Michael Pollan Talks Sense; Kroger Pitches Cheap Food

Author Michael Pollan, whose 2006 book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” helped give rise to the current real food movement, spoke in downtown Indianapolis earlier this month.

Pollan’s appearance was covered in IndyStar.com, the on-line version of The Indianapolis Star. According to the article, “Much of his talk to the event's 575 attendees centered on where food comes from, how it is raised and what can be done to increase awareness.”

The great irony was that when I read the story on-line, advertisements for Kroger supermarkets accompanied the article, pitching the chain’s great prices on the very industrial foodstuffs that Pollan questions in his books and appearances.

It was amazing; I kept clicking refresh and I kept getting new ads. I could only wonder what Pollan would have thought had he seen the never-ending parade of sodas, boxed mashed potatoes, butters, “brown n’ serve” rolls, butter basted turkeys, spiral sliced hams and fruit pies next to his photo.