Bill Maher & Michael Pollen - Food Production

[potterfan392]

Two of my favorite media personalities on TV together. Sweet!

[boshea8498]

this pollen is nothing to sneeze at. ra ra

[mmedefarge]

@MarijuanaMichelle Doubt that. Non-fat, organic dairy has the calcium I need without the hormones & antibiotics, meat does not. Fish is a least low fat & as long as it's wild, isn't full of antibiotics & isn't as toxic as farmed fish & the bones contain calcium. Meat is full of saturated fat, hormones, antibiotics.

[UMakeTheConnection]

@mmedefarge Please do your research - no such thing as hormone free meat or dairy. Organic milk is a natural *hormonal delivery system* from mother to offspring. You may be confusing natural hormones with posilac (Monsanto injections of hormone to stimulate milk production). This is definitely worse - however, every animal product or by-product you consume is full of hormones, pus, antibiotics (yes, even organic - i can send you a link to watch). Calcium is better absorbed in greens.

[mmedefarge]

@UMakeTheConnection I should have been more specific, there aren't added hormones in organics dairy. Humans have been omnivores for a long time. I think that our bodies have acclimated to eating some animal flesh over the millenia. If I had to get most of calcium from greens, I'd have to graze all day like a cow. Problem is I've only one stomach

[UMakeTheConnection]

@mmedefarge Part 2 - Fish is low fat - NO. wild or farmed, its the same, just some more toxic than others. It is natures sponge and soaks up many toxins. As for your organic dairy - yes, like regular dairy it has calcium, but Ive said this before, protein inhibits calcium absorption - dead flesh does not do a body good, its acidic and promotes cancer.. living foods, fruits and veggies are an immune building, healing, and nourishing way to health and longevity. Why would anyone eat dead things.

[mmedefarge]

@UMakeTheConnection Humans became omnivores long ago. Our bodies have acclimated to some animal flesh by now. Farmed fish swim in filthy water in their own feces (I found this out when I noticed that I became ill every time I ate farmed fish. I do not become ill eating wild fish.) Shell fish, which I do not eat, has more toxins than wild fish. My family were generations of farmers who ate some animal flesh, dairy & lots of veg. Most lived into their 80's & 90's.

[Kimmis1990]

I think its not just what you eat, but also how often and how much- Like you can have a steak or a burger every now and then, but not always. People just need to create a certain balance in their nutrition. Like eating fish and vegtable, and not just always with the steak and the french fries. Same goes for candy and soda. But dont forget an important thhing people need to do too: Exercise! walk. jogging. swimming. Biking. And not just sit inside all day long.

[CCMAMA1969]

I always tell people for all of our years of evolution and innovation, it comes to this: nuts and berries were better for us to live on.

Try this experiment: on a warm day put butter outside on a plate and some margarine on a separate plate, then watch: Flies will go to the butter, but will not go near the fake butter. Flies eat shit people, but they won't eat margarine. It is a few atoms away from plastic in molecular structure. yuck! haven't eaten it in 8 years!

[CCMAMA1969]

I always tell people for all of our years of evolution and innovation, it comes to this: nuts and berries were better for us to live on.

[bslaer]

damn bill maher is annoying in this interview.

[foodparadisetv]

Hey friend, You seem cool! Love your channel! Do you love like NYC? Check out my food and travel videos in NYC!! Stay in touch!!

[TheHuntress144]

oh yeah Bill, the DOCTOR has to do more research. stop being so condescending. god forbid he learn something from the guy who has devoted most of his life to researching an entire industry. this doctor is clearly objective and non-biased. can't say the same for Bill Maher.

[mmedefarge]

Would have liked to have heard more from Pollen & less of Maher's comedy routine although Mahler he did make some good points about tuna & dairy products (although I eat a lot of both, fat free dairy & tuna because I rarely eat meat of any sort & have some OP).

[UMakeTheConnection]

@mmedefarge If it has a face or a mother it's considered "meat"/ "flesh" or "animal". The human body doesn't know the difference, it clogs arteries, it contains saturated fat and high amounts of protein which throw out the bodies PH balance - which in turn, depletes calcium from our bones (to neutralize the protein). It's a no win and time will take a toll on the body.

[psychokillercrab]

I am glad to hear that someone is hitting Americans in one of their weakest spots, FOOD. I ate terribly for many years and started to have health problems but I went and worked at Whole Foods ( yes I know they are a corp too that's why I only worked there for a year) and learned that all the food in conventional supermarkets were filled with food that was unhealthy for us and was causing so many problems, I switched to buying food at local co-ops instead and farmer markets.

