The Omnivore's Dilemma

The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Author	Michael Pollan
Language	English
Publisher	The Penguin Press
Publication date	2006
Preceded by	The Botany of Desire
Followed by	In Defense of Food

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals is a 2006 non-fiction book by Michael Pollan in which the author explores the question "What should we have for dinner?" To answer this question, he follows four meals, each derived through a different food-production system, from their origins to the plate. Along the way, Pollan examines the ethical, political, and ecological factors that are intertwined in the industrial, large-scale organic, local, and personal (hunted-gathered) food chains, while describing the environmental and health consequences that result from food choices within these chains.

Food chains analyzed

Industrial

Pollan begins with a deep exploration of the food-production system from which the vast majority of American meals are derived. This industrial food chain is largely based on corn, whether it is eaten directly, fed to livestock, or processed into chemicals such as glucose and ethanol. Pollan discusses how the humble corn plant came to dominate the American diet through a combination of biological, cultural, and political factors. The role of petroleum in the cultivation and transportation of the American food supply is also discussed.

A fast food meal is used to illustrate the end result of the industrial food chain.

Organic

The following chapter delves into the principles of organic farming and their various implementations in modern America. Pollan shows that, while organic food has grown in popularity, its producers have adopted many of the methods of industrial agriculture, losing sight of the organic movement's anti-industrial roots. A meal prepared from ingredients purchased at Whole Foods Market represents this food chain at the table.

Local

As a study in contrast, Pollan visits Joel Salatin's small-scale ecological rotation farm, where natural conditions are adhered to as closely as possible, very few artificial inputs are used, and waste products are recycled back into the system. He then prepares a meal using only local produce from nearby small-scale farmers.

Personal

The final chapter finds Pollan attempting to prepare a meal using only ingredients he has hunted, gathered, or grown himself. He recruits assistance from local foodies, who teach him to hunt feral pigs, gather wild mushrooms, and search for abalone. He also makes a salad of greens from his own garden, bakes sourdough bread using wild yeast, and prepares a dessert from cherries picked in his neighborhood.

Pollan concludes that, while such a meal is not practical on a regular basis, as an occasional exercise it helps to reconnect us with the natural origins of food as well as human history.

Criticism

Economist Tyler Cowen argued, "The problems with Pollan's 'self-financed' meal reflect the major shortcoming of the book: He focuses on what is before his eyes but neglects the macro perspective of the economist. He wants to make the costs of various foods transparent, but this is an unattainable ideal, given the interconnectedness of markets."^[1] In addition, some critical food theorists have claimed that the Omnivore's Dilemma is not actually a dilemma (Losonsky Brake, March 2003).

Reviews

• Tim Flannery, "We're Living on Corn!" The New York Review of Books 54/11 (28 June 2007) : 26–28

Honors

The New York Times named The Omnivore’s Dilemma one of the ten best books of 2006.^[2]

See also

• Deconstructing Dinner
• Environmental effects of meat production
• Food, Inc., a documentary film based partially on the book
• Land Institute

References

External links

Official

• The Omnivore’s Dilemma, from Michael Pollan website.

Essays

• "Unhappy Meals", by Michael Pollan, The New York Times, January 28, 2007
• "An Animal's Place", essay by Michael Pollan, re-printed from The New York Times, January 2003. This essay was the spark of the idea for the book.

Interviews

• "How Food Finds its Way to Your Plate", interview by Talk of the Nation, NPR, November 24, 2006.
• "Dinner: An Author Considers the Source", interview by "Fresh Air", NPR, April 11, 2006.
• "Michael Pollan: The Truthdig Interview", interview by Blair Golson of Truthdig, April 11, 2006.
• "No Bar Code", excerpt from The Omnivore's Dilemma from Mother Jones, May 2005.
• "Modern Meat", interview by Frontline, PBS, 2005.

Reviews

• The Monthly 'Eco-Worriers: Michael Pollan’s ‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma’ & Bill McKibben’s ‘Deep Economy’, Robyn Davidson , The Monthly
• Salon.com - 'We are what we eat: The Omnivore's Dilemma author Michael Pollan on how Wall Street has driven America's obesity epidemic, the misleading labels in Whole Foods, and why we should spend more money on food' (book review), Ira Boudway, Salon.com
• WashingtonPost.com - 'You Are What You Eat: A journalist traces the meal on his plate back through the food chain' (The Omnivore’s Dilemma book review), Bunny Crumpacker, Washington Post (April 9, 2006)
• San Francisco Chronicle - 'Anatomy of a Meal: UC Berkeley's Michael Pollan Examines What We Eat, and How to Decide What We Should Eat', Troy Jollimore, San Francisco Chronicle (April 9, 2006)
• Grist.org - 'Let's Make a Meal: Michael Pollan digs into the mysteries of the U.S. diet in The Omnivore's Dilemma', Tom Philpott, Grist Magazine (April 13, 2006)
• Boldtype.com - review of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
• New York Times Review