Femivores vs. Feminists: Let the Debate BeginA new book argues that the current food movement is triggering a kind of backslide in the way women assume responsibility for the kitchen and home.
In Conversation: Michael Pollan and Adam PlattThe original promoter of the ethically minded, locally grown approach to feeding ourselves holds forth on his favorite junk food, his microbial menagerie, and the evils lurking in a tube of Go-Gurt.
What Gwyneth Ate in Spain; Chodorow No Stranger to IronyGwyneth Paltrow wasn’t a food snob in Spain, what sells best at Kobe Club, Michael Pollan says people should spend more money on food, and more in our morning roundup of food news and gossip.
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Naked Chef Returns to Food Network; Starbucks’ ‘Skinny’ IssueAt long last, Jamie Oliver is returning to Food Network; catch him battling Mario Batali on Iron Chef America Sunday night, and then stay tuned for a preview of his new show, Jamie at Home. [Eat for Victory/VV]
If anyone’s going to see mice in your restaurant, food writers are the worst-case scenario. Right, Mermaid Inn? [The Feed/TONY]
One man who’s had enough of unsolicited menus showing up under his door has designed a wannabe deterrent. [BoingBoing via Gothamist]
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Did Michael Pollan Throw the Whole Foods Debate? (Just Asking)What exactly is up with Michael Pollan? We sat up late into the night waiting for him to put hard questions to Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in the discussion we previewed the other day. Part of Pollan’s bestselling book The Omnivore’s Dilemma was devoted to unmasking Whole Foods’ claims to sustainability and the like, but when the author finally sat down with Mackey, he was as cordial and giving as the publicity-obsessed CEO. Still, the discussion being two hours and all, there were inevitably highlights. (If you prefer to comb through it yourself, you may do that here.)
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Michael Pollan Versus Whole Foods: The SmackdownIt’s a match made for the ECW: John Mackey, co-founder of Whole Foods, versus Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, the best-selling critical overview of modern industrial foodways that reveals Whole Foods to be … just another big supermarket chain! In an open letter, Mackey has accused the writer of not doing his research, but this afternoon they will meet face-to-face and finally resolve the question of who’s handier with a folding chair. Actually, they’re just going to debate, after Mackey gives a presentation modestly called “The Past, Present, and Future of Food.” It’s happening at the University of California, Berkeley, at 10 p.m. our time; you can see it Webcast live here — or wait for our breathless take on the proceedings tomorrow.