The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat

by Richie Chevat (Adapted by), Michael Pollan

The New York Times bestseller that's changing America's diet is now perfect for young readers.

"What's for dinner?" seemed like a simple question - until journalist and supermarket detective Michael Pollan delved behind the scenes. From fast food and big organic to small farms and old-fashioned hunting and gathering, this young readers' adaptation of Pollan's famous food-chain exploration encourages kids to consider the personal and global health implications of their food choices.

In a smart, compelling format with updated facts, plenty of photos, graphs, and visuals, as well as a new afterword and backmatter, The Omnivore's Dilemma serves up a bold message to the generation that needs it most: It's time to take charge of our national eating habits - and it starts with you.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Health, Audiobook, Science, Nutrition, Environment

298 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

I've been a writer since the age of nine, around the same time I became a compulsive reader. Some ideas appear in the shape of prose, others as plays, musicals, screenplays, songs or even blog posts. But most of the time I'm just trying to write something I'd like to read or see.

Reviews

[Jessica Whitmire · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, corn. This is all the writer talks about, how corn is in everything and how we're all consuming corn and using corn for anything and everything we do. This would be fine (to an extent), if he had given any meaning to it. For 20 pages thats all he talks about: corn, corn, corn, corn, we're all eating corn. I kept expecting this to be building up to something, like he was going to tell us that our health was detiriotating because of corn or there was some sort of pollution happening because of the massive amounts of corn produced. I kept thinking he was going to give meaning to all this blabbering on about corn. After all, you can't just talk about something and then not give meaning to it, right? Apparently, wrong. The author just goes on and on and on about corn for 20 pages, and then just stops, without stating his purpose in telling us about the corn. Sure, he mentions corn a few more times throughout the book, but ultimately never says why. This is a trend throughout the book too. He throws random information at the reader without explaining it. At some point he mentions that there are bacteria in our food, then continues without explaining why we should care. He just lets us assume that bacteria are bad, without telling us why they are bad. He uses classic scare tactics without any real evidence or explenation to back it up. This continues throughout the book, and its wildly infuriating. Furthermore, the author has clear biases, and while he pretends to address points of view different than his own, he really doesn't. So, if you want an intelligent book that doesn't treat you like you're stupid and rant about corn the whole time, I would not reccomend this one.

[Ziggy_D1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Omnivore's Dilemma, an incredible non-fiction book, tells the reader about the "history" behind our plates. What food cycles exist nowadays, what happens at the start of making or finding our food to eating the food on our plates, and some bits that provoke anger, sadness, and joyfulness. The Omnivore's Dilemma goes back to this theme of self-advocation and how the choices each individual portrays impacts not only the food that we eat, our health, but also the world. I would recommend this book to anyone. Anyone who wants to learn about food, but mostly how food impacts the society that we live in today.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I strongly believe that everyone should know where their food comes from. I also believe that everyone should know what it took for that food to get onto their plate. The Omnivore's Dilemma does a fantastic job of highlighting those subjects, and in an incredibly approachable way. The overall message of this book is fantastic.

Full disclosure: I've been plant-based for a few years now, and I still highly appreciated the passages about hunting and small, local farming. The simple act of getting people to pay attention to their food is a herculean task, and this book does a wonderful job of doing that in a gentle but concrete manner. The Omnivore's Dilemma seems like a great stepping stone for folks to finally wake up and see what's going on in factory farming. All the information present is a solid introduction to the food industry and the corruption that is at play.

I also loved that this isn't preachy. It's just lays down the information and the reader can chose what to do with that information as they see fit. My big thing is knowledge. I care that people know what their plates can mean. Once they know, they might eat healthier & more sustainably, or they might not. All I want is for folks to be educated on what they're eating. So no matter what you decide to consume, having some background information can only help broaden your worldview. It never hurts to be "in the know" on a topic, knowledge is power after all.

It's also worth mentioning that I have seen a plethora of documentaries focused on this industry, as well as various food science/nutrition documentaries, that have more in depth information on the topics covered in this book. I'm going to attribute that to the fact that this was published a few years ago, and more information has come out since that point. Even though I've heard a lot of this stuff before, I still think that it's a great idea to have a refresher on this information from time to time.

If you find non-fiction intimidating, the audiobook was a wonderful experience as well. It made everything seem accessible and the whole thing went by quickly. I think if you are at all interested in the food industry, or are a foodie in general, this would be a great book to pick up!

