What Are You Truly Eating?

For the nonfiction assignment I read The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. The book was about the secrets behind what we eat in America. The book was split into four sections each explained the different food chains; Industrial, Industrial Organic, Local sustainable, and Hunter – Gatherer. Overall I truly enjoyed the book, mainly because Pollan and I share the same thoughts on what average Americans eat everyday. Reading this book supplied facts that supported my beliefs even more, which I liked. The whole main idea of the book is to encourage people to understand what they’re eating and where it comes from. In today’s society most people are unaware of how, when, and where the food they are consuming was made. Food is no longer a major part of our culture, and people only seem to care that the food they are buying is cheap not healthy.

I really enjoyed that Pollan went on a journey in each food chain. He started with the Industrial food chain because that is what the majority of Americans consume. Industrial food is anything found in a supermarket or a fast food restaurant. I learned about how there is so much corn in the processed foods and meat we eat. The most disturbing part about this chapter was that instead of letting animals like cattle eat what is natural for them (grass), we force them into eating corn because it is cheaper for us. This makes the animals sick since it’s not natural for their bodies’ to digest corn, but since it makes them fat in a short amount of time people don’t seem to care. I also learned about all the harmful pesticides and chemicals sprayed on all of the vegetables grown for supermarkets. It’s crazy how toxic these chemicals are, but we still eat the produce because we aren’t educated on where our food comes from and what people are doing to it.

Pollan then journeyed into the Industrial Organic food chain. The majority of the facts in this section surprised me completely. You would think that all of the food you could get from a Whole Foods or an organic supermarket would be free range, clean, and happy. Unfortunately that thought isn’t entirely correct. Organic vegetables are grown in a separate field right next to the non organic vegetables. The only difference is that the preservatives and hormones are not added to the organic produce. The chicken you think is free range has been locked in a cage for five months until it’s so fat it can’t walk, so when they open the doors to let them roam they can’t. The beef you think is happy is still locked in its own manure; the only difference is it isn’t fed chemicals. The organic image people think of isn’t what it truly is.

My favorite section of the book was the section about Local Sustainable. Pollan went to a farm in Virginia called Polyface. Polyface raises happy grass fed animals they way they’re supposed to be raised, with respect. Reading this section I decided this is how I wanted to get my meat and eggs when I’m living on my own. It is a lot more expensive than food in a grocery store, but it’s all natural. People that buy from local farms like Polyface develop a greater appreciation and relationship with their food and who is growing/raising it. Food is more than just something we eat, and personally I think people need to develop a different sort of relationship with it.

The last section was on hunting and gathering which was very interesting to read about. Not many people hunt and gather all of their food. Pollan went on a journey to make a meal out of food he either hunted or gathered which was hard work and took a long time. The section inspired me to maybe one day make a meal out of things only I killed and found. I presume that it would be a very rewarding and fulfilling experience. So many of us take food for granted, I think that people need to understand what they are eating, and how it’s being made.