Annotated Bibliography of 'Omnivore's Dilemma'

In the second section of Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, pastoral grass and “organic foods” are the main focus and many agree that grass is a far better choice for animals that graze. By switching a cows diet back to normal food, will impact the market of food prices because the supply would not be able to keep up with the demand, thus making the food market a disaster, or at least that’s what I picture when I think of the outcome. The demand for beef now is so great that these cattle are being slaughtered at roughly 12 months, that’s not even half of the total life-span they’re supposed to live. A grass fed cow takes about 4-5 years to be ready for some great steaks, but thanks to our wonder crop, “corn”, we can slice that

Micheal Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma is a novel that discusses his findings about the food we consume from the fertilizer to when it end in the supermarket in three major sections. The first section is about the overproduction of corn, its origin and how it is in the majority of everything we eat because of its versatility. The next section is about the organic food “empire,” its origin from hippies and its similarities to the processed food industry in some ways. The last section is about him experiencing hunting for his food as a hunter- gatherer. Throughout these sections there are two major themes: there is a fundamental tension between the logic of nature and human industry, and the way we eat represents our most profound engagement

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

The local sustainable food chain from The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan would best feed the United States because it is efficient and natural and has little to no impact on the environment compared to the industrial food chains. Pollan illustrates several different food chains in his book, but currently we are depending on two out of the four he discussed. The two industrial food chains already are feed the entire U.S, and it doesn’t look like they are going away. In a perfect world we would all buy local sustainable products.

Our nation’s industrial farming has become more than just feeding people; it has become a way for the food industry to make more money as human population continues to grow. Jonathan Safran Foer in his book Eating Animals, illustrates the effects factory farming has had on animals meant for human consumption. Furthermore, Foer asks many questions to the reader on what will it take for us to change our ways before we say enough is enough. The questions individuals need to be asking themselves are: how do we deal with the problem of factory farming, and what can people do to help solve these issues? Eric Schlosser in Fast Food Nation, also illustrates the animal abuse that goes unseen within the food industry as well as Bernard Rollin and Robert Desch in their article “Farm Factories”, both demonstrate what is wrong today with factory farming. Foer gives such examples of employees who work in slaughterhouses giving accounts of what goes on in the kill floors, and stories of employees who have witnessed thousands and thousands of cows going through the slaughter process alive (Animals 231). Namit Arora in the article “On Eating Animals”, as well as Michael Pollan in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, both address some of the issues that animals face once they hit the kill floor. The food industry has transformed not only how people eat, but also the negative effects our climate endures as a result of factory farming as illustrated by Anna Lappe in “The Climate Crisis at the End

In almost every culture, one of the most cherished pass times is food. We eat to sustain or health, to celebrate, to morn, and sometimes just to do it. Yet, how often do we question were that food comes from? Most everyone purchases their meals from the grocery store or at a restaurant but have you ever wondered where that juicy steak grazed? How about how those crisp vegetables? Where were those grown? The Omnivore 's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, analyzes the eating habits and food chains of modern America in an attempt to bring readers closer to the origin of their foods. Not only where it comes from, but where it all begins, as well as what it takes to keep all of those plants and animals in

Michael Pollan the author of Omnivore 's Dilemma discusses and asks, “what should we have for dinner?” He attempts to answer one of the pressing questions of sustainability in today 's society, to save money or to save the planet, and how? Pollan talks about how humans are omnivores and we have the choice to eat whatever we want, no matter the health and sustainability implications of our decisions. Pollan discusses three main food chains, industrial (corn), organic, and hunter/gatherer. He analyzes each food chain, learning eating industrial is basically eating corn, and goes into the complex issues

You open the fridge, the spotlight shines on all of the food, and suddenly you are stuck with the decision of what to eat. Everyone has been in a situation where they didn’t know which food to choose, to help us understand our options better, Michael Pollan created the book, Omnivore's Dilemma. In this book, there is a certain chapter that stands out the most: Chapter 8. Chapter 8 states all the facts about what the “omnivore's dilemma” is. By looking closer into this chapter, the reader goes back to the very question that pioneered this whole idea. The idea that in the modern world, with such a surplus of choices, how do we decide what we should, and what we should not eat? To give us a better idea of how we got here, let's start by finding out how we got to this point in the first place.

