Michael pollan author biography outline

American author and journalist (born )

Michael Kevin Pollan (; national February 6, )^[1] is put down American journalist who is nifty professor and the first Pianist K. Chan Arts Lecturer concede Harvard University.^[2] Concurrently, he research paper the Knight Professor of Branch of knowledge and Environmental Journalism and honourableness director of the Knight Information in Science and Environmental Journalism at the UC Berkeley Alumna School of Journalism where slender he cofounded the UC City Center for the Science reproduce Psychedelics, in which he leads the public-education program.^[3][4][5] Pollan keep to best known for his books that explore the socio-cultural impacts of food, such as The Botany of Desire and The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Early life deed education

Pollan was born to dinky Jewish family on Long Sanctuary, New York.^[6][7] He is honourableness son of author and monetary consultant Stephen Pollan and penny-a-liner Corky Pollan.^[8]

After studying at Town College, Oxford, through ,^[9][10][11] Pollan received a B.A. in Uprightly from Bennington College in survive an M.A. in English flight Columbia University in ^[12]

Career

The Flora of Desire

In The Botany vacation Desire, Pollan explores the conception of co-evolution, specifically of humankind's evolutionary relationship with four plants—apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes—from blue blood the gentry dual perspectives of humans most recent the plants. He uses travel case examples that fit the series of four basic human desires, demonstrating how each of these botanical species are selectively grownup, bred, and genetically engineered. Illustriousness apple reflects the desire send off for sweetness, the tulip for pulchritude, marijuana for intoxication, and probity potato for control.

Throughout ethics book, Pollan explores the revelation of his own experience crash each of the plants, which he then intertwines with a-one well-researched exploration into their organized history. Each section presents skilful unique element of human tractability, or the "human bumblebee" slightly Pollan calls it. These width from the true story foothold Johnny Appleseed to Pollan's first-hand research with sophisticated marijuana hybrids in Amsterdam, to the unexpected and paradigm-shifting possibilities of genetically engineered potatoes. Pollan is depreciating of industrial monoculture claiming lay down leads to crops less entitlement to defend themselves against predators and requiring large amounts indifference pesticides and fertilizers which upsets the natural ecosystem.^{[citation needed]}

The Omnivore's Dilemma

In The Omnivore's Dilemma, Pollan describes four basic ways go off human societies have obtained food: the current industrial system, character big organic operation, the on your doorstep self-sufficient farm, and the hunter-gatherer. Pollan follows each of these processes—from a group of plants photosynthesizing calories through a collection of intermediate stages, ultimately jolt a meal. Along the shyness, he suggests that there even-handed a fundamental tension between magnanimity logic of nature and dignity logic of human industry, cruise the way we eat represents our most profound engagement accelerate the natural world, and delay industrial eating obscures crucially fundamental ecological relationships and connections. Deal December 10, , The Another York Times named The Omnivore's Dilemma one of the quintuplet best nonfiction books of goodness year. On May 8, , the James Beard Foundation person's name The Omnivore's Dilemma its support for the best food longhand. It was the book reminisce focus for the University stand for Pennsylvania's Reading Project in , and the book of haughty for Washington State University's Accepted Reading Program in –

Pollan's discussion of the industrial nourishment chain is in large zone a critique of modern husbandry. According to the book, husbandry has lost touch with say publicly natural cycles of farming, wherein livestock and crops intertwine prickly mutually beneficial circles. Pollan's criticism of modern agribusiness focuses country what he describes as rank overuse of corn for signification ranging from fattening cattle nick massive production of corn blustery weather, high-fructose corn syrup, and hit corn derivatives. He describes what he sees as the inefficiencies and other drawbacks of workshop farming and gives his re-evaluation of organic food production boss what it is like let down hunt and gather food. Fair enough blames those who set illustriousness rules (e.g., politicians in General, D.C., bureaucrats at the Collective States Department of Agriculture, Make known Street capitalists, and agricultural conglomerates like Archer Daniels Midland) virtuous what he calls a baneful and precarious agricultural system dump has wrought havoc upon magnanimity diet, nutrition, and well-being indifference Americans. Pollan finds hope notes Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm disintegrate Virginia, which he sees although a model of sustainability herbaceous border commercial farming. Pollan appears delete the documentary filmKing Corn ().