[andreasbestfriend]

@HybridD91 explain what sperm and eggs are and the reproductive organs they each come from...... in 10 words or less... please... take your time.....

[andreasbestfriend]

like michael pollan... dislike the interviewer. the questions bill is asking arent "easy" to explain which is why there is an hour long documentary on the subject. i dont think michael is struggling with any questions, its just hard to explain. its SORT OF like trying to explain where babies come from to a child in 10 words or less (we do introduce sex education at a very young age these days but you catch my drift).

[HybridD91]

@andreasbestfriend Sperm from daddy and egg from mommy, 7 words. Try another analogy :P.

[Davebjj]

Love this guy and just finishing Botany of Desire.

Population density has driven food production density aka feedlots.

My father in law has beef cattle and chickens on his farm. I get to eat beef raised on hay and grass during summer.

buy your meats at small town butchers.

[rainzoro]

i see that bill maher is being skeptical about this food issue.

well, i kinda agree because all i have heard during my life is that certain foods are JUST BAD PURE EVIL, but never heard WHY they are bad or HOW they are bad. I hope this movie Food Inc. has the answer, but seeing how Pollen is struggling with Bill's questions (not the jokes), I'm on the same page with Bill's skepticism.

[jdestremps]

continued from prior post... WE decided we liked these plants, therefore, the mutations that got them to this point "succeeded", just like any other mutation that results in survival. We don't call plants that don't succeed "STUPID", so we should not call mutations that do work "CLEVER" or any such CRAP.

[jdestremps]

ABSOLUTE NONSENSE!!!! Evolution does not work that way. Things mutate, we cross-breed, WE make a lot of the changes they are talking about. We pick the ones that have mutated to our liking (NOT BECAUSE THEY "KNEW" ANYTHING, but simply because MUTATION HAPPENS!!!) and we grow those all over the place. This notion of plants being "CLEVER" makes it sounds like they have brains. This guy is talking crazy nonsense. This is NOT the way evolution works, period. ... more to follow...

[MichaelnChristine]

He is wrong about milk. I personally have seen a bear rip the utter off a cow to drink the milk and then move on to eat the cow. Big cats will do the same thing.

[snidelywhiplash]

Hm. I like Maher generally, but until today I had no idea he was a nutter.

[Gavarooney]

stop being lazy and source out organic food. buy direct from farmers. cut out the corporations and go back to the way it used to be. we dont need supermarkets at all. the more everyone supports the organic food industry, the cheaper it wil become and everyone may just get a little healthier.

[rainzoro]

@Gavarooney how about instead of "cut out the corporations," let's fix the way how corporations produce foods. What you're saying is like basically, "Let's shut down the entire oil industry and ride donkeys because oil companies are evil." Wake up.

[HybridD91]

@Gavarooney Get off your computer, that came from a corporation. Stop wearing your clothes and make your own. Be specific, I know you're talking about food but you dug your own ditch with that one XD.

[histerics3]

Pollan is so weak! - he's supposed to be some sort of natural food spokesperson, but he apologizes for all of these unhealthy foods (either for ourselves or the environment or the economy or our consciousness) Maher is listing! Drink green juice, people. Pollan is charming, but there are so many other people that have written about this in so much more depth.

[luxvoix]

animals feel pain, get stressed, develop a social connection to other living creatures. plants, on the other hand, have not yet been proven to do all of the above. a fully vegan diet saves creatures a lot of suffering. killing them (the whole some die some live thing) is the mildest issue, it's the abuse and painful unhealthy lives they're forced to experience that's unnatural & we can avoid. meat is not necessary. fact. we've evolved since old times, we ought to do what we now know is best.

[MichaelnChristine]

@luxvoix Can you name me a single commercial vegetable that doesn't kill any animals? I've grown up on farms and I've never seen one....

[skeletonmom]

Life is messy. Some of us do the best we can for the most vocal of the life forms we consume. There will always be some form or harm or suffering. It is the way this world. Even if I was vegan, something suffers to come to my dinner tale. Something suffers to build my home. Something suffers even at the expense of me taking a step upon the earth. Mother nature is beautiful, but also vicious. Have you considered becoming a Breatharian? Just kidding... ;P

[skeletonmom]

Listen, Locrian08-please understand: Something has to die for something to live. It applies to everything. Whether it is killed or dies at the end of its life and decomposes for other organisms to feed. There are studies that plants do go thru shock and trauma when plucked from the ground-and I see it every day in my garden when I pick it to eat, or replant it somewhere else on the property. Just because it doesnt scream, doesnt mean it doesnt suffer. Its just not as uncomfortable to do.