[Megannuggets · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book whose main focus is on getting us to grow our own food and live sustainably in regard to our food, there is no mention of indigenous practices that were the most sustainable and ecologically sound. Additionally, Pollan suggests that it is both easy and hard to forage, garden, and hunt for our own food, and that it is free. Time is not free, energy is not free, gas for your car to go hunting for boars or mushrooms is not free. While trying to be sensitive to the agricultural industry, Pollan also refuses to acknowledge his privileges in being able to take the time to make his own “DIY meal” which is a luxury that few Americans have, depending on their economic class, work schedules, and geographical location.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book. I don't know what the difference is between this edition and the original but I'm guessing they are pretty much the same.
I have an unhealthy relationship with food. I pretty much live off microwaveable meals, fast food, and going out to eat at Old Chicago and Applebees. I'm not healthy. Its not that I don't like fruits and veggies, I buy them, but then I don't eat them fast enough and they go bad. So unhealthy processed junk it is for me and all the extra pounds that come with it. I would like to be one of those people that I see at the grocery store whos carts are filled with fruit and veggies. But I just don't know how to take them and turn them into a meal.
Anyway, the first section of the book is about corn. Corn makes me want to barf. At least the corn that comes on the cob or in a can. But apparently EVERYTHING has corn in it. Your meat, your sodas, everything. Because the government (maybe it was the agribusinesses) realized that corn was cheap, it fattens up cows and chickens fast and can be turned into sugar (high fructose corn syrup). So they want farms to grow nothing but corn.
Of course it wasn't always like this. Way back forever ago, there were farms like you see on TV and movies, where the cows and chickens and all the other farm animals are outside eat grass and enjoying life. While there are still some farms like that (thank goodness), for the most part, it sounds like most of the farms just grow corn. The cows and chickens come from the scary farms where animal cruelty happens. And he does talk about places like where the cows go to get pumped full of unhealthy corn (instead of eat grass like they are supposed to) and live in unsanitary spaces covered in their poop. Its inhumane. And of course we all know about the chickens, where they stick a bunch of chickens in a tiny space and then cut off their beaks when they try to fight with one another. And don't be fooled, just because a package says the chicken is free range, that's not always true. Chicken factories will leave a little door open for chickens to get out, but they are so fat from all the corn, that they don't move. It's very sad. And very real. And this corn they feed these poor animals can have bacteria in it, which gets into our food and then we eat it and get sick.
Another sad thing is that even though all these farmers are growing corn, they are making next to nothing on it. He explained it, but I had a hard time following it. But it sounds like all the agribusinesses take most of the money and then the farmer get very little. We need to treat our famers right. Because they are the ones giving us our food. If we keep going the way we are, we'll all be eating fake food. No fresh fruits and veggies and uncontaminated meats. Just a bunch of artificially colored and flavored foods to look like real food.
So then he goes to some 'organic' places, that really didn't seem all that organic to me. Yes, they are better than places making fake food or pumping chemicals into the food, but I don't know, I didn't really feel like they are being completely true and healthy to the earth or us. I don't buy organic now, because it is a bit more pricey, but after reading this, I think maybe I'll try to do that more often now.
Actually, I would like to start going to farmers markets and buy locally. We all need to do that. Give the money directly to the farmer. Your food (and you) will be healthier because your food will only have to travel a short distance to get to you instead of from a different country. Think of how gross you feel after being trapped in a car or airplane all day. Now imagine that that's your dinner, stuck on a plane or truck for days just wilting away. Ick.
He goes to this place in Virginia called Polyface Farm. This is the kind of farm that you see on TV and how every farm should be. Big and green and the animals are outside and living how animals should live. And the owners of this farm don't ship their products, because they don't believe in shipping food all over the country. I love these people. There needs to be a few farms like this in every state. Instead of buying a hormone filled chicken, you get it fresh. Like people did forever ago. And you only eat what's in season. We've been spoiled with the invention of quick and convenient. You want it, you can get it. Anywhere, anytime. I was thinking that we'd be more healthy if we ate this way. And we'd probably enjoy food more. He mentioned how people used to have meat only on special occasions. Maybe we should go back to that.
But would lowering our meat intake really change the way people treat animals? Could we ever run out of fruit and vegetables if that's all we ate?
The last section of the book is just him trying to catch his own food like people used to have to do. He went wild bore hunting and mushroom hunting. I don't like mushrooms but that sounded kind of fun. I'd do it.
So we know that eating locally is the best thing to do, but will that stop what's going on at the slaughterhouse? How can we stop animal cruelty? Just because we are superior to the cow and chicken doesn't mean we shouldn't treat them with respect. They have feelings to. The author explains how we need these animals. They help fertilize the grass and eat the bugs.
I need to find someone who knows about farmer markets and start going. And maybe I'll go to my local Whole Foods and get some organic food.
We do have a dilemma and if we don't do something about it we are going to be in trouble.

