Today is the day to drink something old from the liquor cabinet.

A few things. Tonight, if you live in Chicago, please come check me out at Schadenfreude's Rent Party at the Gallery Cabaret. This is a monthly showcase of the best and brightest material from schadenfreude.net, live on stage. The doors open at 8pm and the show is at 8:30pm and I hear that famous Chicago burlesque dancer Michelle "Toots" L'Amour will be performing too. One of us might be taking off our clothes. Guess which one?

Also, have you ever rented a movie from Netflix and let it sit around, not watching it, taking weeks and weeks before you felt it was time to send it back unwatched? I did, recently, and so have many people I've spoken with. Email me your story of Notflixing.

Last week I interviewed author Michael Pollan, but we got interrupted and had to resume our conversation later. Today I present:

The Second Half of the Michael Pollan Interview: Just Over Ten Questions (or something)

You said in one interview, "A civilization that feeds itself from one crop is going to be less healthy long-term than one that feeds itself from a dozen crops." Why is that?
Because we are biologically evolved as omnivores. We need, for our health and our survival, to eat between 40-50 different things. Those might be secondary compounds in plants, those might be minerals and macronutrients. You do not get those from just one plant. You need a diversity from plants in your diet. Whereas a cow can get every single chemical compound it needs from grass and the koala bear can do from eucalyptis leaves, that's a biological imperative. Even if you tease out some other substances from corn, it's not enough. There are kids around here who have nutrient deficiencies and rickets from eating corn-based diets fast-food.

Is there anything else inherently bad about depending so much on corn specifically, as opposed to any other crop?
No-depending on any one crop would be bad. Just look at the Irish in the 1800's-they suffered all sorts of problems from depending on the potato. The problem is monoculture. The greatest lesson we've learned in history is don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Forgetting what you've learned in your research, just in terms of product, aesthetics and experience-what is your favorite place to buy food?
I really like the farmer's market. We've got great ones here in Berkeley. We've got three different ones on three different days. There's a lot more going on than the exchancge of food for money. They're public places where you meet your neighbors and you try new foods because people put out samples. You learn how to cook it because you can ask the farmer, "What you do with this?" Plus, the kids learn about food-they are very disconnected from food. They think carrots are these little orange bullets that come in plastic bags and they go to the farmer's market and see that it's actually root. Plus, city meets country-how often does that happen? I really enjoy that and make a point to go, even when I don't need anything.

There is also a place here called Berkeley Bowl that's kind of a pain to shop at but I like it. There are probably 50 fruits and vegetables that you'd have no idea what to do with. You see all these species you've never seen before.

What have you found are the biggest challenges of food writing?
Access to the places that produce our industrial food is a challenge-getting into feed lots, slaughter houses, processing plants. I followed the path of this bushel of corn but it was hard getting into ADA or Cargill. I wanted to see their process and they wouldn't let me. I think that's a real problem that people who prepare your food won't let you see it.

Convincing editors in New York that it was an interesting subject was also a challenge. If you call it "agriculture writing", people are like "Bo-ring!" They think agriculture is something that doesn't relate to them. But of course agriculture is food. If you call it 'food,' then you learn you get a different response. The challenge is bringing all the way to the plate, and not just the farm.

With the books you've written, it seems like you've educated yourself to be self-sufficient at least when it comes to carpentry and agriculture. Are there other areas of your life where you'd like to learn to be self-sustaining?
I have learned how to be self-sufficient but I don't practice that much. I don't pick up a hammer very often. I do grow some food because I'm OK at gardening. I didn't think about it as self-sufficient---I just wanted to learn how to do them to learn about the subjects. I didn't want to practice so much as to understand it. My interest is this realm where nature and culture intersect. I sometimes think of myself as a nature writer but I'm not interested in the wilderness-I like to write about nature close to home and remind readers that nature is part of our everyday lives.

In your research, did you find whether the average American vegetarian or vegan eats much more healthfully than the average American omnivore?
Yes. Some vegans get into trouble nutritionally because they have to be very careful to cover their bases. There are some nutrients you get from meat that you can replace but it takes work. You have to know more about nutrition to do that. They're healthier then because they pay more attention to their food, which gives them an enormous edge.

How often do you get questions from people who mistake you for a weight loss guru?
People do ask me questions about what they should eat but I'm really loathe to give people dietary advice. I don't know the answers. People should figure it out for themselves. I think people are too reliant on experts. People should listen to their mom. The culture of food is far more reliable in terms of good advice, which will be tied to your ethnicity. What works for somebody who evolved in a Mediterrian environment might be totally different from somebody who grew up in Alaska. To offer advice to people across the board about what to eat is a very dangerous thing. The one bit of advice I do offer is, don't eat anything that your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.

Do you think you'll ever hunt again?
I don't feel a need to. If Angelo calls-and he has sometimes--it hasn't worked out for my schedule so far. I might. I don't really feel compelled to, though. Of the new things I've learned how to do, I think I'd go mushroom hunting again. Hunting for me was a really rich experience. For the same rason I don't need to get bar mitzvah'ed again, I don't need to go hunting again. On the other hand, I really did like the meat.

As a writer, I'm very impressed by your resume in general: what do you feel were some of the key experiences/publications that turned you from an aspiring write into a professional?
It's such a gradual experience. Publishing a book (Second Nature) was the first time I thought "I could be a writer." I was an editor. I didn't think it was a realistic expectation to be a full-time writer. The ambition to write gradually formed while I was at Harper's. I started thinking of myself as a writer and not an editor. The big step for me came when I quit Harper's to work on my second book. I left New York City and moved to the country so I could live more cheaply and write full-time.

How does it feel to be the 151st person interviewed for Zulkey.com?
I'm really bummed I wasn't the 150th. I dunno, it feels pretty good.

More interviews here!