How big is the college food movement in America? Huge. And in a conversation between Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser at the University of Southern California on Wednesday, Feb. 9, there was every indication the movement is gaining strength. A standing room only crowd was rapt for two hours, after which hundreds of coeds lined up to wait more than an hour to have these rock star authors sign copies of their respective books, "In Defense of Food" and "Fast Food Nation."
         While no one threw their underwear on stage, the scent of hero worship filled USC's Bovard Auditorium. When the two men called on the crowd to "vote with their dollars" when choosing what to eat, there was an audible murmur that came pretty close to being an "Amen."

I just finished watching The Future of Food on my computer because that’s how I watch TV (get the link to watch it free on Hulu from our Facebook fan page) and, horrified of course at the harsh realizations of American food culture and its effect on its people and those in other countries, took some time to think about how much of that nonsense may or may not be in what I eat.  From 1990 to 2003, sales of organic food rose 1200% and has risen steadily since.  I’m neither hippie nor orthorexic, I buy organic when I can and don’t really sweat it when I can’t.  But that is an undeniably large increase in percentage.  You’d think we were protecting our health and well-being or something.  

In the last decade or so, air travel has become more associated with awful food than ever before.  I miss the days of kvetching about airplane food in your most highly-flavored Seinfeld voice, back when there was such a thing as airplane food.  Nowadays, the buying of provisions must occur before you scan your ticket at the gate, lest you spend $9 on a damp sandwich en-route.