Michael Pollan—the guru of foodies whose distinct blend of history, science and every other intellectual pursuit has been for many a revolutionary recipe for eating—will appear next month at Toby’s Feed Barn in a benefit for the Point Reyes Farmers’ Market. He will cover a range of topics with farmer David Mas Masumoto, author of the cookbook/storybook The Perfect Peach, which shares the farming history of his own Japanese American family, in a conversation moderated by meditation teacher and author Wendy Johnson. Mr. Pollan might also touch on the subject of his new book, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, in which he delves into both the practical and philosophical dimensions of what he calls the “middle link in the food chain: cooking.” He explains how cooking in fact made us human (by pre-digesting our food, leaving energy to grow the brain), how for modern Americans learning to cook is the most important way to make our food system healthier and more sustainable, and how the kitchen offers appealing answers to existential questions about humankind’s role in the natural order. Named one of the world’s most influential people by Time Magazine in 2010, Mr. Pollan is a professor and director of the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, and has written four New York Times best sellers. The benefit begins at 7:30 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets ($30), visit ptreyesbooks.com. Proceeds from the event, co-sponsored by Point Reyes Books, Osteria Stellina and Marin Organic, will benefit the Bay Area’s only all-local and all-organic certified produce market, which is open on Saturday mornings in downtown Point Reyes Station through November 2.