Michael Pollan

Professor
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Michael Pollan is the author, most recently, of "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto." His previous book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals", was named one of the ten best books of 2006 by the New York Times and the Washington Post. It also won the California Book Award, the Northern California Book Award, the James Beard Award for best food writing, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is also the author of "The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World", "A Place of My Own", and "Second Nature". A contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, Pollan is the recipient of numerous journalistic awards, including the James Beard Award for best magazine series in 2003 and the Reuters-I.U.C.N. 2000 Global Award for Environmental Journalism. His articles have been anthologized in Best American Science Writing, Best American Essays and the Norton Book of Nature Writing. Pollan served for many years as executive editor of Harper's Magazine and is now the Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at UC Berkeley.

Published Stories:

Farmer In Chief

New York Times Magazine

In a memo for the New York Times Magazine, Knight Professor Michael Pollan advises the president-elect on what's sure to be a prickly policy issue for the next administration: food.

Our Decrepit Food Factories

The New York Times Magazine

For the The New York Times Magazine, Michael Pollan takes a closer look at two stories in the news--disease-resistant staph and Colony Collapse Disorder-- that may point to an imminent breakdown in the way we're growing food today.

Five J-School Students In NY Times Magazine' Ideas Issue

The New York Times Magazine

Five North Gate students were published in The New York Times Magazine's annual round-up of 2007's most intriguing new ideas and technologies. Read Andi McDaniel on DIY Democracy; David Gelles on Floating Wind Turbines; Charlie Foster on Fish-Flavored Fish; April Dembosky on Biodegradable Coffins; and Malia Wollan on DNA Based Social Networking. The project has become an annual undertaking of the Knight Program under the direction of Professor Michael Pollan.

Unhappy Meals

New York Times Magazine

For the New York Times Magazine, Professor Michael Pollan looks at how basic questions about what to eat got so complicated, traces the rise of nutritionism, and reveals a great deal about the institutional imperatives of the food industry.

You Are What You Grow

New York Times Magazine

For the New York Times Magazine, Professor Michael Pollan takes a close look at the Farm Bill -- a "head-hurtingly complicated piece of legislation" that sets the rules for the American food system--and argues that it needs to be rewritten with the interests of eaters placed first.

Six Rules For Eating Wisely

TIME

For TIME magazine, professor Michael Pollan lays out six rules of thumb for navigating what he calls the "omnivore's dilemma."

Mass Natural

The New York Times Magazine

In this week's New York Times Magazine, Professor Michael Pollan addresses the question: with Wal-Mart going organic, where will organic go?

How Michael Pollan Ruined My Life

San Francisco Chronicle

Catherine Price, class of 2006, writes for the San Francisco Chronicle about how Michael Pollan is ruining her life.

The Modern Hunter-Gatherer

New York Times Magazine

An excerpt from The Omnivore's Dilemma is available online.

No Bar Code

Mother Jones

In Mother Jones, an evangelical Virginia farmer says a revolution against industrial agriculture is just down the road. An excerpt from Michael Pollan's new book, The Omnivore's Dilemma.

We Are What We (Blindly) Eat

Business Week

For Business Week, John Carey reviews Michael Pollan's new book, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, "a far-reaching and disturbing exploration of America's food production and consumption" and "a penetrating account by an engaging guide."

Deconstructing Dinner

The New York Times Book Review

David Camp reviews Michael Pollan's new book The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals for the The New York Times Book Review.

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

The Los Angeles Times

Restaurant critic Patric Kuh reviews Michael Pollan's new book for the The Los Angeles Times.

Courses Taught by Michael Pollan:

Spring 2012: Advanced Science Writing Workshop

Spring 2012: Juicy, Juicy Scandal

Fall 2011: Edible Education: The Rise and Future of the Food Movement

Fall 2010: Overtures, Laundry Lines and Endings that Count: A Workshop on Structuring the Longer Piece

Fall 2009: Following the Food Chain

Fall 2009: Narrative Science Journalism

Fall 2009: Master's Project Seminar

Spring 2009: Master's Project Seminar

Fall 2008: Following the Food Chain

Fall 2008: Narrative Science Journalism

Fall 2008: Master's Project Seminar

Fall 2007: Advanced Science Writing Workshop

Fall 2007: Master's Project Seminar

Spring 2007: Following the Food Chain

Spring 2007: Science Writing Tutorial

Spring 2007: Master's Project Seminar

Fall 2006: Master's Project Seminar

Fall 2006: Getting Over Wilderness

Spring 2006: Following the Food Chain

Spring 2006: Science Writing Tutorial

Spring 2006: Master's Project Seminar

Fall 2005: Advanced Science Writing Workshop

Fall 2005: Master's Project Seminar

Spring 2005: Master's Project Seminar

Spring 2005: Advanced Writing Tutorial on Science and the Environment

Fall 2004: Master's Project Seminar

Fall 2004: Science Rpt'g: Covering the Food Chain

Fall 2004: The Long Piece

Spring 2004: Master's Project Seminar

Spring 2004: The Editor as God

Spring 2004: Advanced Science Writing Tutorial

Fall 2003: Master's Project Seminar

Fall 2003: Covering the Food Chain: The Political Ecology of Eating

Spring 2003: Editing Workshop