TexasMadness
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Omnivore's Dilemma
I think every one should read this book. It is about how our food gets from the farm to the table.
The title of the book comes from the fact that an omnivore, such as a human, must constantly decide what to eat. Especially when given the choices that we have today. A koala for example, never has to make this decision and happily chomps away on eucalyptus leaves its whole life. A rat on the other hand, an omnivore, will always choose the fatty sugary food when given the chance because it is in its best interest to eat these high energy foods when available given the scarcity of them in the natural world. Therein lies the dilemma we face now. Instinct tells us to eat those dozen donuts, but that apple is actually a better bet in the long run.
Michael Pollan follows the life cycle of four different meals. The first is the “typical” American meal of a BigMac and fries. It is the epitome of the industrial food chain, complete with monoculture farms and CAFOs (confined animal feeding operation). He then moves on to discuss the ways of industrial organic farms which differ only marginally from the industrial conventional methods. I was shocked to hear that a lot of organic beef is higher in price partly because they are still kept in CAFOs and there is a much higher mortality rate due to the fact that they aren’t given an antibiotic ****tail. He continues with an account of a “beyond organic” operation. Some of you may have heard of the farm he visits – Polyface, run by Joel Salatin. Finally, he actually prepares a meal almost entirely of hunted and gathered food.
It is a remarkable book and really brings to light a lot of issues that are overlooked today. It is not preachy and in fact, doesn’t even end by giving the reader any kind of mission. It is merely to inform in an entertaining way.
I highly recommend it.
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7/25/2007, 4:18 pm
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Fenyx
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Re: Omnivore's Dilemma
Sounds interesting - I may have to look it up, haven't been to the library lately...
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7/25/2007, 5:13 pm
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TexasMadness
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Re: Omnivore's Dilemma
I have Botany of Desire on my bookshelf and it just hasn't made it to the top of the list yet! My mom read In Defense of Food and has been pestering me to read that too. One day...
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9/27/2008, 3:08 pm
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pookshollow
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Re: Omnivore's Dilemma
Wonderfully informative book, as is "Defense of Food" (which I actually purchased). I've also recently read "The End of Food" (forget the author) and "The Fruitless Fall" by Rowan Jacobsen. The latter is about the collapse of the honey bees, and how our food is likely to suffer because of it. All of these books really make you think about where your food is coming from.
For me, it's solidified my desire to grow as much of my own food as possible, and what I can't, to source as locally as possible.
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12/22/2008, 10:55 pm
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TexasMadness
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Re: Omnivore's Dilemma
Paul Robert's wrote the The End of Food. My mom has suggested that one too, but I haven't gotten around to it!
I am interested to read what people really think the possible disappearance of the honey bee will do. There is a lot of unfounded speculation. Do you feel like the book was well researched and not just reactionary?
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12/22/2008, 11:24 pm
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pookshollow
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Re: Omnivore's Dilemma
Well, without doing my own research  , yes, I think it was well researched. It makes a lot of sense to me that the more you stress an organism with chemicals, antibiotics, overwork, the more likely the organism is to have a "nervous breakdown".
I truly believe that biodiversity, not monoculture, is the way that agriculture should be heading. All life is interconnected and we ignore that at our peril.
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Harlequin and Lionhead Rabbits
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12/23/2008, 1:37 am
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