January 11, 2008

Michael Pollan is a long-time contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and teaches journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. In his most recent best seller, The Omnivore's Dilemma, he convincingly showed that we are indeed what we eat—and what we eat remakes the world—sparking vital public dialogue about the American way of eating and the ecological and ethical dimensions of our food choices.

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto continues this critical discussion of what to eat, what not to eat, and how to reclaim our health and happiness as eaters. In Defense of Food will be published on January 1, 2008.

What to eat, what not to eat, not too much, mostly plants.

Pollan provides these simple answers to the questions posed in the The Omnivore's Dilemma. Humans used to know how to eat well, he argues. But the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused, complicated and distorted by food industry marketers, nutritional scientist and journalists-all of whom have much to gain from our dietary confusion. As a result, we face today a complex culinary landscape dense with bad advice and foods that are not real.

Edible foodlike substances are often packaged with labels bearing health claims that are typically false or misleading, he says. Real food is fast disappearing from the marketplace, to be replaced by nutrients, and plain old eating by an obsession with nutrition that is, paradoxically, ruining our health, not to mention our meals.

Pollan's sensible and decidedly counterintuitive advice is: Don't eat anything that your great-great grandmother would not recognize as food. Writing In Defense of Food, and affirming the joy of eating, he suggests that if we would pay more for better, well-grown food, but buy less of it, we'll benefit ourselves, our communities and the environment at large.

In looking toward traditional diets the world over, as well as the foods our families-and regions-historically enjoyed, we can recover a more balanced, reasonable, and pleasurable approach to food. Pollan's bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we might start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives and enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy.

Pollan will be interviewed at the evening forum by Michael Shnayerson, contributing editor, Vanity Fair. Shnayerson has written on subjects ranging from politics to arts to the environment, including contributing three stories to Vanity Fair's 2nd "green" issue. His newest book, to be published in January of 2008, is Coal River, which grew out of a magazine article. In West Virginia, reporting for Vanity Fair, Shnayerson found a gripping story on the true cost of coal and the activists working to save their homes and communities from the devastation of mountaintop removal mining.

Event & Ticket Information

Visit with University of Louisville students: An interview and Q&Q session with Michael Pollan will be held at 1:00 p.m., Friday, January 11, at the Chao Auditorium on Belknap Campus. He will be interviewed by Lisa Markowitz associate professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences. The campus visit is open to students, faculty and staff.

The Kentucky Center
501 West Main Street
Downtown Louisville

5:00 p.m. Wine and Cheese offered by Brown-Forman, along with Carmichael's book sale in the lobby of The Kentucky Center

6:00 p.m. Interview with Michael Pollan and Michael Shnayerson, Bomhard Theatre, set and design by Bittners' (Designing for the Way You Live)

Live taping with KET: The Kentucky Network and WFPL: Louisville's NPR News Station

Master of Ceremonies: Courier-Journal Forum Editor, Keith Runyon

7:00 p.m. Q&A with audience

A $17 ticket includes the above three events. A limited number of discounted tickets of $5 each are available for UofL students, faculty and staff at The Kentucky Center box office — UofL photo ID required.

8:15 p.m. Ticketed Dinner with Michael Pollan and Michael Shnayerson

Tickets for all evening events, including dinner: $100 ($35 tax deductible with proceeds to non-profit Kentucky Author Forum)

The Kentucky Author Forum dinner at the Humana Building will highlight local foods prepared by local chefs affiliated with Slow Food Bluegrass, a non-profit organization working with local farmers to preserve and celebrate local culinary traditions. This Slow food dinner will be coordinated by Mark Williams, Corporate Executive Chef of Brown-Forman, and the founder and leader of Slow Food Bluegrass, one of the Slow Food movement's over 800 convivia chapters, in 100 countries.

According to Chef Mark Williams, "Slow Food Bluegrass members are honored to create a meal for Michael Pollan, whom we regard as a food hero of our times."

Tickets for this event are now on sale at The Kentucky Center Box Office or drive-through on Main Street. They may also be purchased by calling 502-584-7777 or 800-775-7777 or online at kentuckycenter.org.

Note to TV stations and print media: Access to a live Kentucky Author Forum TV feed during the evening interview is always available through KET, by contacting Duncan Hart at 859-258-7296.

The University of Louisville Kentucky Author Forum is also distributed for optional airing by PBS stations nationwide, under the title "A Conversation With...."

Tapes of past Kentucky Author Forums interviews are available through KET by calling 800-945-9167. KET also offers streaming video of a selection of past Kentucky Author Forum interviews at ket.org/arts/authorforum.htm

Many Forum guests are also interviewed on WFPL's State of Affairs®. To listen to an archived interview go to wfpl.org/soa.htm

The Kentucky Author Forum series is produced by Mary Moss Greenebaum, with associate producer Melissa Bernstrom, and is sponsored by the University of Louisville, Brown-Forman and The Humana Foundation. Additional donors include Bittners, Carmichael's Bookstore, The Courier-Journal, KET, Office Furniture USA, WFPL, and The Kentucky Center.

Questions should be directed to the Kentucky Author Forum office at 502-589-2884.

624 West Main, Second Floor
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Phone 502.589.2884
Fax 502.589.4334
email KYFORUM@aol.com