The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
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Hi all! Let's talk about something other than clothes today 😉 With today being the first day of February, I'm beginning a new book- I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai is the book for February so let me know if you'd like me to recap that as well! My goal is to read one book per month, and January's book was The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I'll be honest and admit I began this book last year, and just finished it this January. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into when I began this book! My initial thought after reading the title was that it was going to be a vegan listing a bunch of animal abuse facts to shame the reader for eating meat. That was genuinely my first thought 😂 But it wasn't! This book was so in-depth, so interesting, and so eye opening. It has challenged the way I think about our food and food system.
This isn't about to be some fancy, high scholar-created book review, so I hope you weren't expecting that. I just wanted to discuss the basics because I really enjoyed the book and learned way more than I thought I would. Also, I'm not sure if I'll do this for every book I finish this year, but I really enjoyed this book and knew I would enjoy sitting down to reflect on it. With that, Michael Pollan makes a case for sustainable living as far as our diet goes. He personally visits all different types of farms, hunters, chefs, etc. and makes personal relationships with these people to gain their perspective as well as form his own well-rounded opinions. He takes the reader through his entire journey, told very factually and yet comically.
He begins with big business and the production of corn. Growing up in Kansas, corn fields are everywhere. Signs that read, "A Kansas farmer feeds "X" amount of people" are found in just about every small town and every connecting road. These signs are true, farmers are our cornerstone, but the signs are also slightly misleading. Most of these farms grow corn completely inedible to us because of the hormones used to grow the largest and most abundant fields and this type of corn is actually used only to feed cows being raised on feedlots. He goes very in-depth and visits I believe only one farm (only one farm allowed him to personally view their operations) and gives an impressive account of his time there. In my opinion it's crucial that everyone has at least a basic knowledge of our American food system and the first section of this book goes above and beyond that expectation.
After examining big business farming, Pollan switches to organic foods. I was impressed at how he did NOT put his foot down and say organic is better. He spoke of pros and cons and exceptions. I'll be honest, I've always thought of organic food being basically the exact same product with a little extra dirt on it 😂(not literally) My point is, before reading this book I had done SUCH a small amount of research! The organic foods section of Pollan's book was very informative and helped me understand which things are worth farming organically and how it impacts not only ourselves but the world. If you read this book for nothing else, read it for the amazing Polyface Farm farmers. Their method of farming is so intriguing- I don't want to give too much away, but essentially this farm brings the practice back to the basics. The plants grow, the animals graze, the animals relieve themselves, the insects in conjunction with the waste fertilize the soil/the plants/the natural foliage, and all of the components of the farm work together for a perfectly functioning machine-without machines. And it WORKS! (Happy cows taste better, people...and happy plants taste better, vegans).
The book ends with Mr. Pollan using all of his new knowledge of farming and hunting and gathering (literally) to create a huge majestic meal with all of the people that helped him along the way. His adventures putting this meal together are hilarious and they're also inspiring. A large portion of the last section is actually dedicated to him learning about hunting for mushrooms. If you know me, this doesn't seem like the type of thing I'd stay up through the night to read, but Mr. Pollan is such a wonderful author that he made the reading experience exciting and humorous, and I did just that.
It's hard to properly put into words the impact this book will have on you. I am so fortunate that a professor requested that I read it- otherwise I would never have picked it up! I recommend to you that you pick up the book (I found mine on smile.amazon.com, chose the Kindle version, and read it on the Kindle app for iPad) and take it one page at a time. It is loaded, but it is worth it.
Thank you for reading this!
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