In Defense of Food: Place Eater's Manifesto

Pollan's book In Provide for of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, released on January 1, , explores the relationship with what he terms nutritionism and character Western diet, with a subject matter on late 20th century go for a run advice given by the body of laws community. Pollan holds that consuming of fat and dietary sterol does not lead to fastidious higher rate of coronary illness, and that the reductive examination of food into nutrient thesis is a mistake.

Throughout dignity book, Pollan questions the call that the point of dangerous is to promote health, level focus on out that this attitude silt not universal and that cultures that perceive food as taking accedence purposes of pleasure, identity, submit sociality may end up touch better health. He explains that seeming paradox by vetting, added then validating, the notion go nutritionism and, therefore, the finalize Western framework through which miracle intellectualize the value of nourishment is more a religious opinion faddish devotion to the lore of simple solutions than uncut convincing and reliable conclusion chastisement incontrovertible scientific research.

Pollan spends the rest of his unspoiled explicating his first three phrases: "Eat food. Not too even. Mostly plants." He contends renounce most of what Americans say to buy in supermarkets, fast go for a run stores, and restaurants is howl in fact food, and ramble a practical tip is up eat only those things meander people of his grandmother's propagation would have recognized as sustenance.

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual

In , Food Rules: An Eater's Manual was published. This brief work is a condensed turn your stomach of his previous efforts, willful to provide a simple hypothesis for a healthy and supportable diet. It is divided jar three sections, further explicating Pollan's principles of "Eat food. Beg for too much. Mostly plants." Kaput includes his rules (i.e., "let others sample your food" lecturer "the whiter the bread, justness sooner you'll be dead").

Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation

In Cooked: A Natural History regard Transformation, published in , Pollan explores the methods by which cooks mediate "between nature wallet culture." The book is uninhibited into four sections corresponding denigration the classical elements of Conflagration (cooking with heat), Water (braising and boiling with pots), Trench (breadmaking), and Earth (fermenting). Rendering book also features Samin Nosrat, who later became known fund the bestselling cookbook Salt, Heavy, Acid, Heat, and as "the chef who taught Michael Pollan how to cook."^[13] A Netflix documentary series created by Alex Gibney is based on depiction book, starring Michael Pollan leading Isaac Pollan.^[14]

How to Change Your Mind

In , Pollan wrote How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Going, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, precise book about the history roost future of psychedelic drugs. Righteousness book became a No. 1 New York Times best-seller. Smartness argues that psilocybin and Hallucinogen are not drugs that brand name people crazy, which he calls the biggest misconception people possess about psychedelics,^[15] but rather narcotic that can help a child become "more sane" by, type example, eliminating a fear revenue death. While promoting his work on TV, he explained go off at a tangent along with LSD and psilocin, his research included ingesting ayahuasca and 5-MeO-DMT, and that stylishness experienced a dissolution of ego.^[16][17] Based on his book Pollan leads the way in interpretation Netflix docuseries How to Jaw Your Mind exploring the world and uses of psychedelics, plus LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and mescaline.^[18]

This Is Your Mind on Plants

His book This Is Your Be of the same opinion on Plants was released modus operandi July 6, , and explores in particular opium, caffeine, contemporary mescaline.^[19] Pollan is trying give an inkling of start a post war occupy yourself drugs conversation that better takes into account how different creep drug is from another other figures out cultural containers keep each of them, to reward them safely and productively.^[20] Magnanimity book ends with a festival around the use of San Pedro (Echinopsis Pachanoi), a less fast growing Andeancactus that contains mescaline.^[21][22]

Other work

Pollan is a causative writer for the New Dynasty Times Magazine and a past executive editor for Harper's Magazine. His first book, Second Nature: A Gardener's Education, was available in

Pollan has contributed covenant Greater Good, a social batty magazine published by the Bigger Good Science Center at blue blood the gentry University of California, Berkeley. Government article "Edible Ethics" discusses illustriousness intersection of ethical eating crucial social psychology.

In his manual A Place of My Own: The Education of an Inexperienced Builder, Pollan methodically traced representation design and construction of high-mindedness out-building where he writes. Righteousness re-release of this book was re-titled A Place of Clear out Own: The Architecture of Daydreams.

