Eric Schlosser

There is a growing market today for local, organic foods produced by small farmers. And farmers' markets have played a large role in making that happen.

McDonald's has been extraordinary at site selection; it was a pioneer in studying the best places for retail locations. One of the things it did is study very carefully where sprawl was headed.

I'm a huge supporter of animal rights - and I've been an outspoken critic of the cruelties routinely inflicted on livestock at factory farms. But it really bothers me that the mistreatment of pigs and chickens and cows seems to attract a lot more attention and spark a lot more outrage than the abuse of immigrant workers.

I'm all in favor of animal rights, but I'd like to see the food movement take a much stronger stand in defense of basic human rights. If you're a vegan or a vegetarian, you should care about the people who are picking your fruits and vegetables by hand.

The importance of recalls is to show that contaminated meat is getting out the door. And when you look at these recalls, in many ways the most disturbing thing about these recalls is how little of the meat actually winds up back at the plant.

As a matter of fact, most cases of food poisoning are never linked back to their source.

I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.

I try to persuade people to act in ways that are not only in their own interest, but in the interest of society at large.

I can understand why a single parent, working two jobs, would find it easier to stop at McDonald's with the kids rather than cook something from scratch at home.

By birth and upbringing, I think I'm emotionally resilient. I don't feel like I'm a depressive person.

I think there should be very strict limits on the pathogens that can be sold in your meat. There should be limits on disease-causing pathogens. Tests should determine whether the meat is contaminated or not, and you shouldn't be allowed to sell contaminated meat.

Different people, in good faith, can look at the same fact and interpret it differently. But that's where an interesting conversation begins.