What am I exactly eating? Where does our food come from? Why should I care? “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” may forever change the way you think about food. I enjoyed Mr. Pollan’s book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and learned a great deal of information. Pollan’s book is a plea for us to stop and think for a moment about our whole process of eating. Pollan sets out to corn fields and natural farms, goes hunting and foraging, all in the name of coming to terms with where food really comes from in modern America and what the ramifications are for the eaters, the eaten, the economy and the environment. The results are far more than I expected them to be.

Have you ever walked down the grocery store aisle and wondered where your chicken comes from? Or if the ham you just bought is healthier for your family, than the other brand of ham you saw? In “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, Michael Pollan states that there are four different food chains. They’re the industrial, the industrial organic, the local sustainable, and the hunter-gatherer food chains. I believe that the best food chain for everyone in the United States would be the local sustainable. The local sustainable food chain is the best for the United States because it is better for the animal, and better for the environment. Although the local sustainable food chain would take a long time to get used to, it would be the best option for the United States.

I will be addressing an argument that proves the importance of adopting a plant-based diet for ones health and the environment. I will be focusing on the benefits of refraining from animal products and the many health issues that come along with a meat-eaters diet. Beyond the health of the body, I will then reflect on how the entire world is affected by the diet of mankind and how important it is to refrain from continuing this reckless way of living. My argument addressing the importance of adopting a plant-based diet is in direct correlation with my environmental studies major focusing on environmental issues surrounding the consumption and production of animal products. Environmental studies focuses on all of the key points that I have chosen to concentrate on in my persuasive essay such as deforestation, greenhouse gases, the depletion of natural resources, scarcity of fresh water and harvesting fossil fuels in relation to climate change.

In the society today, most people eat more of organic food to food produced with chemicals. This means people rely on products that are 100 percent natural. One of the most natural food eaten by Americans is meat. As a matter of fact, most of the meat eaten today originates from cattle. To make maters worst, it has issues when it comes to production. In most feed yards, cattle’s are fed grain to grow fatter and bigger before being slaughtered, the conditions are terrible and horrifying. Thing brought up a lot of questions within me. I wondered why cattle’s deviated from eating grass to corn and why they did? Do the cattle’s suffer from infection after eating the corn? Should human be bothered about the way the cattle’s are grown? Is it necessary

Corn is a mainstay of the diet of livestock as there are no other cheap and plentiful feeds. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations are a direct result of corn subsidies such as the ethanol boom which have been ever-growing in surpluses. There has also been a rise of modern family farms due to the surpluses that soared years after the Second World War as a result of the widespread use of petrochemical fertilizers. A corn diet affects the meat consumed as cows fed on corn develop well-marbled flesh which gives the meat a likeable taste and texture. At the same time this meat is termed unhealthy due to its high content of saturated fat. The fat is unhealthy and believed to promote heart diseases. There is also numerous health problems associated

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.

Consumption of meat by humans creates several problems. First and foremost, raising animals for food compromises the environment. For example, it takes a large amount of natural resources to sustain the meat industry. The use of water, land, and food to raise animals for human consumption is not an efficient use of our limited resources. In contrast, it is more efficient to feed humans directly than to use land, food, and water to feed animals to be used as food. There are shortages of fertile land, clean water, and food in several third world countries. Many of these countries’ resources are allocated to produce feed for animals in developed countries around the world. As a result, the citizens of these countries are stricken with water and food shortages, while their crops are feeding cattle from across the globe. However, this problem can be solved by adopting a vegan diet. The vegan diet will allow a more efficient use of resources that in turn can be used to feed starving men, women, and children throughout the world. Consequently, more people in the world could be fed if the land used to grow feed for animals was used to grow food for humans.