Books: The Omnivore's Dilemma
by rrusczyk, Oct 21, 2008, 2:16 PM
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
If you don't want to think about how you eat, stay away from this book. Pollan researches the standard human food chain as it is now in the US (think "corn" and repugnant animal processing facilities, and all sorts of government intervention to maintain them). He also portrays a few alternatives, such as farms that aren't monocultures (i.e., they do more than one thing), ranches that raise several different species of animal, and even foraging/hunting for his own full meal.
The result is yet another compelling argument that we should think more about our food. This isn't a "let's all be vegans" book, though he addresses that (and tries being a vegetarian himself, along with discussing animal ethics issues with Peter Singer, patron saint of vegetarian/vegans). Like In Defense of Food, it's more of a book that illuminates industrial food and offers alternatives. He does go on at times, but it's definitely a very worthwhile read, and, like In Defense of Food, very likely to have a serious impact on how I go about feeding myself. But I'll wait until after this trip to start. One sad thing about how our food "culture" has developed: it's very, very hard to find alternatives. With effort at home, you can find (or grow/raise) alternatives, but it's extremely hard to do so on the road.
If you don't want to think about how you eat, stay away from this book. Pollan researches the standard human food chain as it is now in the US (think "corn" and repugnant animal processing facilities, and all sorts of government intervention to maintain them). He also portrays a few alternatives, such as farms that aren't monocultures (i.e., they do more than one thing), ranches that raise several different species of animal, and even foraging/hunting for his own full meal.
The result is yet another compelling argument that we should think more about our food. This isn't a "let's all be vegans" book, though he addresses that (and tries being a vegetarian himself, along with discussing animal ethics issues with Peter Singer, patron saint of vegetarian/vegans). Like In Defense of Food, it's more of a book that illuminates industrial food and offers alternatives. He does go on at times, but it's definitely a very worthwhile read, and, like In Defense of Food, very likely to have a serious impact on how I go about feeding myself. But I'll wait until after this trip to start. One sad thing about how our food "culture" has developed: it's very, very hard to find alternatives. With effort at home, you can find (or grow/raise) alternatives, but it's extremely hard to do so on the road.
February 2012
January 2012