Michael Pollan @ Ravinia for CBG 9/21

Saw this on the Chicago Botanic Garden website:

Michael Pollan lecture and booksigning for "In Defense of Food"
September 21, 2009
2 to 3 pm
at Ravinia Festival

More information HERE

I don't know if this is the right place for this - do we have an existing thread on Pollan's recent article on Julia Child? Anyway, I was a bit peeved to read that article's statements concerning Americans watching more TV cooking shows than ever and cooking less than ever. I think it's an overgeneralization bordering on disingenuous. Since there was no FoodTV network in Julia Child's time, much less cable TV, yes, obviously, there's more food-related TV programming available now on public and cable channels now than then. But that doesn't prove that people who like to cook (I mean the subset of the American population that likes to cook), in that generation and subsequent generations, don't cook as much as, if not more than, ever before.

I wouldn't want to argue the point but I can tell you that none of the people I work with(young or old) do much cooking. My friends don't cook and my family doesn't cook. My friends are absolutely incredulous when I tell them that I cook almost every night. I was a huge fan of Julia Child and still make many of her recipes. When I ask people who watch the food channel who their favorite chefs are, they can tell me all about the chef but when I ask them what they've been inspired to cook....they haven't tried anything because they have no time. That sort of goes along with what Michael Pollan's point is in the article. Spend less time watching someone else cooking and you might find time to actually cook. Whether all of this means that this generation cooks more or less then past generations, I don't know.

My daughters cook because that's what they grew up believing you should do. They also don't have friends that cook. Maybe we're hanging around with the wrong people!

But that doesn't prove that people who like to cook (I mean the subset of the American population that likes to cook), in that generation and subsequent generations, don't cook as much as, if not more than, ever before.

I thought the point was that the group of people who actually do cook is shrinking. I would also find it hard to believe than even enthusiastic cooks as a group are cooking more, given the number of dual wage earner families vs. earlier generations and the resulting impact on eating patterns (less time for breakfast/dinner, lunches eaten out, etc.).