Speak Up for Academic Freedom

Via Food Democracy Now:

Last week, Washington State University announced that it was pulling Michael Pollan’s best-selling book The Omnivore’s Dilemma from its required Common Reading Program for all incoming freshman due to pressure from corporate agribusiness.

This type of censorship cannot stand!

In March of this year, a university committee had selected Pollan’s book, which takes a careful look at how America produces its food, and decided that it was an excellent choice for the student body of the land grant university.

Unfortunately, WSU administrators later removed the book from the required common reading program. While top WSU officials attributed removal of Pollan’s book from the reading program to hard financial times, despite the fact the 4,000 copies of the book have already been purchased, some faculty members have spoken out.

One WSU professor, quoted in The Chronicle of Higher Education – anonymously, for fear of losing their job, stated that Pollan’s book was pulled “because of the politics of the agriculture industry…and that President Floyd decided that this was not a battle he wanted to wage.”

It’s time that this type of corporate control over land grant education and research end.

We believe that academic freedom and vigorous debate on all intellectual issues should be encouraged at every university, especially land grant universities charged with turning out the next generation of leaders.

For more information on how to get involved, visit Food Democracy Now.