Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma

Not every volume will change a reader's life, but this one just might. The dilemma is this: Human beings are omnivores; we can eat just about anything, but how do we know what's best to eat? Adopting the role of food detective, the author "peers behind the curtain" of the modern food industry and finds that the industrial approach to the food chain imperils our health and planet. The four sections of the volume describe differing types of meals: industrial; industrial organic; local sustainable; and hunted, gathered and found. Clear organization and lively writing rooted in fascinating examples make this accessible and interesting. The source notes and bibliography are thorough. Though some readers may find more about certain topics than they care to know—corn, for example—motivated kids will learn much about where their food comes from and what to do about it, and they may want to seek out the follow-up volume for adults, In Defense of Food (2008). (index, not seen) (Nonfiction. 11 & up)

Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma

The dilemma—what to have for dinner when you are a creature with an open-ended appetite—leads Pollan (Journalism/Berkeley; The Botany of Desire, 2001, etc.) to a fascinating examination of the myriad connections along the principal food chains that lead from earth to dinner table. The author identifies three: the one controlled by agribusiness; the pastoral, organic industry that has sprung up as an alternative to it; and the very short food chain Pollan calls "neo-Paleolithic," in which he assumes the role of modern-day hunter-gatherer. He demonstrates the dependence of the agribusiness system on a single grain, corn, as it passes from farm to feedlot and processing plant. The meal that concludes this section is takeout from McDonald's and includes among other foods a serving of Chicken McNuggets. Of the 38 ingredients that make up McNuggets, 13, he notes, are derived from corn. This fact bolsters an earlier, startling statistic: Each of us is personally responsible for consuming a ton of corn each year. Pollan's exploration of the pastoral food chain takes two roads. Investigating "industrial organic," he assembles a meal composed entirely of ingredients from a Whole Foods supermarket. But he also visits a single, relatively small farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, where grass, not corn, is the basis of production, and cattle, chickens and pigs are raised through management of the natural ecosystem. Pollan joins in the farm work and is clearly impressed by what he learns, observes and eats here. In the final section, he learns how to shoot a wild pig and how to scavenge for forest mushrooms. The author's extraordinarily labor-intensive final meal provides a perfect contrast to the fast-food takeout of Part I. Pollan combines ecology, biology, history and anthropology with personal experience to present fascinating multiple perspectives. Revelations about how the way we eat affects the world we live in, presented with wit and elegance.

Great book. Everyone should read this book. It presents incredible insight into food.

If you know little about modern food production this book is a great, easy to read primer. If you already have a decent idea this can be very rudimentary.
Aside from having expectation for a different sort of book, I was disappointed by what I felt was a too "surface" exploration of out food system. Meaning I felt he went to too few sources to illustrate his points and draw his conclusions, essentially one place, occasionally 2 (farm, factory, book, hunter, etc.) for each point he wanted to make. He found one example and then used it encompass whole modes of production on a much broader scale.  

An enjoyable and surprisingly informative review of food and eating in America.

it's good until you get to the vegetarian section. he manages to defeat vegetarianism with arguments like that eating vegetables, there are mice that get caught in the machine that pick up the vegetables, so what's the difference?
and then we're on to the section where he goes hunting. fail 

This book starts out and for the first 200 pages does a great job at education about america's food system. it is a real page turner during those pages. but for the last 100 pages it was mostly an exploration of the author's feelings on seemingly random topics like hunting and picking mushrooms and cooking dinners for his friends.  

Great. Thought-provoking. Couldn't put down. Have recommended to many friends.

2010-2011 Environmental Science student:
This book starts out slow, but picks up really quickly. The opening chapters about corn's makeup and chemistry wasn't too interesting to me, but it was important for later in the book. The book really opening my eyes to the industry and how corrupt and political it actually is. It makes me think twice before going into the supermarket and picking out just anything. I check the labels meticulously now. The author, Michael Pollan, exposes several companies, including Whole Foods and its organic picture. The book is interesting and eye-opening. If you're interested in being healthy or just like food, you should definitely read this. If you don't really care about what you eat then don't bother. 

This is quite an achievement by Michael Pollan. It has totally shifted my thinking about food--not just from the standpoint of personal health, but from the standpoint of sustainability. I've come away from this book with a much greater appreciation for the world around me--the world that feeds me. The reality is that there's quite a battle being fought. I'm glad men like Pollan and Joe Salatin are out there fighting.
Metaphorically, this book goes well beyond food, but it's an attack on industrial culture in general. It's an important statement.