If conventional wisdom has it that young people that embrace vegetarians are just going through a phase, or that they have eating disorders and are obsessed with their weighty, that is disappointing and it is a generalization that won't hold up to scholarly scrutiny. A recent study published by Time (Cloud, 2009) surveyed the eating habits of 2,516 young people in Minnesota (ages 15 to 23)
1-2). Another survey (conducted by the respected Harris Interactive polling organization and contracted by The Vegetarian Resource Group) reflects that about 7% of youth between the ages of 8 and 18 "…never eat meat" (Stahler, 2010)
Most recently, Pollan has become interested in the practices of the meat industry, and trends in the larger fields of American agribusiness. He is active in global conservation issues, and received the Reuters World Conservation Union Global Award and James Beard Foundation Award for best magazine series in 2003 (Levine, 2001)