Book Review

In lieu of diving into my textbooks at the start of this semester, I caught myself with my nose stuck in The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. He effectively leads readers through his research into four categories of eating styles-Industrial, Organic, Pastoral, and Hunter-gatherer. This four-part non-fiction work outlines his complex answer to the seemingly impossible question we ask ourselves everyday: “What should I have for dinner?” Pollan states early in the novel that the number one conflict affecting our food choices is that of Neophilia, or the love of new experiences, versus Neophobia, or the fear of new experiences.He says that if we were all koala bears, life would be easy-we would all eat eucalyptus leaves-but we’re not koala bears. We can eat whatever we want, and the food choices we make everyday are complicated by industry, politics, and background. The first section is a detailed look into the breeding, harvesting, and processing of corn, including everything you need to know about High Fructose Corn Syrup. Pollan then discusses the steady proliferation of organic farming and its products, like year-round vacuum-sealed bags of spring greens. Pollan’s exploration of the variety of livestock methods, from local family farms to the huge feedlots in Kansas even made me raise my eyebrows. I’m from Kansas. I’ve seen (and smelled) feedlots. I couldn’t believe the absurdity of keeping thousands of cows in a small space for the rest of their lives and feeding them antibiotics to somehow get food out of the equation. I’d be more willing to go mushroom hunting and hunt wild pigs, which is Pollan’s fourth exploration. This book encompasses a refreshing and easily-accessible read from a journalist who has written often in the New York Times Magazine. The tone of the book is friendly, not at all self-righteous or passionately political, and the author himself admits that he still shops at Safeway instead of buying all organic groceries.