Public Affairs – Page 23

Michael Pollan: "Don't buy any cereal that changes the color of the milk."

This year, renowned journalist, author, and food intellectual Michael Pollan received the 2014 Nierenberg Award for Science in the Public Interest.

“Michael Pollan has shown that an English major can do great service to science in the public interest,” said Walter Tschinkel, one of many who introduced Pollan. “Science very much needs writers like Michael Pollan to bridge the gap between scientists and the wider public… to make science meaningful, relevant, and accessible… and just perhaps to influence people and public thinking about important social, philosophical and scientific issues.”

After receiving his award, Pollan sat down with KPBS News Editor, Tom Fudge and talked about everything from the lesson Pollan learned from a woodchuck, to the carbon problem, his love of food, and how to feed the world.

The problem of getting carbon back into the soil:

“I think the future, the next set of important gains come not from [seed] breeding, but from understanding the soil microbiome and manipulating that environment.”

His relationship with food:

“I enjoy food now more than I used to… I think I’m less self-conscious about my eating than a lot of my readers are… and I think I’ve made a certain number of people that you probably know insufferable.”

Healthy eating:

“Eating well is easier if you have some money, and that’s one of the real tragedies of the food system we have – that the cheapest calories are so unhealthy.”

One of Pollan’s “Food Rules:”

“Don’t buy any cereal that changes the color of the milk.”

The difficulty of political change:

“It’s very much in the interest of political leaders to have our food be cheap even if it’s unhealthy. When you get spikes in food prices, you get political restives, you get riots, you get revolutions. And every political leader understands this. So they’re willing to put up with a lot of negative side effects of cheap food, as long as the price stays down. And this, in a way, is the biggest impediment to changing the food system.”

Feeding the world:

“The goal is for the world to be able to feed itself. The idea that we grow all the grain and dump it on the rest of the world is incredibly arrogant.”

“There’s plenty of food. We’re now growing 2800 calories per person per day… That’s for everybody living on the planet. We still have a billion who are hungry. So quantity is not the problem with feeding the world. We have to look at equity. We have to look at who controls the land. We have to look at diet. We have to look at waste.”

Watch more of this enlightening interview: An Evening with Michael Pollan: Nierenberg Award 2014.

Mythbusting – German Women Under Hitler

It wasn’t just the men who carried out out the Hitler-directed atrocities against humanity in World War II. As historian Wendy Lower explains, women also willingly committed horrendous crimes and in most cases, paid no price for their actions.

In this chilling presentation, Lower debunks the fantasy that German women were somehow too busy bearing children to engage in the “big world of politics and war.” It’s a fascinating talk, and one that’s likely to stay with you long after it’s over.

Watch Hitler’s Furies on The UC San Diego Library Channel.

A Side of Exploitation With That…

Though Democrats and Republicans alike just voted to increase the minimum wage in some states, the raise won’t apply to most restaurant workers who must still depend on customers, through tips, to make a living.

Saru Jayaraman of UC Berkeley brings her passion to the table as she criticizes the disparity between the “tipped versus non-tipped” staff as unfair and argues that raising the pay for all would benefit everyone in the food system, including employers and their patrons.

Watch Behind the Kitchen Door for more.

Browse more programs from the UC Public Policy Channel.

China: Our Partner in Spending

So, is it a good thing that Chinese consumers are becoming more like Americans in their pursuit of Barbie Dolls, iPhones and designer clothes? Will their drive to acquire products boost the global economy? UC San Diego’s Karl Gerth offers a compelling analysis of how China’s embrace of consumerism is changing the world, but not necessarily for the better.

Watch “Do We Want China to be More Like US?” with Karl Gerth.

We, The People

Sick of politics? Given the nastiness of the midterm elections, it’s no wonder. But for a refreshing change of pace, check out UCSD’s Conference on Ethics, Transparency and Civility. The three-part series features elected Democrats and Republicans candidly sharing what it’s like to serve in office and how most members do get along with one another but are frustrated by outsiders who tar them as eternal adversaries. This series debunks common stereotypes of politicians as members of the San Diego City Council, the California State Legislature and the U.S. Congress swap stories with political activists and UC San Diego professors about their challenges in carrying out the people’s business.

1754 UC San Diego Conference on Ethics, Transparency and Civility Part One: Ethics

1754 UC San Diego Conference on Ethics, Transparency and Civility Part Two: Transparency

1754 UC San Diego Conference on Ethics, Transparency and Civility Part Three: Civility

If you’re not sick of politics quite yet, check out our collection of videos in Politics.