Food focused author and journalist Michael Pollan is known for his simple approach to nutrition ("Eat Food. Mostly Plants. Not too Much.") in books including The Omnivore's Dilemma, Food Rules and In Defense of Food, but his pared down approach doesn't end there. In a new video released by the educational initiative campaign, Nourish, Pollan reflects on the value of voting with our dollars, and voting with votes, offering an appealing approach to making changes to America's Farm Bill through the political process.

Many consider sustainable farming a boutique industry, unable to compete with conventional farming and produce enough food to supply populations outside their local communities. And that pesticides and modern food processing technology is the only way to meet the world's demand for food.

But Mark Bittman, New York Times contributor and author of The Food Matters Cookbook, claims advances in sustainable farming now make it a viable solution to world hunger. He also points out that today's industrial farming practices aren't the savior they appear, citing record highs in the global food price index. And that conventional farming takes too heavy a toll on the environment.

In a surprising move, three well known organic brands gave a supportive nod to what they're calling "the conditional deregulation" of genetically modified (GM) alfalfa. The nation's first certified organic retail chain, Whole Foods—who has a storewide policy banning the sale of GM foods—along with the largest organic yogurt brand, Stonyfield Yogurt, and Organic Valley, the largest co-op of organic meat, egg and dairy farmers issued their formal support in lifting restrictions on growing GM alfalfa.

Responding to a growing concern over ethical animal treatment, retailers Whole Foods, Safeway and Supervalu are moving to more clearly define "humane treatment" in the animal products they sell.

Mixed emotions are meeting the Food Safety Bill, which passed through Senate on December 27^th, 2010. While some are calling it 'fake' and a threat to small family farms, trusted voices for healthy and safe food, Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore's Dilemma and Food Rules: An Eater's Manual and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation support the bill.

The Seattle Times interviewed food movement hero Michael Pollan about his latest book, Food Rules, the state of the food in America, and Michelle Obama. About the first lady, Pollan says,

She's a very important voice in the food movement now, and I think is raising people's consciousness, people who haven't read a book like "Omnivore's Dilemma" or "Food Rules" . . . People tend to underestimate these projects on the part of first ladies and think they're kind of benign. But actually they can be quite powerful, and I think her contribution will be quite powerful.

Like Michael Pollan, Organic Authority is excited about several projects that the First Lady has been working on, from school lunch reform to the new-and-improved White House garden to her campaign to end childhood obesity.

Pollan also talks about his next book, which is going to be about how we turn raw ingredients into food through cooking and fermentation:

I'm working on a book about cooking, which is really a book about how we transfer things in nature through fire and water. Fermentation is another way we do it, whether we're making wine or cheese or pickles or sausage. I'm interested in all the alchemies that go on in the kitchen.

Leave it to Michael Pollan to make chemistry interesting and important! Until the book comes out, you can check out this video of Laura tasting organic wine and cheese, this article on organic wines, and this recipe for blue cheese cabernet organic hamburgers. Yum! That should tide you over.

Image credit: Poptech

Colbert supports agribusiness and drinks high fructose corn syrup by the can load. So, see what happens when he goes head-to-head with Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, on his new project, Food Inc., about the dubious underbelly of the American food production industry.

This is not the first time Colbert has “argued” against natural foods and reforming the food industry. Last month, he squared off with New York Times journalist and author of In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan. Colbert tried to convince him there is nothing wrong with fake food.

Via Colbert Nation.