[Dylan Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pollan documents his experience of working through the omnivore's dilemma: we can eat anything but how do we know what we should eat?

It's a fascinating account tracing how Corn became a central part of almost every single grocery store item, how industrial farming is heavily subsidized, the horrors of feed lots and chicken houses, what it's like going hunting, and how to cook a true "organic" meal.

Pollan doesn't call vegetarians to eat meat or carnivorous people to become vegetarian, and I'm glad for that. He presents an honest assessment of the pitfalls at every place in finding why food matters and why we should care what we eat. It's a decision every individual (or better, every family) must make.

My takeaway: Eat with awareness.

[christina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well. This book.

Full disclosure: I hated the adult version of the book but this review will be focused on its attention to young readers and the responses I got from my own students, verbatim.

Nearly all of my students found the blatant hypocrisy in Pollan's writing as soon as he shifted to trying to explain why vegetarianism was impossible (so you wouldn't put out your friends for going that extra mile to not include meat on the menu).

"What's the big deal? There's lots of food that doesn't have meat in it. I'm eating something without meat now." - student, flabbergasted, pointing to her fried rice and pickled cabbage.

To his inherent flawed reasoning with farms like Polyface.

"So... he's saying it's okay to eat meat, so long as it comes from a farm like Polyface. But if everyone changed to farms like Polyface, where are we going to get the space to have animals walk around and stuff? Plus all the food they need to eat so we can eat them?"

To his, frankly weird turn as 'hunter'.

"So he's okay with eating meat, so long as he does it, even if the animals would still be in pain and he wouldn't use all the animal parts? So he's still wasting food isn't he? I don't get this guy."

"Sounds like he just wants to eat meat but he doesn't want to admit it."

[Ben Fulmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the whole book was very interesting. At first it seemed ludicrous to suggest that corn was such a prominent material in our everyday lives. However, Pollan was able to provide adequate evidence to show that his claim was correct. He then goes on to show the stark differences between the different types of meals, which, in my opinion, he does quite well. He is able to experience or at least describe the entire process of different meals, such as one from a large agribusiness company and one from a beyond organic farm. The adaptation was simple and not overly complex, making it a fairly simple read. While being simple it was still interesting and provided useful details, and made good use of graphics and charts. Overall, I would recommend this to most people, although some people will of course benefit more from reading the original version, not the young adult version.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Pollan explores different food chains, informs his readers, and delivers a powerful message in the Omnivore's Dilemma through fascinating personal anecdotes of visiting farms to learn more about food. He compares and contrasts the industrial, industrial-organic, beyond organic, and hunting and gathering food chains and their environmental, societal, and economic impacts. Pollan also raises awareness of the benefits of eating local, organic foods and the ethics involved in the production of food. The Omnivore's Dilemma emphasizes the importance of a close connection with food and how we can "vote with our forks"– make intentional choices about our food and where it comes from. I'd recommend this book to those with an interest in learning more about food and how we can be more involved with it.

[Stacy Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grabbed the Junior edition of this so I could read it WITH my kids. It was so helpful for them to be able to read it and actually understand why we make certain food choices.

I’m not really sure why it’s labeled Junior because it felt like an “adult”’read. 🤣 Maybe I just read at a low level. 🤪 Regardless, my 14, 11, and 9 year old easily read it and comprehended it.

Highly recommend if eating “real food” is important to your family. ❤️

[Sanket · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omnivore’s Dilemma is a fantastic book. I would say it is by far the best book I’ve read about food. There is so much to learn and Pollan’s outstanding writing keeps you turning pages. I highly recommend this book to readers of non-fiction genre. Omnivore’s Dilemma has left a profound impact on me and I have become more mindful of the food I eat. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have.

