Nathanael Johnson: A Skeptic’s Take on the ‘All-Natural’ Approach

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Between climate change, killer germs, and rampant obesity, it’s no wonder we feel out of sync with the global ecosystem. But how do we re-sync? Nathanael Johnson, author of All Natural, says this ecological anxiety has pushed us into two disparate coping camps: one betting on natural solutions and organic lifestyles, the other on technological fixes and industrial efficiencies. But neither orthodoxy delivers completely: Sometimes higher-tech means higher-risk, and sometimes “all natural” is not good for us, or even natural. As Johnson uncovers the paradoxes at the heart of our ecological condition (Why, even as medicine improves, are we becoming less healthy? Why do we grow fatter the more we diet?), he cuts a middle path that might assuage frustrated environmentalists, perplexed parents, and confused consumers alike. Johnson is joined in onstage conversation by Dr. Daniel Cherkin, senior scientific investigator at Group Health Research Institute and director of Bastyr University Research Institute. Presented by Town Hall and University Book Store as part of The Seattle Science Lectures, sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU.

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