GRIST INTERVIEWS MICHAEL POLLAN

Michael Pollan has built a reputation as a sleuthing agro-journalist. In his writing for The New York Times Magazine and a quartet of books, he's trailed a steer from birth to dinner plate, traced America's obesity epidemic to corn subsidies, and narrowly, fumblingly outwitted a small-town cop who came uncomfortably close to his marijuana patch. His writing -- an engaging mélange of travelogue, economic analysis, and sheer, tactile joy in the pleasures of food -- has made him a favorite among the foodie and enviro crowds alike.

Michael Pollan.

In his latest book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, he brings his investigative skills to bear on four meals. One is the typical American overprocessed fare; one is composed of what Pollan calls "industrial organic" -- organic food grown on huge mega-farms alongside standard crops; one comes from a small organic farm that refuses to sell outside its neighboring community; and one is hunted and gathered entirely by Pollan himself. (His account of tracking and shooting a wild boar is bizarrely gripping.)

The author -- now a journalism professor at U.C.-Berkeley -- dropped by the Grist offices for a long, leisurely chat. We asked him about Big Organic, local food systems, and the cult of convenience, and hoped he wouldn't notice the large bowl of SweeTarts on our conference table.