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So much has been written about this book, and so much will be defined by how you feel comfortable when discussing your eating habits. Here are, in short forms, my 10 observations: 1) If you’ve ever wondered how much the American government is responsible for your eating by subsidizing corporations who grow corn and make high fructose corn syrup, this is a book for you! SHORT VERSION: Corn is in EVERYTHING! We committed to growing corn when we could possibly switch to many varied crops. Corn is uniform, so it’s very corporate. If you hate political reading, if you don’t want to know this stuff, or you don’t frankly care, skip Pollan’s book. (Hope you enjoy your diabetes.) 2) Yes, we know organic food is better for us. But Pollan does a great job telling us that the US family’s annual food budget has actually dropped over the last 60 years, so Americans could conceivably spend more on food (and probably less on entertainment) and help out their diets. 3) I thought his section on Whole Foods founder John Mackey was interesting. Mackey completely concedes that he isn’t as radical as he started, that he has basically bought into the American corporate structure in order to take baby steps in supporting a business and helping people eat more healthfully. 4) At times, Pollan sounds a little Communist. At least, anti-Capitalist. I’m ok with that – to each his own – and I believe that American politics is all about constant discourse and adjustment. 5) Knowing the details of a slaughterhouse was a little much for me, but then again, I have no problem killing what I eat. Which makes me unlike 97% of Americans, who like to think their meat comes fully formed in plastic packages. 6) I love how Pollan describes the grey color of a McDonald’s burger. Funny! (I still crave Wendy’s once or twice a month.) 7) Mushroom foraging always sounded like something I wanted to do. Until I read his accounts. Mushroom foragers are crazy, obsessed people! 8) He’s lucky he had help at parts, or Pollan would’ve starved. 9) I like how he concedes that there is a better way to eat meat – that you don’t have to become a militant vegan. 10) I still wish we humans would accept that we are PART of the food chain!!! GRRR! We have canines; we have eaten meat for centuries. Our whole digestive system is built for meat! Lots of animals eat meat. We are not better than other animals that kill; the only thing that could possibly make us better is if we kill as quickly and painlessly as possible. We are the predators, and we should act as such – but with judiciousness and care. When we try to be ABOVE IT ALL – when we manipulate the environment – as Pollan excellently points out – we ruin it. “Dominion” humans create corporate slaughterhouses and run animals to extinction. Vegans treat animals as individuals to be coddled and encouraged to overproduce; soon, we’ll be overrun with deer and pumas and wild boar while we huddle eating berries from the sides of our abandoned roads (vehicles lead to road kill!) We need to accept that humans – like our predator cousins - do kill to survive, that we can be better at it, and that we are not ABOVE the food chain – as meat eaters or vegans – we are part of the system and should act accordingly. (Pollan mentions this, but doesn’t bring it home.)

2022-11-14 17:12