The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

by Michael Pollan

one of the chemicals sprayed from the sweeping second hand was a particularly nasty pesticide called Monitor. This chemical is so toxic to the brain that the farmer stayed out of his fields for four or five days after spraying it. If an irrigation pivot broke down during that period, the farmer would sooner let the entire 135-acre field of potatoes wither and die than send a field man out to fix it. Naturally I was curious to learn why a farmer would use such a toxic chemical and his answer, I gradually came to see, was like a thread that, when pulled, began to unravel the whole complicated fabric of the American food system. I spray Monitor to control aphids. What’s wrong with aphids? Aphids are a vector for a viral disease called “net necrosis.” You know those brown lines or spots you occasionally see in a French fry? That’s net necrosis. What’s so terrible about a few brown spots? Nothing. It’s strictly a cosmetic defect, but McDonald’s will reject any potatoes that have it. And McDonald’s buys 7 percent of the entire U.S. potato crop, so its standard becomes the industry’s standard. Is there any other way to control net necrosis? Sure. Grow a different kind of potato—net necrosis is really only a problem in Russet Burbanks. So . . . ? McDonald’s will only buy Russets. Why’s that? Because they give you the longest spud, and we Americans like a really long French fry.