Organic vs. Conventional Farming: An Anthology

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

Former president George Washington once said, “Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful, and most noble employment of man,” (George Washington Quote). Since Washington’s presidency, countless advancements and developments within the agricultural industry have allowed the United States to grow, develop, and become one of the most prosperous countries in the entire world. Nevertheless, this prosperity is also marked by several key historical events, such as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, which have caused the core values and traditions that this great nation was built on to slowly disappear. Today, the majority of Americans have no knowledge, understanding, or appreciation for the agricultural industry, causing them to take for granted the basic necessities they rely on each day. This disconnection has created a gap between producers and consumers, which is known as

America’s vast food supply has increased. Foods that were once hard to come by can be found in almost all the grocery stores across the nation. In the article “What’s Eating America”, by Michael Pollan, who is a professor of journalism, explains how the bounty of food came about. He writes about the creation of synthetic fertilizer and how it was used to fertilize crops and essentially make all the foods today. He writes about the harmful effects that are occurring as a result of the chemically made fertilizer. In another article called written by Katherine Spriggs, a student from Stanford University, she writes about the benefits of buying local versus becoming dependent on the import of food. She feels that buying from local farms

Pollan writes , " The way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world. Daily, our eating turns nature into culture, transforming the body of the world into our bodies and minds.” (Pollan,386 ). In the book “ Farm city “, Carpenter, who started an urban farm deep in an Oakland ghetto. She showed what is important about food, and what is lacking in our food culture. She pointed out the issues of local food by demonstrating that it could be done on anywhere, even if your community is full of gangsters. She started raising her own food and learned about animal husbandry, her neighbors, and herself. Furthermore, eating less corn-fed meat, or shifting corn toward more efficient dairy, poultry, pork and grass-fed beef systems, would allow American to get more food from each bushel of corn. The US government should encourage American farmers explore other methods for growing corn, including better conventional, organic, biotech and conservation farming methods that can dramatically reduce chemical inputs, water use, soil losses and impacts on

Nobody denies that the need for more food grows with the global population. Factory farms seem to be a solution to this problem since they produce mass quantities of food for cheap compared to their organic counterparts, which are forty-seven percent more expensive (Consumer Reports). The factory farming business, however, is not the best way to feed more people since it pollutes the environment. The factory

The Omnivore’s Dilemma, written by Michael Pollan, gives light to the question, “What should we have for dinner?” that he thinks Americans today cannot answer simply due to the fact that there are too many food options. This book serves as an eye-opener to challenge readers to be more aware and accountable of what is consumed daily. In order to understand fully where our food comes from, we must follow it back to the very beginning. Pollan goes on to discuss three different modern food chains in which we get our food: the industrial, the organic, and the hunter-gatherer. By tracing our food back to the beginning, we can understand that most of the nutritional and health problems America is going through today can be found on the farms that make our food and the government that can decide what happens. America deals with many food related illness such as, heart disease, obesity, and type II diabetes. Majority of a human and animals diet consists of being corn-fed leading to a high cause of obesity in the United States these are just some of the many diseases that come with over processed foods and diets we are unaware of. In this study, we will highlight the environmental and health issues and impacts related with modern agriculture and how these systems can be made more sustainable.

To conclude, our current way of agricultural life is not sustainable. The article “What’s for supper” has made me realize that if I hope for a better future for generations to come I should support a locally sourced lifestyle. This article is an eye opener to me and proved to me the importance of supporting locally grown produce. Locally grown produce supports the environment as well as jobs for people in the community. The current system takes a toll on every species on the planet. Humans are overproducing on a massive scale and are wasting close to half of our supplies and

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.

He quotes, “ If I am going to eat meat, I want it to be from an animal that has lived a pleasant, uncrowded life outdoors, on bountiful pasture, with good water nearby and trees for shade” (52). This claim of value shows how consumers should know how food is considered as livestock and what animals go through to become meat. The cheeseburger consumers would buy from McDonald’s would be satisfying, but eaters do not realize anything about how the animal was treated or any of its background. Advertising keeps us buying food that is introduced to use as flavorful and looking good, so businesses can keep profits coming to them. The product at a grocery store seems appealing to us, so eaters buy and enjoy without having a doubt about the product. It seems like quantity is more important than

By evaluating the social aspects regarding the “omnivore’s dilemma,” Michael Pollan argues that people “don’t really know” where the products we consume come from. Thus, he decides to embark on a journey to discover “what exactly it is” society consumes and how this affects their health, as well as the way they enjoy their meals. Furthermore, Pollan accentuates that the role the government plays in the manufacturing of agriculture, implicates the quality of the products at local grocery stores.

By evaluating the social aspects regarding the “omnivore’s dilemma,” Michael Pollan argues that people “don’t really know” where the products we consume come from. Thus, he decides to take matters into his own hands in order to discover “what exactly it is” society as a whole is consuming and how this affects their health, as well as the way they enjoy their meals. Furthermore, Pollan accentuates that the role the government plays in the way agriculture is manufactured, implicates the quality of the products in the stands of our local grocery stores.

Compare and Contrast Pollan and Hurst In “An Animal's Place”, by Michael Pollan and “The Omnivore’s Delusion”, by Blake Hurst, animal suffering and modern day farming is being discussed. People should be knowledgeable not only on the treatment of animals but what goes into producing animals. Pollan’s and Hurst’s text both have a strong support on both sides of the argument, which could give the people the knowledge of how meat is being produced.

Introduction: A summary of Omnivore's Dilemma and Pollan's critique of America's industrial food production and distribution system. Today's world agricultural system is controlled by a few large corporations that exploit the poor, the small farmers and peasants, and even use slave labor. They also control the seeds, prices, fertilizers, and even the genome of plants and animals, and this system should become more democratic and decentralized, with more power for producers and consumers, but it would be a mistake to regress back to a feudal or prescientific past.

When I first looked at the book The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, my first thoughts were that I was not going to be fascinated by a book about organic food and factory farms. When I started to indulge myself into the book I started to consider how much hard work, and time it took to get an entire meal onto my plate. Each meal, with its different ingredients, all have unique paths from which they have come from. The main notion that stayed with me throughout the entirety of the novel were the use of industrial farm systems. These factory farms completely contradict my false perception of a red barn and miles of seemingly endless pasture, filled with cattle. In these industrial farms one of the most frightening aspects, other than the slaughtering of innocent animal, is there standard of living. For example, when Mr. Pollen went to the Petaluma “organic” farm many of the Cornish Chickens were so congested together that by their

Agriculture in the United States has changed dramatically over the centuries. Since the 1960’s large commercial farms have been leading in sales. As a direct result of their success we, as a society, have access to affordable food. However, the success of large farms has lead to many negative impacts such as increased usage of resources and decreased diversity in crop fields. This begs the question, what can be done to reduce the negative impacts of large farms. One solution growing in popularity is sustainable agriculture. The idea of sustainable agriculture is to create farms that need little to no outside help from irrigation, pesticides, or fertilizers. Sustainability can be achieved in many way through