[Kim]

I accidently listened to the young reader's edition (I already waited weeks for it so why not). After listening to this book it looks like I'm changing my eating habits again. I've already started looking into CSAs & local farms close to home. This is a good book for anyone trying to put good food in their body.

[Pamela Dolezal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pollan’s book made understandable for young adults. This is a very good, simple to understand, adaptation of Michael Pollan’s breakthrough book. This book was re-written for kids from about 7th grade and up - or for anyone else who struggled with all the scientific info in the original book.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have most definitely been experiencing the omnivores dilemma, or rather the vegetarians dilemma, Just because we can eat something doesn’t mean that it is doing us any favors health wise and lately i have found myself becoming anxious about whats really in the food I eat. I read packet labels but usually have no idea what the names for the ingredients mean or even where they came from. I recently found out that a new Zealand berry company imports their berries from china, its instances like this where i think i am buying something locally made or relatively healthy only to find out that its not the case that makes me frustrated. It would be easier to be uninformed and just carry on eating mc donalds or easy frozen meals but after knowing a bit about how they are made already and then reading this book I don’t want to eat things like that again.

This book probably made my dilemma worse as there are so many more things i’m aware of that are wrong with our food systems that I want no part in. I made the choice to live healthier around a year and a four months ago when i became vegetarian, i overhauled my diet and have reaped the rewards since, of course i have eaten ‘junk’ or edible food like substances as they are referred to in the book along the way but as my knowledge has grown my choices have become more informed and I am eating less and less crap.

“Whichever conclusion readers come to, they are more thoughtful about their choices - they act now out of knowledge rather than ignorance, and that’s the most important thing. Ignorance is not bliss, at least not if you’re a person who cares about the health of your body and your world”

The book is divided into four sections, the industrial meal, which is where most people buy their food from, the organic industrial meal, the local sustainable meal and the hunter gatherer meal. The book is american based so some of the information is not applicable to new zealand as we have different food standards, but, a shocking amount is relevant to us which is pretty scary as Americas food laws are a nightmare for our health. I read the young readers version as it was the only copy at our library but i found it to be informative and it was pretty intellectual anyway.

The industrial meal section made me sick, it is abhorrent the way corporations play god with our health and animals well being for the sake of a dollar. I had no idea corn was such a prevalent ingredient in food “if you count all the corn Americans eat, directly or indirectly the average american eats a ton of corn every year” corn is in nearly every single processed food in a supermarket in some form or another, high fructose corn syrup in soft drinks, maltodextrin, asorbic acid, triglycerides, glucose syrup, MSG, Modified starch, yep all corn. New zealand is not safe from this cornucopia (hah) either, I have some rice snacks in the cupboard right now that i no longer have any desire to eat that contain maltodextrin, corn starch and a handful of other unrecognizable ingredients.

our supermarkets may not contain GMOS like Americas but they do have a hell of a lot of corn. The reason Americas food is so cheap is because of corn, they feed it to their chickens in the factory farms, their pigs, their cows (who do not do so naturally) along with bits of other cows, feathers and antibiotics to keep them from dying to early from maltreatment. They spray chemicals on to it (and every other crop) to allow maximum yield meaning that their is always an abundance of corn waiting to be eaten in some form. The food may be cheap but their are many hidden costs, to both the consumers health, the environment and animal welfare. I’m so thankful I do not eat meat and have lost all desire to do so, especially after reading this section the only thing that would make me eat it again is if i had to for health reasons or an apocalypse happened. I mean forcing a cow to eat other cows is fucking disgusting, mad cow disease happened in the 80′s and yet factory farms continue to do this, the whole practice of these big food companies just boggles the mind.

Another thing that scared me is that on NZ meat packaging there is no information about the meat except for which cut it is. That right there is enough to make me worried, how do we know our animals aren’t any better off than the american ones, filled with disease and hormones and corn, there is no way to know with the current factory farming practices, which is yet another reason I do not eat meat. I have no reason to trust corporations and they certainly don’t have the best record of being trustworthy.

The farmers that work for these corporations are the losers in this system. They do all the work and are payed the least (actually that would be the workers that are exploited) It reminds me of our own dairy farming and how the farmers are not making a lot of money anymore but the big businesses are doing fine, it makes me wonder why farmers keep doing it, there is no gain for them in this corrupt system at all, their land gets ruined from factory farming because there is no chance for the land to heal from the excess nitrogen or pesticides, they lose financially and they have to do all the work while others reap the benefits, another thing that boggles the mind.

