Omnivore's Dilemma
In recent years social historians have began to delve into more and more minute topics about the way humans interact within their social and natural world, and most especially how certain everyday objects and actions have had a grand affect upon the way society and culture changes. In The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan uses the tools of both history and anthropology to uncover that it is that concerns humans on a daily basis -- eating -- and why that seemingly innocent choice has ramifications far beyond any single meal. What then, is the omnivore's dilemma? Briefly, humans, being omnivorous, can eat a number of things -- meat, grain, vegetables, many plants and animals, and numerous things nature has to offer. Deciding what to eat becomes a challenge in that cuisine is a part of physical culture, geographic area, societal pressures, and individual availability -- yet inevitably causes continual anxiety (p.3). This anxiety, though, has a profound effect upon the natural world since the decisions that are now made within the modern world have dramatic effects upon the ecology of the planet, and indeed, the potential continuation of the species. To do this, Pollan reviews three principle food chains: Industrial, Organic, and Hunter/Gather and looks at the historical, economic, and sociological consequences of each chain.
Michael Pollan is a regularly contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine, is active in the national lecture circuit, and is Professor of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. He has written four additional books, all dealing with gardening, plants, and food as it relates to contemporary culture. Most recently, Pollan has become interested in the practices of the meat industry, and trends in the larger fields of American agribusiness. He is active in global conservation issues, and received the Reuters World Conservation Union Global...
Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan: Socio-Economic Influences of Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Diets Michael Pollan, in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, discussed the social, economic, and geographic/environmental factors that influenced humanity's diets, of which eating both plants and animals -- an omnivorous diet -- is the predominant diet in most of today's societies. However, in the midst of this omnivorous diet is an emerging group of
Omnivore's Dilemma: Part I: Industrial/Corn "the Omnivore's Dilemma" - review Michael Pollan's book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" is not necessarily meant to put across breakthrough information or to trigger intense feelings in individuals reading it. Instead, it is actually intended to provide important information so as for readers to be able to gain a more complex understanding regarding what foods would be healthy for them to eat and how they can develop the
Omnivore's Dilemma In Michael Pollan's book he touches on many issues relative to what humans eat, and in the process he spends time covering the poor eating habits of Americans and the likely reasons for the obesity crisis in the United States (think carbohydrates). His narrative includes animal flesh that is produced on so-called "factory farms" -- including pig meat he proudly kills himself -- and in doing so he
Milk, cheese, yoghurt (cows eating corn), pig steak (pigs eating corn), fish (the catfish and even the salmon-which is known to be a carnivore have been taught to tolerate corn), and a large number of sweet beverages (numerous sweet drinks have high-fructose corn syrup in them) people consume exist because of corn. Foods are not the only ones which can contain corn, as magazine covers, diapers, batteries, trash bags,
Omnivore's Dilemma/Part III Part III of the Omnivore's Dilemma: Food Directly from the Source The purpose of Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, is to show that the choices we make about the foods we eat are not always simple. The book is divided into three parts; in each part Pollan attempts to eat from a shorter food chain. Part III of the book, the subject of this review, is entitled "The
Omnivore Science is a neutral human pursuit. It is only the application of science that raises potential ethical questions. Kurt Vonnegut's novel Cat's Cradle perfectly exposes the ways science can be manipulated by the hands of its sponsors. Money determines the nature of research, its methodologies, its findings, and its applications. Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma raises similar ethical questions and concerns, focused not on the military but on the food
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