The Omnivore’s Dilemma
The subtitle of this book is “A Natural History of Four Meals”. That describes what the author does in this book: follow food from beginning (where ever that may be), to his table. The four meals are the standard industrialized fast food, an “big” organic meal, a pastoral meal, and finally a meal consisting of items that the author hunted or foraged himself.
Overall, a very good book. The first section, where he follows food through the industrial complex is incredibly interesting. One of the main themes of the industrial food section is the pervasiveness of corn. Our entire industrial agricultural system is based on corn. Corn is in almost every food we buy in some form or another. It’s a real eye-opener. In other sections, the author covers topics such as the chemistry involved in food production, and how certain plants and animals evolved and prospered.
I wouldn’t recommend this book for anyone that wants to remain ignorant about where their food comes from. However, if you are interested in where your food comes from, and I think everyone should be, then definitely read this book.
July 16th, 2007 at 9:52 am
This is another good book, although I find that Michael Pollan is a wickedly good essayist and that his books get a little lengthy. There was only so much I could read about the history of corn.
I recommend his article entitled “You Are What You Grow” at http://michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=88.
If you really like his writings, check out the full list of his essays at http://michaelpollan.com/write.php#0.
Cheers,
-Scott