howtowrite3e

Examining Models

VIDEO

Michael Pollan, Celebrate School Lunch

Michael Pollan is the author of several critically acclaimed books, including In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto and The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. He is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, and is a professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. This video proposal comes from the Nourish project, an educational initiative intended to open up conversations about food. Nourish also has created a feature film for PBS. This short video by Pollan is part of a series that also features Cameron Diaz, Jamie Oliver, and others talking about food.

Reading the Genre

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1. The easy way to make a video proposal is to film someone talking. How does this video proposal incorporate other elements to reinforce its arguments and present its evidence?

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2. Who does Pollan target in this proposal? Who does he want to act, and how does he want them to act? How important is it for Pollan to identify who can make a change?

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3. In just over two minutes of video, Pollan reveals a very complicated food chain. Create a chart to try and trace the sources, the rules and restrictions, and the choices involved in bringing food from the field to the school lunch table.

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4. WRITING: View some of the other short videos on the Nourish site, and look for some inspiration to write your own proposal about food. As Pollan does, argue for the ways that the government might support a change in food policy, and write your proposal as a letter to your Congressperson.

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5. COMPOSING VISUALLY: Go online and find images of school lunches. Pick the most nutritious-looking image, and the least. Create a visual presentation that weighs the nutritional value, the economics, and the ethics of the two foods against one another, with the images at the center of your presentation. Be creative!