Tonight I got to attend a “lecture” and book signing by Michael Pollan at the West Roxbury branch of the BPL. I’m a major fanboy so this was a pretty big treat. He spoke for about 30 minutes and then answered some questions. Unfortunately, questions had to be submitted on index cards prior to the talk–which, btw, seems like a guaranteed method for increasing the triviality of the questions–and I somehow didn’t get an index card. I tried asking while he signed my copy of In Defense of Food, but I quickly got swarmed and shooed away by the hovering organizers for holding up the line. Here’s what I would like to have asked:

My town, Lexington, MA, has just recently entered in agreement to purchase Busa Farm a family farm consisting of several acres. This land has been productive farmland for 300+ years. The town is now going to begin a long process to decide what to do with this land (with some restrictions due to the money for the purchase coming from CPA funds). In your experience what are the most effective arguments we can use to convince the town and town government that local farmland is more valuable and will provide more benefit to the town than the competing interests, such as ball fields, playgrounds and affordable housing?

So that’s what I really wanted to hear Pollan respond to, but oh well. And, yeah, I’ve spent the past few weeks going to town meetings and trying to help organize a group to save this farm. That’s going to be a later, longer post though.