Book Report On Omnivore's Dilemma

The answers Pollan offers to the seemingly straightforward question posed by this book have profound political, economic, psychological, and even moral implications for all of us. Beautifully written and thrillingly argued, The Omnivore’s Dilemma promises to change the

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

The Omnivore’s Dilemma can be defined as the inability to make a decision on what you should eat (given you are able

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.

Pollan’s style of writing has often left me in confusion from some of the details he provides. In chapter 3 of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” it’s clear to me how and why farmers previously used burlap sacks for their corn and that in 1850’s they had to transition to the system of commodity corn due to the invention of the grain elevator in the 1850’s. However, what I don’t understand is the technical issue between the burlap bag and the grain elevator that caused the inevitable scheme of commodity corn. Why couldn’t the elevator store the burlap sacks? Furthermore, if the elevator couldn’t accommodate for the sacks, then why was it invented that way?

In the book Omnivore's Dilemma, author Michael Pollan explains the many deficits that he perceives in the ways in which food is distributed in the United States of America. Pollan's harshest criticisms are aimed at the food production companies and the ways in which they have bastardized the natural system of food production and turned it into a system which is dependent on fossil fuels; specifically the way that processed corn has become a staple of food products including how it is used as a substitute for grass in the feeding of cattle and as corn syrup and similar derivatives to be used to unnaturally preserve packaged food products. Omnivore's Dilemma does make an interesting point about the denaturalization of the food industry, but Michael Pollan overlooks the many benefits of the current system of food production, which allows humans to produce more food on less land than in pre-industrial agriculture which in turn allows for greater sustenance to the human consumer. Additionally, the proposals that Pollan makes are simply not feasible. He believes that the United States should change from an industrialized food distribution system to a model which only uses local produce, a proposal which is not economically logical, particularly in this aggressively depressed economy.

In the Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan addresses a wide variety of issues concerning America’s food culture and the single, foundational ingredient; corn. The overproduction and overabundance of corn in America presents an array of issues, the least of these being the ethical implications of such an inflated surplus.

Michael Pollan, in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, advocates for organic, locally grown foods. He contends that processed foods, unlike organic foods, are

The Omnivore’s Dilemma Summary The main idea of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, is to make the reader aware of where his food comes from, and what goes into his food. Pollan does this by breaking the book into four different types of meals: the industrial and processed meal consisting of food produced in factories or grown on large-scale farms, the organic meal created on industrial farms, the “grass fed” meal made of meat and produce created on mindful and smaller farms, and finally the meal containing food gathered, hunted, or grown by the person who will consume it. Pollan starts by explaining the origin of corn in Mexico and southwestern North America.

Obesity is the condition of having excessive body weight caused by the accumulation of fat (Medical Dictionary). As the rate begins to grow higher in the population of children and adults there is one question that remains in the air: How can this increasing risk rate be reduced? “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” written by Michael Pollan, tells Pollan’s journey through the four food chains: Industrial, Industrial Organic, Local Sustainable, and Hunter-Gatherer. The industrial chain is where most food comes today, the Industrial Organic meal encompasses around most of what is found in stores like Whole Foods, the Local Sustainable meals are small farms usually based on grass, not corn, and Hunter-Gatherer meals are those that are hunted. To improve the health of the population and improve conditions with animals and the environment, the local sustainable food chain is the most

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan was written to oppose the common misunderstanding of Americans as a whole on what we should eat when options are so plentiful. The book begins by asking a straightforward rhetorical question projected to make the reader think on a more personal level how they would answer this. Pollan asks, “What should we have for dinner?”, Then goes on to elaborate just how difficlut the answer is. Pollan breaks down the book into three main sections being “Industrial Corn”, “Pastoral Grass”, and “The Forest”. Within each section he goes on 4 different eating adventures. Throughout each section he does an excellent job going into great detail to convince the omnivores of America that ultimately we need to have a

Micheal Pollan is “an author of Cooked, Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and The Botany of Desire, which was all New York Times bestsellers. He was a longtime contributor to The New York Times Magazine and is also a Professor of Journalism at Berkeley. In 2010, Pollan was named one of the one hundred most influential people in the world by Times Magazine.” (Table of Contents, About the Author) Micheal Pollan starts off with “What should we have for dinner,” which sets the stage for the book. A question that seems so difficult to answer. Throughout my reading, I find that Pollan is more bias on the use of organic and sustainable farming based on his experiences throughout the book. One can understand Pollan's opinions

Living against the mainstream of society is a challenge which can be difficult to accomplish. The choice to become an outsider can correlate to the lifestyles of vegetarians, vegans, and fruitarians, composing a pool of beings who share similar beliefs and values for which they hold to their lives. Does changing eating habits have global impacts and is it safe to make such drastic adjustments to ones diet? By covering the following topics, the question will be resolved: the fundamentals behind living a vegetarian, vegan, or fruitarian lifestyle, examples of individuals thriving on the variety of lifestyles, how diet differences relate to sustainability survivor challenges and our environmental impact, as well as my own personal experiences relating to aberrant ways of living. The ways of eating, people have become accustomed to, bears negative environmental impacts and other alternative options may be the solution to several world problems. As Albert Einstein once stated, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet” (Vegetarian 1).

Meat consumption is a normal part of most people’s diets. However, meats accumulate to a large impact to the amount of greenhouse gases in our environment. The amount of meat a person eats counts up to how much carbon dioxide in released in the air. This is a part of an individual’s carbon foot printing. To decrease carbon emissions, individuals should try to reduce their meat intake and have organic, environmental-friendly food. According to The Nature Conservancy, “there are a lot of environmental reasons to buy organic food including reducing carbon toxins in the environment and encouraging sustainable farming practices, which frequently accompany organic farming”. Organic food is produced and distributed locally. As a result, transportation is not used constantly, and slight carbon is released into the air. If an individual chooses to consume healthy, organic food, their carbon footprints will be low and the environment surrounding them will be cleaner. This contrasts to meats that are loaded with chemicals that are being transported from state to state. These meats create a large carbon footprint from the time it is being processed to the time it travels through a state. The amount of meat an individual eats in their life not only affects them, but it also effects the environment around them.

As technology continues to advance, so does one’s level of research. The internet provides a plethora of information to those seeking answers to pertinent questions—questions specifically regarding health and environmentalism. Before the internet, people typically relied on advice from friends, doctors, or sayings. We’ve all heard “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” But now that the times are changing and more information is readily available at the click of our smart phone, is it time to question information that has been engrained in us since childhood. Veganism, a plant-based diet that has become increasingly more popular in the past few years, arguably is a not a “trend,” and perhaps adopting this way of living could in fact save the planet. In his article, “Go Vegan, save the planet,” Wang acknowledges that going Vegan is not an easy transition. “It requires overcoming our habits and our tastes, learning new ways to cook, planning during travel, and navigating the social aspects of eating and meal sharing” (Wang, George C). Environmentalism and humanity have a direct correlation when it comes to the consumption of animals. To eat or not to eat? Ethical or not ethical? Is one following their moral compass before devouring beef? However, author of “Being vegan isn’t as good for humanity as you think,” Chase Purdy suggest the only way to reach environmental efficiency is by “throwing vegans a bone.” When applied to an entire global population, the vegan diet wastes