This section of the book really got to me, I don’t think that New zealand is nearly as bad as america, but we also aren’t much better, We do not have GMOS (TPPA will most likely change that) but we do have industrial animal farming which has started to affect our waterways and rivers from farm run off, we do have pesticides and imported corporate food from america (doritos, coca cola, poptarts, Kraft products to name a few) so while this book is american based i think it is both relevant and concerning for New Zealanders.

The next section the organic meal is basically the industrial meal without the pesticides, which is actually really great. Its not ideal but it is much better for the environment, Animal welfare, not so much, they still feed corn to animals whether they can eat it naturally or not, but it has no sprays, There is a chapter about free range chickens, while they are better off than the industrial ones, they still suffer. they are kept in a shed with access to a door but never actually step foot outside as they are bred to grow to full size in 7 weeks. Unfortunately their legs cannot support this so they cannot go outside even if they wanted to. I found this shocking, It creates yet another dilemma in that you think you are supporting a humane way of farming only to find out this is not the case. Free range is definitely better for your health, but not much better than conventional farming for the chickens.

The USDA guidelines were also pretty crazy, there is no such thing as an organic TV dinner in nature, yet according to the USDA there is. Companies are allowed to use organic synthetic ingredients such as xanthan gum or natural grill flavours, which while not naturally occurring or how i would define something to be organic, is a hell of a lot better than non organic synthetics. It again got me thinking about our food, i see natural flavours on so many food labels but there are no specifics as to what these actually are, i find it bloody frustrating, I can read all the labels i want but i’m never going to find the answer to what natural flavors the product may actually contain which makes me anxious (its probably not healthy to get anxious over food labels but I want to know what i am putting in my body and I make good choices for the most part and eat A LOT)

The next section the local sustainable was my favorite. I wish all farmers would endeavor to be self sustaining, even big corporate farms could do it, it may take more effort instead of sitting in a tractor and pushing buttons from a computer but the hidden costs are nearly zero. The animals on this farm are treated with respect and are allowed to live out their lives healthily and naturally, If people choose to eat meat, this is how i think they should be doing it, both for the animals well being and the consumers health. The farm mentioned relies on grass to fed the animals, like nature intended, There was a great quote from this section i want to share

“We have forgotten that meats used to be as seasonal as fruit and vegetables, Lambs are born in spring and are not ready to be eaten for 8 - 10 months, yet supermarkets sell lamb shipped from new zealand year round, If local food chains are going to succeed, customers will have to get used to eating seasonally again.

I think that that right there is the core of what is wrong with out food industry. We do not eat seasonally anymore, we just import what we don’t have, which increases carbon from the transport and demand on the animals and farmers to keep producing more and more food for different countries, which puts a strain on their land. Something i found so astoundingly stupid is that “Spain has thriving citrus orchards, yet still imports Argentine lemons while their own fruit rots” or that “britain imports 14,000 tons of waffles a year then exports 15,000 tons of the same kind of waffles” isn’t that the stupidest thing you’ve heard? and yet every single country does it, we export apples to america and then import their apples, doesn’t it make sense to keep your own apples? surely the cost of exporting them is so much higher than just keeping them and selling within your own country? it makes me so angry that our food industry is like this, and it will get much worse once the TPPA tarrifs are lifted. If a country kept what they can grow or make themselves and just imported what they don’t get, that would decrease carbon emissions right there, ultimately I would like to see consumers eating seasonally again but even this solution from me, someone not even in the industry would reduce costs and environmental damage, doesn’t those facts (and there are many more) just astound you in their stupidity? It baffles me.

honestly i could rave about this local sustainable section forever. It gave me hope that people care about where their food comes from. More and more farms and farmers markets are popping up everywhere, its so great. I live in a small town and we have no farmers market and only one supermarket which is not ideal for how i want to ‘vote with my fork’ but I do my best within my limited resources and budget to make the best choices for my health and the well fare of the planet, which is what we all should be aiming to do. Low income people like myself do not have to be condemned to eating white bread, margarine and junk food because its cheap and all they can afford, for the same price as white bread you can buy wheatmeal bread, real butter is around the same price as processed margarine, its just about increasing food knowledge and then making better choices, which sadly is lacking in most households. (not because they’re stupid or anything but because the information is not widely spread)

The hunter gatherer section was interesting but not realistic for most people, The amount of time and effort that went into preparing one meal was ridiculous and just not something the majority of people are going to do. It came across as self indulgent and not informative for the wider audience. it would have been better if the author devoted more time than he did to how vegetarian and vegan diets affect the food industry, there are far more of them than there are hunter gatherers. Not to mention a vegan diet based on local ingredients is the best one environmentally and ethically, both themes are prevalent in the rest of the book, it would make more sense to end it with the most ethically sound diet i would think?

