When a wealthy donor to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, who also happens to be chairman of a conventional beef operation, caught wind that the school was inviting Michael Pollan to lecture about sustainable food, he threatened to pull future funding unless an “alternative view” was presented. That’s all it took to get Cal Poly to reconsider.

Pollan will now be one speaker on a panel discussing sustainable agriculture. No word yet on whether the “balanced” criteria will apply to all future speakers, or only speakers who offend wealthy donors.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Agribusinesses across the U.S. have a beef with sustainable food guru Michael Pollan, but at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo it has taken on a definite sizzle. 

Threatening to pull donations from the school, a major California agribusiness has succeeded in turning what was to be a campus lecture by Pollan tomorrow into a panel discussion involving Pollan, a meat-science expert and one of the largest organic growers in the U.S.

“While I understand the need to expose students to alternative views, I find it unacceptable that the university would provide Michael Pollan an unchallenged forum to promote his stand against conventional agricultural practices,” David E. Wood, chairman of the Harris Ranch Beef Co., wrote in a scathing Sept. 23 letter to the Cal Poly president.

Wood has pledged $150,000 toward a new meat processing plant on campus. In his letter, he said Pollan’s scheduled solo appearance had prompted him to “rethink my continued financial support of the university.” He also criticized an animal sciences professor who said that conventional feedlots like the one run by Harris Ranch were not a form of sustainable agriculture.

[…]

“The issue is about whether the school is really free to explore diverse ideas about farming,” [Pollan] said. “Is the principle of balance going to apply across the board? The next time Monsanto comes to speak at Cal Poly about why we need [genetically modified organisms] to feed the world, will there be a similar effort? Will I be invited back for that show?”

Read the whole article here.

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• The Future of Food: CEO Says Some Organic Companies Use Feedlots…Who Can We Trust?
• Food Fight: Organic vs. Conventional Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

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