The first "Let's Talk About Food" event of 2012 is a whopper: Marian Nestle, the well-deserved queen of food commentary, and US Rep Chellie Pingree, one of Congress's food-policy leaders, highlight the bill.

At the beginning, there was little more than a matinee. In September 2009, the Museum of Science scheduled a Wednesday afternoon showing of “Food Inc.,” wondering if it would draw an audience.

“Surprisingly to everyone around here, the auditorium was full, with a huge waiting list,” said David Sittenfeld, manager of the museum’s forum program. “What we realized was that we needed not just a few programs about food but a full and discrete program.”