Please read this book. It will change how you think about food forever. you can then make informed decisions that i guarantee will make you healthier, happier and a more informed consumer. It won’t solve the dilemma of what to eat, it will probably do the opposite, but wouldn’t you rather want to know what your steak ate and if it had any antibiotics or what pesticides, if any your fruit and veggies were exposed to, I most definitely do, for my health and for the planets. Now that i have read this book, the learning doesn’t end, I am going to investigate NZ food practices more closely and learn more about how to recognize what ingredients are on food labels, it is frustrating that they are not more detailed but I will work with what i have to make the best choices for myself and my future health, thats all we can do really.

[Daniel Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phew! Made it through another Michael Pollan book. I definitely don't recommend reading this book while you're eating, especially some of the earlier chapters that talk about factory/industrial animal processing. However, I really appreciated how he approached the concept of eating animal products. So often books that talk about whether or not we should eat animal products just falls onto the "Animals don't have a say in it, so we're essentially turning them into slaves. Eating animals is evil!" In addition to not talking about good vs. evil, Pollan does a good job of introducing his own ethical compass (an attempt to alleviate suffering), and even does a pretty good job of claiming that it may be more beneficial for an animal to be raised on an ethical and sustainable farm (not a factory/industrial farm) in peace and then to experience the moment of stress only at its slaughter rather than living in the wild where it may be hunted at any moment of its life. I'm not sure I agree with it, but it's definitely a new way for me to look at it.
I'm definitely more interested in going to farmers' markets this summer, so that should make Camilla happy.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good points overall, but also dripping with privilege in some parts. The author decides that people do not decide to buy healthier eggs because they don’t consider them worth the extra money. He doesn’t stop to consider that- buying the higher quality option of every ingredient could easily blow up your grocery budget by hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars a year; being informed on which items are better choices takes time and could be put of reach of less educated people; housing situations can make it difficult to cook or difficult to find or store fresh and sustainably farmed ingredients. One of his suggestions is to plant your own garden! Now I plant a handful of things myself, but I’m under no illusions that it is covering any significant portion of my needs or saves me any money whatsoever. Many people wouldn’t even have any room to put a garden if they wanted, let alone afford the initial investment required or the effort and time dedicated to learning just enough to avoid killing everything immediately or losing your tiny crop to pests.

Easy to tell people to vote with their dollars, but a lot of people don’t have that many dollars to spare.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll never look at food the same again. Fascinating and impactful, it will change how and what you eat for the better. The "adult" version is also brilliant but this one is accessible to more reading levels. Read out loud with your family.

[Abby Stopka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written books. Definitely explains and easy-to-understand terms food is processed and why it is bad for you. I think everybody should give this book a rede if they have an interest in learning how their food is processed. Definitely makes me want to eat more natural foods.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this as a 6th grade core text - the youth edition is appropriate for the grade level but also challenges and pushes readers to think deeper about concepts they have taken for granted. Students have begun to ask questions about where their food comes from and how to make good food choices.

[Bridget Barth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought provoking for sure.
Vote with your fork. 3 times a day.

[Kearston Tufford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read with my students, exposes industrial food chain & is so sickening but is captivating.

[Daviel Salgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read on the value of being a conscious consumer and the pitfalls of not being one. As the farmer of Polyface puts it, "look around and notice the things you are uncompromising with in regards to quality, how is food any different?" How much would you pay to live longer?

[Ashley Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you accidentally stumble across a gem that you just were not looking for. This book picked me. I wasn't looking for it. I didn't think much about what I eat. I mean, sure, I try to be healthy and do the right things. But I never THOUGHT about it.

This made me think about it.



He kept things simple and it ended up being mostly about his personal journey of learning, but I felt that kept it from being too dry and loaded with just facts.