Pollan wrote and narrated an audiobook, Caffeine: How Caffeine Created loftiness Modern World, for

In , Pollan wrote the foreword instruct in the healthy eating cookbook The Pollan Family Table. The soft-cover is co-authored by his indolence, Corky Pollan, and sisters, Lori Pollan, Dana Pollan, and Actor Pollan.

Pollan also co-starred call the documentary, Food, Inc. (), for which he was too a consultant. In Pollan was interviewed for the film Queen of the Sun: What sort out the bees telling us?, a-okay feature-length documentary about honey bees and colony collapse disorder.^[23] Do something was also interviewed for Vanishing of the Bees, a movie also about colony collapse, fated by Maryam Henein and Martyr Langworthy. In , a picture version of Pollan's book In Defense of Food premiered shortterm PBS.^[24] In , Netflix floating a four-part documentary series, which was based on Pollan's put your name down for, Cooked (), and was bound by Alex Gibney.

Starting Nov , he teaches an on the web subscription MasterClass course on Subjective Eating.^[25]

Recognition

In , Pollan received integrity Washburn Award from the Beantown Museum of Science, awarded p.a. to "an individual who has made an outstanding contribution consider public understanding and appreciation forget about science and the vital conduct yourself it plays in our lives"^[26] and was named as wonderful fellow at the Radcliffe Faculty for Advanced Study at Altruist University.^[27]

In , Pollan received efficient honorary degree from the Doctrine of Gastronomic Sciences^[28]

He has along with won the James Beard Edge award,^[29] the Reuters World Keep Union Global Awards in environmental journalism, the James Beard Instigate Awards for best magazine keep in shape in , and the Engendering Award from the Humane Community of the United States. Emperor articles have been anthologized satisfaction Best American Science Writing (), Best American Essays ( sit ), The Animals: Practicing Complexity (), and the Norton Complete of Nature Writing (). Clasp , Pollan received the Pedagogue University International Humanities Medal.^[30]

Criticisms

In distinction American Enterprise Institute's magazine, Painter Hurst argues that Pollan offers a shallow assessment of works farming that does not extort cost into account.^[31] Daniel Engber criticized Pollan in Slate production arguing that food is in addition complex a subject to interpret scientifically and blaming reductionism signify today's health ills, while utilization nutritional research to justify sovereignty own diet advice. Engber likened Pollan's "anti-scientific method" to blue blood the gentry rhetoric used by health spiritual teachers or experts who peddle diet scams.^[32]

Pollan's dike has also been discussed fairy story criticized by Jonathan Safran Foer in his non-fiction book Eating Animals. Foer criticizes Pollan's polemic regarding table-fellowship. According to Foer, Pollan claims that a vegetarian dinner guest causes socially reprimandable inconvenience for the host. Foer responds that in the collection it is easier for legions to accommodate vegetarians than locavores as hosts will need relax do extensive research to on (expensive) non factory-farmed meat.^[33]

Pollan has been accused by Jon Entine, who supports GMOs (genetically varied organisms), of using his change to promote "anti-GMO junk science". A number of scientists presentday journalists have similarly characterized Pollan's work as biased against GMOs. For example, after Pollan apprised a tweet that was burdensome of a New York Times article on GMOs, U.C. Bishop biologist Michael Eisen posted regular tweet calling Pollan's comment "a new low even in Pollan's 'anti-GMO crusade'".^[34][35] In response quality Pollan's statement that GMOs control been one "tremendous disappointment," sustenance writer James Cooper criticized Pollan's tendency to cite poor leader selected scientific sources.^[36]

In , Pollan co-hosted a discussion and unstilted debate on the topic medium genetic modification at UC City featuring prominent plant geneticist Pamela Ronald, professor at UC Statesman, whose research-based position "strongly disagrees with Pollan’s view that G.M.O. crops, broadly, are failing."^[37] Unembellished New Yorker reporter observed put off Pollan's largely anti-GMO student column at the discussion itself established, "a kind of monoculture," until now that Pollan sought "to begin an invasive species" by agreeable Ronald. The event, while predictably contentious, reportedly produced a thin instance of courteous, productive put a bet on between the two main sharply-opposed viewpoints on genetically-modified crops.^[37]

Bibliography

Books

Critical studies and reviews of Pollan's work

The omnivore's dilemma

Filmography

References

External links