The Omnivore's Dilemma

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The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Author Michael Pollan
Language English
Publisher The Penguin Press
Publication date 2006

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals is a 2006 non-fiction book by Michael Pollan in which the author explores the question "What should we have for dinner?" To answer this question, he follows four meals, each derived through a different food-production system, from their origins to the plate. Along the way, Pollan examines the ethical, political, and ecological factors that are intertwined in the industrial, large-scale organic, small-scale organic, and personal (hunted-gathered) food chains, while describing the environmental and health consequences that result from food choices within these chains.

Contents

[edit] Food chains analyzed

[edit] Industrial

Pollan begins with an exploration of the food-production system from which the vast majority of American meals are derived. This industrial food chain is largely based on corn, whether it is eaten directly, fed to livestock, or processed into chemicals such as glucose and ethanol. Pollan discusses how the humble corn plant came to dominate the American diet through a combination of biological, cultural, and political factors. The role of petroleum in the cultivation and transportation of the American food supply is also discussed.

A fast food meal is used to illustrate the end result of the industrial food chain.

[edit] Organic

The following chapter delves into the principles of organic farming and their various implementations in modern America. Pollan shows that as organic food has grown in popularity, its producers have adopted many of the methods of industrial agriculture, while losing sight of the organic movement's anti-industrial roots. A meal prepared from ingredients purchased at Whole Foods represents this food chain at the table.

As a study in contrast, Pollan visits Joel Salatin's small-scale organic farm, where natural conditions are adhered to as closely as possible, very few artificial inputs are used, and waste products are recycled back into the system. He then prepares a meal using only local produce from small-scale organic farmers.

[edit] Ethical

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Pollan explores the ethical aspect of eating animals; during his research, the author decides to become a vegetarian. He points out that the vegetarian movement grows larger every year, because meat is no longer essential to the human diet. The logic of animal liberation activist Peter Singer is explained as Pollan tries to defend the meat-eating ways of society, but is easily contradicted by Singer in his famous essay Animal Liberation.[citation needed] He realizes that while no one really thinks the ongoing slaughter is morally right, it is nonchalantly put off by most people because it’s not something they see and therefore have to deal with every day.

Ideas he calls the "Vegetarian’s Dilemma" are then pointed out, which Pollan quickly discovers while he trails the vegetarian diet. He finds that while he does feel better about himself, he feels as though he is burdening his hosts or guests, and that may lead to an awkward or rude impression. Social norms like Thanksgiving and hot dogs at a baseball game are now no longer a part of his life. Pollan argues that possibly because humans are animals themselves, vegetarians may be taking something away from the human identity; meat-eating has been imprinted in humanity's genes through millions of years of evolution.

Pollan concludes his vegetarian trial with his own philosophical ideas on the issue. As everything in today’s industrial world is highly dependent on fossil fuels, which in turn harm the planet in every imaginable way, possibly the most ethical thing is to eat animals, as more fossil fuels would be necessary to raise and transport vegetarian approved foods. Without humans to raise, reproduce, and finally eat them, farm animals would have become extinct decades ago. After Pollan kills a chicken himself and realizes that the animal did not appear fearful or vengeful about its own death, he decides to quit the vegetarian way. His solution calls for transparent walls around the meat industry, allowing people to see what is really going on and decide for themselves.

[edit] Personal

The final chapter finds Pollan attempting to prepare a meal using only ingredients he has hunted, gathered, or grown himself. He recruits assistance from local foodies, who teach him to hunt feral pigs, gather wild mushrooms, and search for abalone. He also makes a salad of greens from his own garden, bakes sourdough bread using wild yeast, and prepares a dessert from cherries picked in his neighborhood.

Pollan concludes that while such a meal is not practical on a regular basis, as an occasional exercise it helps to reconnect us with the natural origins of food as well as human history.

[edit] Honors

The New York Times named The Omnivore’s Dilemma one of the ten best books of 2006.[1]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The 10 Best Books of 2006", The New York Times, December 12, 2006.

[edit] External links

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