Michael Pollan Makes TIME 100 List, Alice Waters Says She Was 'Pollanized' (VIDEO)

TIME released their annual TIME 100 issue last week, naming the people who have most influenced our world, and author/journalist/food activist Michael Pollan made the cut under the 'Thinkers' section for invigorating the conversation on the ethics of eating.

Alice Waters, co-owner of Chez Panisse and local-food champion, wrote a profile on Pollan for TIME, dubbing his fast-spreading food credo a process of "Pollanization." Waters writes:

Unwilling to accept the food industry's account of where beef comes from, Michael bought a steer in Kansas to follow the life cycle of a kernel of corn from the laboratory to the feed bin to the restaurant where the beef is served. It's a harrowing tale, and since the moment I heard him tell it, I have not served corn-fed beef of any kind. I was Pollanized -- and I am not alone. ... When he speaks live, I've seen thousands grip their seats as they realize what our food system has become and how badly we need to fix it.

Pollan spoke to TIME about who has influenced him most, crediting poet/essayist/farmer Wendell Berry with beginning the discussion on the politics of agriculture: