Analysis Of Chapter One Of The Omnivore's Dilemma

One does not necessarily expect books about food also to be about bigger ideas like oppression, spirituality, and freedom, yet Pollan defies expectations. 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 mainly 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 the American food supply is also discussed. A fast-food meal is used to illustrate the end result of the

I chose Omnivore 's Dilemma for various reasons, one being to learn more about current food issues within our economy, ecosystem, and environment; and two, to learn more so I am not a hypocrite to my beliefs. My entire life I have grown up learning and practicing sustainable mannerisms. Learning to turn off the water while I brushed my teeth, using reusable tupperware and grocery bags, and not idling are a few of the many practices I was taught. I spent my middle and high school years surrounded by many individuals whose views about the environment were much different than my personal beliefs. Listening, observing, and learning from those around me drove me to apply for school and pursue a degree in

Corn is not the ideal nutritious food. It wreaks havoc on the animal;s' digestive system and gets turned into sweeteners that makes people obese, aside from giving us an unhealthy diet. In other words, the industrial food chain that American man is sustained on is largely based on corn, whether in its direct form, fed to livestock, or processed into chemicals such as glucose, and the cheapest forms of these are high-fructose corn syrup and ethanol. The former, particularly, through a combination of biological, cultural, and political factors, appears in the cheapest and most common of foods that constitute the American diet. It is the ingredient that results in obesity, and, since it appears in the cheapest products, the ingredients that more poor, than wealthier individuals, consume.

Prior to the European encounter with the “New World,” corn played a central role in both the lives and diets of Native Americans. Numerous religious rituals and beliefs revolved around corn. Still today, corn continues to be a constant presence in the lives and diets of all Americans. Corn touches us in ways we might not even realize. Most of us eat corn everyday whether we consume corn in its natural form or in meats, soft drinks, or sweets. From thousands of years ago to the present day, corn has sustained and continues to sustain human life.

He wants this meal to be hunted, gathered, and all grown by him. Pollan noted that sometimes taking the forager approach to consuming food isn’t a quite efficient way for humans to eat. Pollan figured by partaking in this experiment it would teach him numerous ways about eating foods naturally from the outside world, and not consuming so many foods that had a price tag or

The book Omnivore's Dilemma, change how I think about the things I eat, in a huge way. I used to think that our food, was killed and kepped in a slaughterhouse, and then killed, brutality. From reading the book, I know that it is not all animals that have to suffer like this, they get to have a good life and are not hurt. I now realize that I don’t have to hurt animals to get food, as long as I know where to go, and make healthy choices. I also used to think that when a package said a free range chicken or 100% organic meat, it was true, and the animal lived in a good place and had a happy life before they ended up here. Sadly I was very wrong, I learned from the Omnivore's Dilemma that those labels lie. A ‘free range’ chicken from a grocery

Are we exaggerating when we say corn is found in everything? In the U.S, corn is one of the largest, if not the largest, commodity of our agricultural market. We not only create millions of things for our domestic markets but also export millions of products overseas in different forms, such as oil, sodas and more. The average person probably wouldn’t think of corn as a product in constant demand nor as massive as it is. For the normal person, we may the general idea that corn is “used as a filler,” or “is bad for you,” but do we really know the specifics? Do we know if and how much is corn products bad for you? Is it really used in everything? As consumers, we don’t know the commodity chain and everything that connects to it because we only

Corn is an important part of many other markets such as chicken, eggs, etc according to Dr. Bruce Babcock this is because corn is one of the main meals for domestic livestock.

Corn which is supporting our diet, has adapted to new conditions and changed its nature many times; in addition, it changed the form of farmers and agriculture. Corn which is in the same boat, became a material for merchandise and food at the supermarket; therefore, we put them in our mouth. Pollan expresses American as “corn walking” in the Chapter 1

People should be aware of the amount of corn they’re taking in and food companies should return to producing wholehearted healthy foods rather than genetically modified corn bi-products. The amount of corn juices and oils a human body consumes on a daily basis should not be considered healthy for any human and the body isn’t engineered to use all of its nutrients in a healthy manner. Wholesome and healthy food has been made far more expensive in such little quantities making it almost impossible for most middle class families to avoid anything but corn-based foods.

The information regarding corn provided by Pollan was enlightening to me as well. Initially, I had no idea about the saturation of corn and corn related products in our modern diet. I agree with you that corn in its present manifestation depends on enormous amounts of fossil fuels which pollute the environment. Petroleum is used as a base for fertilizer and fuel for tractors during tilling and harvesting. Corn as grown by the Native Americans was vastly different then the current form and much more

In Part One of Michael Pollen's book The Omnivore's Dilemma, the author looks at the plethora of products available in today's supermarkets and the ubiquitousness of one plant, corn. Corn is a grass native to Central America and unknown in other parts of the world before 1492 (Pollan, 2006, p. 23). After the Native Americans taught colonists to plant corn, they quickly learned to appreciate its value and versatility. Corn was ready to eat, could be dried and stored, and could be ground into flour. The grain fed people and animals. Dried stalks became heating fuel. Mashed, fermented corn could be made into whisky and beer. It was a commodity that sustained people in many ways. For nearly 450 years, corn remained an important staple that nourished humans and animals. It provided some by-products that were also considered quite useful. By the middle of the 20th century, however, corn became a political commodity and completely changed the way we eat.

Corn has been around for many years and has served many useful purposes for humans. About eighty million acres are growing with corn crops (Capehart 1), Corn is an ingredient in a multitude of food and manufactured products such as starch, sweeteners, corn oil, drinking and rubbing alcohol (Capehart 1). The first genetically modified corn crop was planted in the United States in 1996 (Thomson 20). From 1996 to present day, the presence of genetically modified corn has increased considerably.

A good percentage of the food in the supermarket is linked to a specific kind of plant. This vegetable, which has many uses, is corn. Since the beginning of the United States, corn has taken an important role in the development in the nation, meaning that without corn this nation would not be the same. When the Europeans came here, there were no real resources that they could exploit for the benefit of their survival. But then one can ask the question, how did the Native Americans survive before they were killed by the infectious viruses and diseases from the Europeans? Well, as simple as it can be, corn was one of the prime elements for their survival, it was one of their main agricultural products. The Europeans that came to the United

Food is always critical for people’s living. People gain nutrients from foods to maintain their body from function properly. However, food can also cause negative effects on human body when taking wrong foods, such as diabetes. Michael Pollan, an author who is best known for writing about food, has stated that corn is the major factor that caused American to have unhealthy diets and Americans need to consume less of corn processed foods. In his book, Omnivore’s Dilemma, Pollan has made a good argument by providing significant resources to back up his argument and he has discussed both the pros and cons about corn that has let the readers to fully understand the situation.