Food 101 with Michael Pollan
Photo: Food, Inc.
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Journalist Michael Pollan—a food expert featured in Food, Inc.—says mass food production is the American way. "We spend less on our food than any people who have ever lived, than any people anywhere on earth—9.5 percent of our income."
A prime example of this is chicken—an animal Michael says has been re-engineered through breeding and diet to produce the breast meat consumers want. Compared to 50 years ago, chickens are now raised and slaughtered in half the time and grow twice as big.
In one way, Michael says this is a great achievement. "Chicken used to be this special occasion, Sunday night dinner. [It] was the expensive meat," he says. "Now it's the cheap meat."
"But you have to understand there's a price to that, and the price is you can only do it with lots of antibiotics," Michael says. "You give all those antibiotics to your animals, they're not gonna work for you when you need them."
A prime example of this is chicken—an animal Michael says has been re-engineered through breeding and diet to produce the breast meat consumers want. Compared to 50 years ago, chickens are now raised and slaughtered in half the time and grow twice as big.
In one way, Michael says this is a great achievement. "Chicken used to be this special occasion, Sunday night dinner. [It] was the expensive meat," he says. "Now it's the cheap meat."
"But you have to understand there's a price to that, and the price is you can only do it with lots of antibiotics," Michael says. "You give all those antibiotics to your animals, they're not gonna work for you when you need them."
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