[donnyab]

@skeletonmom

Get real

[skeletonmom]

@donnyab - What part was not real enough for you?

[skeletonmom]

We as humans can (and in some cases do) give animals more well lived lives and ethical, painless deaths-not what the corporate feedlot allows. May seem strange to read, but after getting to know many individuals of the American Indian cultures, they are deeply spiritual about the animals they take into their bodies as food. They even state it as such-as a union of two individuals.

And not all indigenous cultures were warlike. Some, yes, but history likes to paint them all as savages.

[skeletonmom]

I agree with healthy animals make healthy meat & to cut down on the total amount of meat we consume. However, to say that not eating meat is ethical ignores the fact that when you pluck a plant out of the ground to consume it, you are killing this as well. Just because it doesnt bleed or scream doesnt negate its life. I beleive that animals should be ethically raised & slaughtered-just like many ancestral people have done-they also thanked the animal for giving its life to preserve their own.

[Locrian08]

skeletonmom: I'm not sure what you're claiming about the ethics of consuming plants, but if you were to argue that one must hold that eating plants is as immoral as eating animals, it would still follow that to kill the least number of plants and animals you should only eat plants (the fewest number of plants are consumed when you eat them directly). 'Ancestral people' (ie our ancestors) also engaged in slavery, committed genocide. Consuming animals is no longer required to preserve our lives.

[skeletonmom]

Everything dies in order for something to survive. I see this in the animal kingdom, and animals do not take slaves or commit genecide. And, before you say we are not animals, but humans: we are organisms that belong to the ape family (not monkeys), warm blooded mammals with spines.

Listen, I am not saying people shouldnt be vegetarians. We should all recognize that some life (however large or small) will die because we or another species needs to survive.

[Locrian08]

I agree that we are animals. We are also moral agents who can reflect on how we believe other animals (human and nonhuman) should be treated. Nonhuman predators don't have that capacity. Are you really saying that seeing something happen in the animal kingdom constitutes moral justification? Groups of male nurse sharks routinely attack lone female nurse sharks and block escape attempts while one male in the group forcibly copulates with the female. Could this in any way justify rape?

[Locrian08]

How many painless slaughters have you witnessed? What was the method of slaughter?

You repeatedly make claims that treat plants and animals as if they have the same characteristics, yet your reference to 'painless death' acknowledges that you believe other animals are conscious and feel pain. The point is that other animals suffer, have conscious experiences, are capable of being better or worse off experientially. Death deprives them of the possibility of having any future experiences.

[Locrian08]

When we speak of the harm that it is for a human to be killed or needlessly caused to suffer, we are referring to the same kinds of harms that apply to other conscious animals. Do you really think the death of a human infant and the death of plant have any moral similarities?

In 1st world countries, eating other animals is a choice, not a necessity. Feeling a union with what you kill (perhaps serial killers feel the same way) has no bearing on the justifiability of eating animals.

[skeletonmom]

As for the painless death I am referring to read the book by Temple Grandin "Humane Livestock Handling"

she is a high functioning autistic who works for the beef industry who designed one of the most state of the art cow chutes in the US. It seems many US companies understand a stressed cow is a cow whose meat doesnt taste good. Now, I know that is not all of them, and it doesnt apply to chickens and pigs.

[Locrian08]

If you care about human and nonhuman animals Pollan is not your ally. In this clip he says he's in favor of consuming chicken and cow's milk. He conventiently ignores extensive research (google the China Study) linking animal protein to cancer. He conveniently avoids that directly consuming plants is the most ecologically efficient way to get protein. (If he cared about efficiently concentrating protein from a diverse range of crops he would promote Leaf Protein Concentrate production).

[UMakeTheConnection]

You know Locrian08 I agree. I love the fact this issue was raised on HBO at least... in fact, you would never see this discussion on mainstream tv... The China Study is life altering... I have T. Colin Campbell interviews on my fav's log.. I am just trying to get people to stop and think, and even take baby steps to save to planet as well and most important, to make the connection with the sentient beings that have just as might right to this world as we do.....

[XXXOffroad]

What? He exposes a corrupt system and you badmouth him? If you want to make a movie about the China Study do it but don't tear down people who are trying to help. I think this is a very good documentary, I'd love to see something similar on the China study.

[MichaelnChristine]

The idea that we need to be consuming something called leaf protein concentrate rather then real food is disgusting and ridiculous. Also I would like to mention to all the Vegans of the world current Organic Farms cannot exist without the meat industry. I am not saying that other models, like permaculture, couldn't work but the current organic farm imports fertility in the form of animal manure. I daresay that your average lettuce grower kills more animals then your average rancher.

