Rolling Stone magazine, which I'm proud (enough) to let everyone know I've subscribed to for the last 20 years, has published a list of 100 "Agents of Change" in its latest issue. Rollings Stone's list is, as always, something fun to mull over, debate, cheer for, complain about, and tear apart. This time around, they did get a few things right. Barack Obama is number one on the list, for example, and Michael Pollan is on it too. Here's what Rolling Stone says about him:
The one-man think tank of the local-grown-foods movement 
WHAT HE'S CHANGING: Our understanding of what we eat. Nobody connects the dots between big agriculture, the obesity epidemic and climate change better than the author of In Defense of Food. If you care about what agribusiness is doing to our bodies and our world, you need to pay attention to his work. FRIENDS SAY: "He's a visionary," says New York Times food writer Mark Bittman. "Anyone who is involved in food in a serious way is in his debt." NEXT TASK: Gathering recipes for a cross-cultural compendium of how to eat healthily.
If you've read the Simple, Good, and Tasty blog before, you know that I couldn't agree more. What irks me is Pollan's placement on the list: number 69 out of 100. Okay, okay, there are some heavy hitters on the list. Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, Al Gore, Evan Williams, and Bono deserve their places at (or near) the top. The good news for fans of Michael Pollan and good, local, sustainable food is that our man is listed before such luminaries as Shai Agassi, Melanie Sloan, and Taylor Swift (!). But here are a few "agents of change" Rolling Stone has ahead of Pollan on the list: Lil Wayne, Kate Winslet, and Kanye West (number 7!), who is doing the important visionary work of popularizing auto-tune. I like all of these people's work, but really? Please understand: I'm not just making fun of the Rolling Stone list because it's easy. I'm also doing it because it's fun.
