and pesticides as well as to import and transport food.

One of Mr. Pollan’s concerns is that national policies subsidize the least healthful calories that we eat. He notes that the “building blocks” of fast food are soy and corn, used to make hydrogenated soy oil, the protein and starch in cattle and chicken feed, and high-fructose corn syrup used in sodas and sweets.