[donnyab]

@MichaelnChristine

Does animal manure not come from the SHIT of cattle, preferably cattle that have been eating grass and not other dead cattle, manure does not come from the processing of cow carcases or am I just stupid ?

[NWforager]

@Locrian08 1 of his mottos is 'Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants' . Being a critical thinking ,realist , Pollan know people eat meat . Since we do , he promotes doing the best we can for now. He'd be a turn off for most Americans if he was pushing a vegan diet 100% . He wouldn't be on HBO if he were talking 100% vegan.

[dunnowhat20]

@Locrian08 please stop this half baked info & scare tactics that are so very typical of this country...don't spread the paranoia. The meat & milk etc are all the way they are because of what your scientists & industrialist & your attitudes & "high flown quality of life" attitudes.

[Slugg329]

If all food is evil what the hell do I eat?

[UMakeTheConnection]

Try to eat a plant based diet, with lots of whole grains, pasta, rice, potatoes... all the veggies and fruit you want... keep it simple and pure... spice it up... enjoy. Your body will thank you.

[LostFan487]

well, I think what Slugg's saying is that everyone has a bone to pick with everything. You suggest pasta, which is a good alternative, but in the recent months, all the scare talk has been about gluten. Somebody else mentioned the growing connection between animal protein and cancer. We all know why we have to avoid high fructose corn syrup.

I would say that everything in moderation is fine. Try your best to get corn syrup out of your diet. (i.e. if you're making cookies, make them from scratch

[LostFan487]

eggs, butter, flour, etc., rather than buying store-bought crap) Make adjustments to the environment, like eating locally, and as Food, Inc. mentions, don't eat out-of-season foods.

Then, of course, as an ethical vegetarian I couldn't not mention giving up all animal meats, or at the bare minimum, buy free range and never from corporate fat-cats, i.e. McDonalds, Tyson, etc.

[aleterra]

@UMakeTheConnection Eating plants is good, but grass fed animals are also healthy to eat, we are omnivores. Even insects are also healthy to eat.

[Anthoric]

@UMakeTheConnection With copouis amounts of gas.

[mikek241]

@Slugg329 Try to buy from your local farmer, whatever is in season. Don't be afraid to eat animal foods if they're clean. The last thing you want to do is eat grains or pasta. As Pollen mentioned in the video; those are the foods which made humanity sick as it transitioned from the highly variable plant & animal based, hunter and gatherer type diet into agriculture. For the most part, if I were you, I would try to immolate the diet of our ancestors prior to the advent of agriculture.

[Anthoric]

@mikek241

So....wait....you say thatagricultiralgraindiet is bad and hunter/gatherer dietis good, then say to 'burn'(immolate) the good? What?

[mikek241]

@Anthoric ...spelling mistake...should've been emulate...i.e. copy

[Anthoric]

@mikek241 I figured as much, that one really jumped at me there though, not being a dick man,.

[nessyslife]

Excellent video my friend. Thankyou so much for the share.

[pro272727]

I went Vegan little more then a month ago and the craziest thing is that I am going through cheese withdraw.

[italndiva]

It is true about the cheese withdrawl. Watch Dr. Neal Bernard speak about how addicting cheese is! Most people don't notice or talk about it yet it is a fact! Good luck on this and you will have a clearer mind and honestly be a better person. Bravo!!

[UMakeTheConnection]

I can honestly say that italndiva is absolutely correct.... i'll send you a link by PM to this clip with Dr. Neal Bernard... it makes total sense if you take the time to watch it. I went through major cheese withdrawl, but now it smells like stinky feet... you'll do fine !

[pro272727]

For a while I was doing really bad, the first week I was doing fine, then it hit me, I could not sleep, my depression got really bad. It lasted about a week and does fit in with morphine withdrawal. I am now coming out of it and feeling and sleeping allot better then I ever have. Thank you for the link, I will share it with others, like I have with videos of yours.

[italndiva]

Laughing isn't that the truth. Cheese stinks big time! I could listen to Dr. Neal Bernard for hours. He is just an amazing man and so knowledgeable. One of my vegan doctors actually knows him and he said he is the kindest person you will ever meet. He is also against animal research which to me is the worst of the worst. So many good, accurate ways to test without using and abusing animals. I have to check out your other videos. I so support you!! xo

[creachhigher]

hey Pro272727, I am on my third week as a vegan and I went through the cheese withdraw until I found rice cheese at my grocery store. The stuff is awesome. even melts like dairy cheese. I highly recommend it! Just thought it may help. It's helped me.

