When food writing sages Michael Pollan, Bonnie Azab Powell, and Harold McGee joined forces for a seminar on Wednesday, February 25th, they shared a conversational chemistry akin to the magic that converts lifeless dough into fluffy bread. The seminar, entitled “Food Writing: The Politics, the Science,” was the second in a series designed to engage brain cells and taste buds alike and to discuss the burgeoning field of food writing. At intermission, audience members and panelists sampled delectable treats made by local chefs Anthony Myint, of Mission Street Foods, Lief Hedendal, Bud Teasley. Moderator Chris Ying, editor of McSweeney’s and the online journal Meatpaper, peppered the discussion with a variety of probing questions and anecdotes.
The small crowd and intimate setting complemented each panelist's desire to connect with and perhaps identify with her reader base. Powell, for example, runs the blog Ethicurean.com, which draws on reader's comments and local news as it challenges the current food system and highlights sustainable practices. Powell's editorial team at Ethicurean came up with the phrase "sole food" (sustainable, organic, local, and ethical) in attempts to characterize the food we should strive to eat, buy, and produce. Ethicurean's juicy and controversial articles examine the "systematic underpinnings of organic food" and have attracted a national reader base, including the likes of Michael Pollan.
Pollan’s works, such as The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Foods, may not be as characteristically grassroots in nature, but they also strive to maintain a close relationship with the reader.
“One of the things that’s been most important to me is to write from a place that’s a little closer to the reader than the experts,” said Pollan. “It’s much more effective to dramatize the narrative of your discovery.”
The narrative in Pollan’s works usually revolves around the attempt to answer a question. The transparency of process succeeds in drawing in readers and allowing them to identify with the narrator.
“My piece always begins in a state of ignorance,” Pollan remarked.
Harold McGee, author of On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen and writer of “The Curious Cook” column in The New York Times, also emphasizes the importance of experimentation and exploration in the realm of food writing. When asked by Young how he answers “unanswerable questions,” McGee remarked: “I start with what I know, and develop a hypothesis. Then I go into the kitchen and start testing it out.”
All three panelists agreed that while food writing is a competitive field, it is rapidly growing and offers a variety of opportunities for young writers.
“It’s one of the few growing corners of journalism,” encouraged Pollan. “There’s a powerful appetite for those kinds of stories.”
