HW 7b

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Micheal Pollan



Chapter 6:

Precis: The last time there was an excess of corn in the United States (during the 18th century), it was made into corn alcohol. Now, extra corn is turned into food, making it possible for Americans to eat more corn then anyone ever imagined possible. Corn is made into processed foods, which account for a large part of the 200 calories Americans have added to their diets since the 1970s (when processed foods became readily available), the main reason for this being that they are the cheapest foods available. People also tend to want to eat energy-dense foods (such as the ones made of corn), because evolution has programmed us to consume as much energy as possible.

Gems:

"The power of food science lies in its ability to break foods down into their nutrient parts and then reassemble them in specific ways that, in effect, push our evolutionary buttons, fooling the omnivore's inherited food selection system."

"Very simply, we subsidize high fructose corn syrup, but not carrots."

Thoughts:

 There isn't anything in this chapter that suggests how this could change. Yes, it's bad that the cheapest foods are the most unhealthy, but what can we do about it? (Aside from stopping corn from being subsidized, which would probably have a negative effect on farmers who grow corn).

It seems like the only thing that isn't made with corn would be fruits, which are hardly mentioned. (Actually....corn is probably in the fuel used to transport the fruit. Nothing is safe.)

Chapter 7:



Precis: After the corn is planted, grown, harvested, sent across the country, and processed, it can end up not only in processed foods, but in fast food meals (which are basically the same thing). Food from McDonald's has an aura around it, making it a comfort food, a reminder of childhood, making it different then any other food, perhaps not a real food at all. However, almost every food contains corn or soy in some shape or form, and many foods (such as McNuggets) have ingredient lists that are extremely long, yet are basically the same ingredient repeated over and over again: corn, corn, corn, corn.

Gems:

"Overall, the chicken nugget seemed more like an abstraction than a full-fledged food, an idea of chicken waiting to be fleshed out."

"That is what the food chain does best: Obscures the histories of the foods it produces by processing them to such an extent that they appear as pure products of culture rather then nature - things made from plants and animals."

Thoughts:

The way he describes eating McDonald's as a kid makes me think he sees those times as sacred.

A lot of the ingredients in McNuggets are there to keep them from going bad. This makes me wonder exactly why they need them to last forever - exactly how long (after they're cooked) are they sitting there before they are eaten?

Chapter 8:

Precis:

Joel Salatin is a farmer who, unlike George Naylor, grows a variety of plants and animals on his farm. However, he considers the most important thing on his farm to be grass, because it sustains all other living things on his farm. Humans are partial to grass because it feeds the animals that we eat - is grass is living, we are too. Unlike most farmers, Salatin doesn't ship his meat and plants anywhere: people buy it directly from him, at his farm, because he feels shipping organic food across the world isn't right (Just because we can doesn't mean we should).

Gems:

"This is an astounding cornucopia of food to draw from a hundred acres of pasture, yet what is perhaps still more astonishing is the fact that this pasture will in no way be diminished by the process - in fact, it will be the better for it, lusher, more fertile, even springier underfoot."

"Biophilia -  our inherited genetic attraction for the plants and animals and landscapes with which we coevolved."

Thoughts:

The idea Joel Salatin was trying to get across was that shipping organic food across the world diminishes the point of it being organic - what's the point of putting all this effort into a farm so that there isn't any waste created from it, if it's going to be shipped somewhere, which would take a ton of energy and create a ton of waste? However, I think this would be preferable to shipping industrial food across the world, since that would already have created waste just by being grown.

And what about places where people can't buy food directly from a farm? Sometimes food needs to be brought to other places.

Chapter 9:


Precis: The word "Organic", when applied to food, does not have a sole definition - farmers, stores, corporations, and customers all have a different idea of what it means. While most customers would like to think that their organic chicken came from a picturesque farm where chickens are allowed outside and given plenty of space, this usually isn't the truth, especially since many certified organic foods are from "industrial organic" farms, which aren't really all that different from conventional ones, and use just as much fossil fuel to bring food around the world. Organic food also costs more, and while this in worth it in some ways - the food is safer and no one suffered in the process of growing it - it doesn't mean the food is guilt-free, because so much energy is still used to bring it to people.

Gems:

"The problem is that once science has reduced a complex phenomenon to a couple of variables, however important they may be, the natural tendency is to overlook everything else, to assume that what you can measure is all that there is, or at least all that really matters....we mistake what we can know for all there is to know, a healthy appreciation of one's ignorance in the face of a mystery."

"Is industrial organic ultimately a contradiction in terms?"

Thoughts:

If conventionally grown and processed food is unhealthy, and organic food isn't necessarily much better, what option is left? Are we all just supposed to grow our own food?

I don't think most people would see the point of paying more for organic food - the fact is that on the surface, it just seems more expensive and (to some) less appetizing. And even if they know why it's better to buy it, they still might not do so, simply because of cost.

Chapter 10:

Precis: All the plants and animals grown on Joel Salatin's farm depend on grass in some way, especially the animals that eat it. The cattle that graze on the grass are moved frequently (so that the grass is still able to grow), with the length of time in between each move being carefully choreographed by Salatin, as this is an extremely complex system (almost as complex as the one used for industrial-grown cattle). Joel Salatin was taught by his father to grow things the way they were meant to be grown - that is to say, the way they grow in nature.

Gems:

"When poets liken people to blades of grass, it's usually to humble us, to pull the rug out from under our individuality and remind us of our existential puniness."

"As faithful to the logic of biology as a carefully grazed pasture is, it meshes poorly with the logic of industry, which has no use for anything it cannot bend to it's wheels and bottom line. And, at least for the time being, it is the logic of industry that rules."

Thoughts:

This farm seems like the only way to grow food and the only place to buy it that he actually approves of.

Technically, he's right in saying that this is the way everyone should eat - the fact that this is no longer possible (or a priority) for most people is unfortunate.