[tylertyler82]

80% of the world's food is owned and distributed by 4 companies!

[italndiva]

He said *grow beef*. How wrong is this? Get Robbins book from the family Baskin Robbins and it really tells all. He disinherited himself from the family fortune. Go vegan. Or at least vegetarian.

[tylertyler82]

um eating meat is fine. drive less, walk to work, and buy locally.

[italndiva]

I never, ever will eat meat again. Watch videos about how harmful it is. I won't die from a heart attack. I have a 50 percent and more chance of not dying of the diseases that you will from eating meat. Any doctor worth anything will tell you this also. Watch Dr. Neal Bernard. He is the founder of PCRM and you will change your mind about eating meat. Most all my doctors and vets do not eat meat. It kills and is worse for the animals. I buy local organic veggies and my health is perfect.

[tylertyler82]

good for you. i'll live my life how i want to live, thanks mom.

[italndiva]

Not your mom darling. I can see your confusion as you haven't lived a right life. So I can imagine your mom having to tell you how to live correctly. If I did have a child he/she would be compassionate for all life. You are not. Ciao

[tylertyler82]

I know meat eaters who lived to be 100, no cancer, no alzheimers. There's more to a healthy lifestyle than not eating meat. You are just irresponsibly misinforming the public to fulfill your own AGENDA.

[italndiva]

I suppose it is my AGENDA to make people healthier and save lives. A vegetarian saves 100 animals per year. I know humans were NOT made to eat meat. I am not irresponsible at all. I own 2 business and have employees. I must be a very responsible person. Maybe one day you will wake up and see that you are eating animals. Some people think nothing about eating cats and dogs yet in the USA we cringe. People eat pigs which are actually smarter than cats and dogs. In India they worship the cow. Bye!

[tylertyler82]

Exactly, it's cultural to eat animals. Animals eat animals. Humans= animals= meat eaters. Humans have always eaten animals, unless you can scientifically prove otherwise. Here's my scientific evidence: canine teeth.

[italndiva]

Firstly I am not angry at all. I was actually thankful that you didn't block me as some people don't want to hear about meat. Don't take MY meat away. Well I have been posed this question many times. I reply with when is the last time you caught a rat, or whatever with those canine teeth and killed it right away, ate it raw, then disemboweled it within 5 minutes? Just because they are called canines doesn't mean we were meant to eat meat. Watch the video of Are Humans Carnivores. Simple yet true

[tylertyler82]

PS You don't seem to be living a happy, healthy life. You seem angry and vindictive.

[EdwarioERS]

Pigs are filthy animals -- not gonna live in my house-- that were discovered to be very tasty thousands of years ago and have stayed on the menu ever since. Dogs and cats have had functionality as domesticated animals throughout human history. Cats have vermin patrol and dogs can be trained to do all sorts of things. Instinctively, without ANY TRAINING dogs = security systems.

Personally I don't like dogs barking their balls off when a stranger comes close. Dogs are assholes. ha

[EdwarioERS]

Another thing. Mankind has raised cows, chickens, pigs, lambs, etc, for so long BECAUSE we could.

What do I mean?

Those animals listed above are defenseless animals. Mankind couldn't have gotten to where it is today with out easy meat in our diets.

During long past eras in world history meat was not as easy to come by then today; it was a luxury; still exits in the poorest places. As Americans, meat and food in general are not a luxury anymore; now it's better cars, homes and toys.

[EdwarioERS]

Culturally, the western world doesn't eat cat's and dogs. They are our domesticated companions; a part of the family. We'd only eat them if shit got really desperate..... stranded on a desert island desperate.

Just an observation.. hear me out. Cultures/regions of the world that TODAY eat cats and dogs...... are

A. DESPERATE

B. HAVE BRUTALITY

The poor, desperate and brutally victimized people of some African and Asian countries couldn't care less.

[slmwv34]

You just never know,

[iTellYouNoLie]

support grocers with their own butchers

[journeyman47]

Thanks for posting this! I hadn't heard about this movie; now I must go see it.

(I'll have to get Pollen's book, too.)

Good for Bill Maher for promoting it. They guy is brilliant and courageous. Thanks, Bill!

[UMakeTheConnection]

You can watch the trailer to this movie.... it is posted under my video description.

Thanks for your comment and I am looking forward to this movie as well.

[journeyman47]

Thanks, I checked out the trailer and now I want to see it more than ever! I will go, don't you worry!

[UMakeTheConnection]

I don't know if it be playing in my area, but I believe they will be selling the DVD.... either way I can't wait either.