The bestselling author of The Botany of Desire explores the ecology of eating to unveil why we consume what we consume in the twenty-first century "What should we have for dinner?" To one degree or another this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't -- which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore's dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance. The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time we're realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment. The Omnivore's Dilemma is bestselling author Michael Pollan's brilliant and eye-opening exploration of these little-known but vitally important dimensions of eating in America. Pollan has divided The Omnivore's Dilemma into three parts, one for each of the food chains that sustain us: industrialized food, alternative or "organic" food, and food people obtain by dint of their own hunting, gathering, or gardening. Pollan follows each food chain literally from the ground up to the table, emphasizing our dynamic coevolutionary relationship with the species we depend on. He concludes each section by sitting down to a meal -- at McDonald's, at home with his family sharing a dinner from Whole Foods, and in a revolutionary "beyond organic" farm in Virginia. For each meal he traces the provenance of everything consumed, revealing the hidden components we unwittingly ingest and explaining how our taste for particular foods reflects our environmental and biological inheritance. We are indeed what we eat -- and what we eat remakes the world. A society of voracious and increasingly confused omnivores, we are just beginning to recognize the profound consequences of the simplest everyday food choices, both for ourselves and for the natural world. The Omnivore's Dilemma is a long-overdue book and one that will become known for bringing a completely fresh perspective to a question as ordinary and yet momentous as What shall we have for dinner?
Feel free to also read The Red and The Black!
7 comments:
Lindsay, would you add the book's picture? I apologize for my blogging ignorance, I find there are many things you do that I have been unsuccessful with. I want to say that choosing a book resulted in being an arduous task for me. I don't want a book I have already read although those are the books I know if I love, a long books - those seem to scare away readers, and of course, I want great writing - modern literature seems to esteem short, choppy sentences. I am reading from the Pulitzer Price collection and at one point decided to drag you all onto a selection with me but changed my mind just this morning for reasons I don't know. I am going to read The Red and the Black, a Pulitzer Prize book my dad and brother loved and if anyone wants to share that book with me, please do! Otherwise, I hope you read The Omnivore's Dilemma, a book that is raved about by many and has been on my to-read list for awhile now.
I really want to read Princess of The Midnight Ball because I enjoy fairy tales (but not so much true fantasy)and I would like to enjoy a retelling of the Twelve Princesses! These books remind me so much of what I loved when I was young, perhaps that is why I enjoy them. At times also, I need a light book. Right now is one of those times and I am craving The Secret Garden as well as Rose Daughter by Robin Mckinley purely because they are light and magical and HAPPY (and contain gardening within, I am realizing as I write this). I hope to get my hands on Princess of The Midnight Ball and find it is the same --a sweetly innocent escape from the often ugly reality (aside from the cover, which only reminds me of media's distorted and narrow view of beauty). Do you think I will like it (when it's finally off hold at my library)?
I changed the background (obviously) and then remembered how much I dislike doing it. Would someone like to fix it? I don't feel like it. :)
Thanks for changing the background (Amy)? I now have The Omnivore's Dilemma! It is large! I hope I can finish it this month, I just haven't been reading as much (more tired, more gardening!)For anyone that doesn't know I am expecting in October.
Wow, I really like the new look. Thank you for adding flavor by a periodic change of background scenery, who ever you are.
I am currently reading Omnivor's Dilemma and The Red and The Black but I will be finished with neither by the end of May so my review will be delayes. I am finding much value in the books, however, and I hope to glean some feedback or insights from you - all of you. May does have a tendensy to fill up quickly as we busy ourselves with yard work and spring cleanup.
Looking forward to The Message.
ShaLisa
I wish I would have commented about Omnivore's Dilemma sooner so I could remember more. In reading it I decided that I would like to read it again because there is so much to absorb. I learned a lot about food. Really. I admit to being somewhat disappointed in our food industry. I liked what I learned however. Ignorance is not always better, but often easier. I want to read it again! I am happy to know about the ins and outs of things, and am more inclined to buy certain foods over others. I am more inclined to grow my own, and I have even considered going hunting (to my husband's excitement)! It is kinder than buying chicken off the grocery shelf. Really! (It hasn't stopped me from buying it yet, however). I want to comment again after rereading the book again, it has been several weeks. There is much to absorb! It would be good to have a teacher forcing me to take notes and write about what I learn as I go! ;)
I was just wondering what everyone had to say about the Omnivore's Dilemma... Thanks Lindsay for your comments. I have only read the introduction because Mark then stole it from me, but he has had so much to say about it that I figured that you must also. Who has finished it? ShaLisa, what is your feelings? Did Chad read this book, did he recommend it? Does he have any interesting comments. I know that Mark brings it up during many of our meals, sometimes to my liking, sometimes not!! I do feel like we try to raise a lot of our own food and I try to buy unprocessed stuff, but it is so difficult sometimes. For one thing, the processed stuff is so much faster and easier, and another is that lately it is all the processed stuff that is always on sale. It hasn't always been that way, but lately it seems to be. Flour, sugar, eggs, rice, etc. have all gone up so much in price lately it is expensive AND harder to make your own stuff. And produce...it gets so expensive and goes bad quickly so you have to go to the store too often. I do enjoy having a big garden and raising our lambs to eat, we even have chickens now, but they haven't laid eggs yet and so far they are just trouble! I think mostly I do it for the kids--I think it is good for them, both to learn how to work and to see where food comes from hopefully resulting in them being more grateful for it. Anyway, that is what I have to say, though I haven't really read the book, just heard plenty about it. I get the feeling that there is a lot to say about it... Any comments?? Oh, and by the way, I am planning on answering all those questions about me, but it is hard and I never get that much time on the computer.
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