Finding out how corn rules the food world in pretty much all facets was a wild ride. I mean, it's literally in everything. But we go to the grocery store and everything is sitting there is brightly colored packaging and it's so easy not to think of what's in it.

Overall, this was an enjoyable learning experience.

[Arminzerella · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Note: this is the Young Readers Edition]

Michael Pollan provides an in-depth account of where our food comes from – approaching the topic by examining the ingredients of several different types of “meals,” the Industrial Meal, the Industrial Organic Meal, the Local Sustainable Meal, and the Do-It-Yourself Meal (hunted, gathered, and gardened food).

Although this is the “young readers’” edition, it doesn’t seem dumbed down at all. Young readers and their adult parents can all benefit from reading this from cover to cover. Most readers will not know where their fast food meals come from (or even where their groceries come from), and many will be shocked when they learn that animals and food crops are mass-produced by giant industrial farming corporations and, in the case of corn and soybeans, are heavily subsidized by the government. Pollan makes it clear (in language that young people can understand) how much we rely on corn and corn products – how much we are made to rely upon them – and what the effects of this kind of mass-farming are on the environment (pesticides, vast quantities of animal waste, genetically-engineered and mono-cultured crops). Even supposedly “organic” foods are manufactured in ways that you might not expect (the word organic as defined by the USDA isn’t as strict as you might think). The healthiest (and most environmentally friendly) choices seem to be the Local Sustainable Meal and the Do-It-Yourself Meal. Unfortunately, many of the “healthier” choices are also more expensive-looking to the consumer (because they aren’t made with cheap ingredients, nor do they receive government subsidies), so not everyone can afford to eat what’s best for them.

I was pretty shocked when I read this. When you look at the carefully choreographed dance of life and death and natural processes that go into a small sustainable farm like the one Pollan describes in the Local Sustainable Meal – nothing wasted, every process supporting and supported by another process in the circle of life – it’s hard to imagine how we got away from that. Although these farms can’t possibly produce on the scale of the large agribusinesses, they’re better for the environment, better for the animals and plants they grow, and the end result – our food – is better for us. This is definitely a timely book – addressing our need for healthier and less costly choices (both environmentally and monetarily). People need to know where their food comes from and what the real costs of its production are in order to make informed decisions about what they choose to buy. This book will be a wake-up call for many readers, and it is highly recommended.

[Allison Soulier · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Omnivore's Dilemma: Young Readers Edition" is an edited version of Michael Pollan's original "The Omnivore's Dilemma" text so younger readers can grasp the concepts of today's food industry. The young reader's edition was published by Penguin in 2009. It has 352 pages. I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars because for me not being a young reader, it was an easy read, yet I loved the information that Pollan provided and how much I learned from the text. I would like to read the full version in the future, so I have added that to my "someday" list. "The Omnivore's Dilemma: Young Readers Edition" is considered a "juvenile" nonfiction text. The text was written to inform and persuade Americans to think about what they are eating and putting into their bodies every single day. Pollan challenges the American diet and the food industry that provides what is typically in that diet. From fast food and big organic to small farms and old-fashioned hunting and gathering, this young readers’ adaptation of Pollan’s famous food-chain exploration encourages kids to consider the personal and global health implications of their food choices. It allows kids to also make their own choices about the food they eat while having the knowledge of what is going into their food. There are lots of graphs, statistics, and other visuals to capture the different parts of what Pollan calls the "industrial food chain". The Lexile level is 930L, the Guided Reading Level is W/X, and the grade level is 8th grade. I have taught this book before in student teaching and previously for one of Dr. Albert's classes. In her course, I taught about author's purpose and why that is important to determine what Pollan's intent is for young readers (I can determine an author’s point of view or purpose in informational text. (RI.8.6) I can identify the argument and specific claims in a text. (RI.8.8)).

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Omnivore's Dilemma” by Michael Pollan is a book that has made me think of food like never before. This book, telling you the modern day food culture, and where it is coming from has made me think twice when I make food choices. Michael Pollan makes the book interesting by adding images and references, but is very informative. By reading this book, I can clearly see the Pollan is a critical thinker, and puts a lot of thought into what he says in this book. Since he speaks about something he feels passionate about, and you can hear that in the text, I am very grabbed to reading it. The most interesting chapters to me, was the chapters, where i got to know how our modern day food is being made, and what ingredients it contains. Since I have never been taught food has been made this way, this was a shock for me, and I found it very interesting to read about.

