The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Mar 16, 2012 Kristen rated it really liked it

If I could give it 4.5 stars, I would. This is a much longer review than I typically write, but it’s a book that deserves more in-depth discussion.

I think it comes as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I’m the target audience for this book – urban Bay Area foodie, curious to learn more about the environmental and public health costs of our typical food decisions. I’d read “Fast Food Nation,” seen documentaries like “King Corn.” I thought I ‘got’ it. But I was really surprised by how many m If I could give it 4.5 stars, I would. This is a much longer review than I typically write, but it’s a book that deserves more in-depth discussion.

I think it comes as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I’m the target audience for this book – urban Bay Area foodie, curious to learn more about the environmental and public health costs of our typical food decisions. I’d read “Fast Food Nation,” seen documentaries like “King Corn.” I thought I ‘got’ it. But I was really surprised by how many more things this book made me think about while I was reading it.

The book is divided into four parts, which I won’t go into great detail on, but rather just focus on a few of the most thought-provoking parts to me. The first section details the journey that mass-scale corn and beef make from the production plant to the table. Again, much of this was discussed in “King Corn,” but what Pollan does so well is connect the dots for people like me who never really saw the direct relationship between seemingly disparate facts. Case in point: I never knew that the rumens of cows technically can’t process corn. I feel stupid saying that, but hey, I’m a girl from San Diego who only ever saw a cow in real life if it was winning a prize at the Del Mar Fair. Because cows cannot naturally process corn (which they are fed because we produce it so prodigiously, and subsidize the price at the expense of the farmer, who can barely make a living), and because they live packed together, knee deep in manure, cows are fed a heavy diet of antibiotics. For the past ten years, the medical field has been dealing with increasing occurrences of drug-resistant infections – meaning that people have developed a resistance to life-saving drugs because they have been overexposed to or have misused antibiotics. It’s a subject I’m keenly interested in – in another life I might have been an epidemiologist – but I have to wonder if consumption of animals (chickens and pork too) that are heavily fed antibiotics is a contributing factor to this marked (and scary) increase. I never connected the two together before this book.

Pollan also delves into the huge increase in food-borne illnesses and deaths since 1980. Again, those who know me know that I have had severe food poisoning three times, and I have had to be hospitalized the past two times. Those two hospitalizations came not from tainted beef or meat, but from spinach/lettuce. In fact, the last food poisoning (in January 2010) was so serious, and the bacteria so toxic, that if I had been living even 50 years earlier it would have killed me. But then again, if I had been living 50 years ago, there wouldn’t be a food industry system in place that would have made this sort of bacterial contamination happen. I came out of these experiences saying I would only eat organic lettuce from now on, and that I would think twice about ordering a salad when eating out unless it was organic. I kept my blinders on and didn’t really feel compelled to look further into where or what I eat. This book really changed all of that.

Since I’ve already written a short novel, I will try to sum up things as best I can. Pollan’s chapter about organics on a large and small scale is fascinating and worth a read, as well as his sections on foraging and hunting. I came out of the book with a much deeper understanding of what I eat, and the costs associated with it. While the cost at the grocery checkout might be less for certain non-organic items, there is a far greater social cost behind that dollar amount for many mass-scale products. His basic motto: eat organic and grass fed when you can, as local and in season as possible. Support local farmers if you can. I’ve heard that said before, but it really makes sense now. I also realize that motto equates to a higher grocery bill, and I’ve made the decision that I will spend that extra amount when I have the choice between organic and non-organic. If it means I spend $25-$50 less on drinks or eating out each month in order to pay for the increased grocery bill, for example, so be it.

But I also realize that not everyone can afford to make this same decision, and so does Pollan. He doesn’t preach or stuff things down your thought, which I really appreciated. He ‘gets’ it. He tries to offer reasonable solutions for the vast majority of people, and just wants to help shed light on lifestyle changes that could result in a healthier population. I’m leaving out a ton of other great information from the book, but all I can say is that it’s worth reading if you’re interested in your personal health, the economic and public health of your communities, and where your food comes from.
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Jun 15, 2010 Erin rated it really liked it

I found the first two parts of this book - The part about the industrial food process and the part about the two types of organic food fascinating and eye-opening. The book really makes you think about where your food comes from and makes you question if buying food from teh industrial food process is best for you and the environment... Whole Foods (despite it's problems) will probably be getting more of my money in the future and I will certainly only miss a farmers market due to extreme circum ...more

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Mar 05, 2007 Clinton rated it it was amazing

If you really want to know an inconvenient truth, look at the environmental footprint of each meal. Despite what Whole Foods, and now Wal-Mart may claim, eating organic isn't the most healthy or environmentally conscious. Rather, local and in-season choices offer the best option for decreasing your carbon footprint while increasing the nutritional value of your meals. Unfortunately, you may realize the task is more difficult then imagined. Likewise, the luxuries of Australian Shiraz or Bordeaux ...more

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May 04, 2007 Jennie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read2007, food, plants

this book took me forever to finish, because it was too heavy to tote around all day and read on the subway (trying to be kinder to my back and all that). so i only really read it at night before nodding off, and sometimes in the garden. now that it's over i kind of want to go back to the beginning and start all over again. there's so much information in here, and i'm already forgetting a lot of really important details about the nitrogen-war-agriculture connection and stuff like that. ...more

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Mar 27, 2007 Ehrrin rated it it was amazing

Wow. This book is possibly one of the most important I've ever read, or will read. Pollan has a great style that's really approachable and easy to connect to, and the way he does the research and presents this material is awesome. I saw him speak a few weeks ago, and it was incredible. It's not on fascinating subject matter, but he's such an engaging speaker! My thumbs up, and yours too! ...more

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Jun 15, 2008 Alison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bookclub-reads, books-in-2009, non-fiction

This was a great book! it really makes you think about what you're eating and where it is coming from and everything that goes into it. I definitely recommend it but it is a long read, so dedicate a little bit of time to absorbing it. It made me want to plant my own garden and find the local farmer's markets this summer!

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Apr 05, 2007 Mary rated it really liked it

This book blew me away in what it exposed and how Pollan went about it. He's a great writer, and I really gained a lot from this book. It got me down off my high horse, for one thing. Made me realize what a loaded issue corn is, not to mention this whole ethanol business. ...more

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