I have managed to relate “The Omnivore's Dilemma” to just about everything in my life. I question almost everything eat. “Does this contain corn”, “Is the milk from this cow happy?”, “Is this being sprayed with pesticides”. Luckily, before reading this book, I had settled in being a vegetarian, so when I hear about the inhumane treatment of out animal, I know I have had little to do with that for the past months. I am now planning on staying in this situation for some time, unless the animal is being treated humanely of course, since I can in that case support these types of farms. This book gives reference to many other things. Pollan also visits an industrial-organic farm, as well as the Polyface farm (a real organic farm). He also talks about the do-it-yourself-meal, where the food is hunted, gathered and gardened. I can now forward this information to others, such as my family, and “vote with my fork” as Michael pollan said.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come.

Merged review:

This book was my second by Michael Pollan.

While many themes are similar to In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, this book delves much more into the specifics of the food industry in the United States. If you enjoy hearing about various political power plays and how they affect our food, then this book is informative and engaging.

The narrator was easy to listen to. There were times when I really thought I was listening to Michael Pollan explain his journey through researching where our food comes from.

One thing I like about Pollan is that he suggests numerous solid and accessible solutions for eating healthier. And he does that here, but most of this book did seemed geared for an average reader, an adult.

I did snag this young reader's edition last summer from AudioSync, but I'm not entirely certain how this version was tailored for young people. The vocabulary seemed on par with what I recall from listening to In Defense of Foods. Perhaps they condensed some sections. At the end, Pollan leaves young readers with a list of specific actions and ideas they can put into practice. Besides that list, though, I didn't hear anything that was specifically targeting a younger audience to engage them.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would love to use this book somehow in our seventh grade's environmental education unit this spring, as 'the secrets behind what you eat' are definitely linked to how we use (or abuse) our environment.

Similar to the end of In Defense of Food, this book offers advice of how we can help support a local, sustainable food movement, even though we don't have the power to change government subsidies overnight.

I. Eat Real Food
A. Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
B. Don't eat anything with more than five ingredients, or with ingredients you don't recognize or can't pronounce.
C. Don't eat anything containing high-fructose corn syrup.

II. Buy Real Food
A. Get your food from the outside perimeter of the supermarket and try to avoid the middle aisles.
B. Don't buy, or eat, anything that doesn't eventually rot.
C. Shop at the farmer's market, through a CSA, or at a farmstand whenever you can.
D. Be your own food detective (Pay attention to where your food comes from.)

III. Eat Real Meals
A. Cook.
B. Garden.
C. Eat slowly and stop when you're full.
D. Eat at the table.
E. Try not to eat alone.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this on the shelf. Come on, who doesnt like food? I'm an omnivore! Also, I would like to read about what I eat. Good, bad, intriguing. I needed a good book for winter break because I didnt have the oppertunity to change my book choice.
what impressed me what how the author decided to write such a bok. "exposing" the food. Also, it's like a "did you know? " type of book. "Human beings are omnivores. OMNE IN LATIN MEANS ALL OF EVERYHING. Vore comes from latin, vore, WHICH MEANS TO EAT OR DeVOUR" Did you know what corn is in everyhintg (alsmost)? "The average supermarket doesnt seem much liek a field of corn... what did the cows and pigs and chickens eat before cuts of meat? Mainly corn... ITS ALL CORN" It was a fact. Corn was like the bottom of the food chain for the supermaket products.
What I learned from this book was that people dont pay attention to the ingridients, they just buy it. You dont know what youre eating. Everyhing we buy is disguised as corn.

[Trish Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this book is a bit misleading. This is the Young Readers edition, but by no means is this text "for kids". I would say high school would be appropriate; School Library Journal says grade 7 and up. Aside from that, this book does an excellent job of presenting this topic to young adults. Trying to decide what to eat in a morally responsible, affordable, and sustainable way truly is a dilemma, and many times feels like an all-out daily battle. It's not surprising that so many people just fall back onto the fast food crutch. The thing that makes me the most upset is how our government subsidizes the unhealthy foods which in turn makes whole foods seem so expensive. I was also shocked to read how much corn (corn by-products) is in our typical American processed-food diet. No wonder there is an obesity epidemic. The industrial food chain truly is an evil enterprise, and getting away from it is very difficult, but I am more inspired to do so after reading this book.