In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Pollan encourages us to change the way we eat but he never instructs us on what consumers should be eating. He educates us on what we are eating and informs us of all the events that go on behind closed doors. By building and building on our knowledge, he can reel us in instead of driving us away with offensive remarks. He never attacks the fact that most of us eat without thinking about it. In doing this, he can calmly approach his audience with the facts. The entire book focuses on the fact that we, as individuals, need to be more informed on the process of producing our food as well as the actual ingredients in our food. Not everyone is going to change but approaching this one person at a time can change the world. …show more content…
Michael Pollan informs us of how most organic isn’t organic. We see the term organic all over grocery stores and many of us take it for face value. People buy organic and think they are doing the world a favor by purchasing it. This turns out to be false. Michael Pollan writes, “Organic milk comes from factory farms.” This stunned me at first because I thought organic meant the animals were treated humanely and there was no sort of corruption. This may not be for all farms but there are a lot where the animals don’t see a single blade of grass. These animals are also “tethered to milking machines three times a day.” What makes the milk organic though if they are still treated the same? Well, they are fed grain that is certified organic. Just because the animal is fed organic grains constitutes them labeling it as organic. Most people do not know this. Another organic item he mentions is chicken. These chickens are labeled as free-range chickens. In my mind free-range means the chickens can walk around freely and are not in cages. This is partly true to the reality. The chickens are not kept in cages and they are given a place to walk around but it is not quite what I imagined. These chickens are stuffed into this room with a door leading out to the small pasture. Pollan implicates the reality further when he writes, “But the free-range story seems a bit of a stretch when you discover that the door remains firmly shut until the birds are at least five to six weeks old…and the chickens are slaughtered only two weeks later.” These birds have been locked in the dark for the first three quarters of their life. The farmers fear they will catch something, become sick, and possibly die. When the doors do open, these chickens know nothing but to stay in the dark. They do not know what it’s like to roam free, so they have no reason to roam and take advantage of their “free-range”
In Michael Pollan’s essay “Escape from the Western Diet,” he directly to Americans about the western diet and why he believes they need to escape from it. The reason Americans should escape the western diet is to avoid the harmful effects associated with it such as “western diseases” (Pollan, 420). To support his view on the issue, Pollan describes factors of the western diet that dictate what Americans believe they should eat. These factors include scientists with their theories of nutritionist, the food industry supporting the theories by making products, and the health industry making medication to support those same theories. Overall, Pollan feels that in order to escape this diet, people need to get the idea of it out of their heads.
She says, “organic foods are produced without using most chemical pesticides, without artificial federalizer, with out genetic engineering, and without radiation (Garcia 112) she explains to her audience the importance
The animals in large scale organic farming are cared for, but most are not living in a “peaceful and open” place that many organic companies claim to be on their
Her first detail about this point is that these farm nurture more than regular ones. Organic farms also do not run the risk of harming wildlife or humans. Farms that aren’t organic can kill wildlife with the harmful chemicals and if those chemicals get into the water they could poison the water supply and possibly but humans in danger. Organic farms let off less carbon dioxide and don’t cause global warming to happen as quickly as normal ones. They also are much better for the soil.
They are injected with chemicals causing them to grow larger than normal in less than the time needed, thus, causing them unable to walk. The poor chickens are supposed to live the “chicken life”, bred in an open space instead of a cramped coop. It also disgusts me knowing that, to produce more, to feed more, to earn more, a company willingly sacrifices lives. Somehow, the system
In “How Junk Food Can End Obesity,” by David H. Freedman, he claims that processed foods can help fix the obesity crisis in a more realistic manner, rather than whole-some foods. The popular opinion emphasizes whole-some foods because they aren’t informed about the similitude between processed and unprocessed foods. The essence of the essay is that people believe processed foods are bad and unhealthy for us, therefore whole-some foods are highly recommended for the health of an individual. Freedman mentions many prominent authors who wrote books on food processing, but the most influential voice in the food culture Freedman makes a point of is, American journalist, Michael Pollan. The media and Michael Pollan indicate that everything should be replaced with real, fresh, and unprocessed foods, instead of engineering in as much sugar, salt, and fat as possible into industrialized foods.
In the article, “The Omnivore’s Delusion” Blake Hurst expresses his idea that agri- intellectuals, people who claim that industrial farming is inhuman, have a warped perspective on the reality of modern day farming. Essentially, Hurst proposes that there are both positive and negative aspects to both industrial farming and organic farming. Hurst states that during organic farming when farmers do not use unnatural additives, the whole process becomes more troublesome due to the increase of molds, fungus, and bugs. The author writes, “… some of the largest farms in the country are organic—and are giant organizations dependent upon lots of hired stoop labor doing the most backbreaking of tasks in order to save the sensitive conscience of my fellow
First of all, Pollan states just because it says it's organic doesn't mean it really is. If you buy an “organic” salad at your local grocery store, farmers will still use pesticides to keep bugs away and other animals. The chemicals they use are all natural, but it's not truly organic if you use pesticides or other chemicals. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma Pollan says, “Instead of toxic pesticides, crops are sprayed with natural substances, like BT, a pesticide made from a common soil bacteria” (140.) This quote proves that big organic industrial companies use pesticides to help produce grow.
As diets and health become more and more of a public concern in America. Two authors weigh in on their opinions on how the American public should handle the problem of obesity as well as their solutions to the overwhelming issue. In one article, “Against Meat,” published on the New York Times website in 2009, points out that the solution to obesity should be vegetarianism. Johnathan Foer who is a vegetarian, claims that his diet and way of living is his the way of improving health in the American public. Foer’s article provides a sense of humor as well as personal stories to attempt to persuade his audience for the ethical treatment of animals along with his personal solution for his own health and the health of his family.
Many people choose to eat only organic because it’s said to be healthier but when compared to non-organic food the difference is slim. Regardless people continue to buy organic products. People get emotionally connected to
They feel or do not care if there are definite studies to prove that this food causes their bodies or the environment any harm. Inorganic or non-organic farming is determined by the chemicals that are used when produce is grown. The chemicals used are all synthetic and not natural. Animals are grown with antibiotics and growth hormones to increase the speed and size at which they grow as well as increasing their milk production, which ultimately increases the farmer’s profits. Medications are used to prevent diseases in the animals and testing is done to ensure that animals are disease free before products go to the consumer.
What is organic food? The main reason people like to buy orangic food is because theres less chemiaals left on the food. The word
What is also speaking for consumption of organic food is the fact that this kind of foods does not contain genetically modified organisms, which is nowadays an important concern for many people who would like to stay healthy for longer. The organic food appeared as a result of Green
Many people wonder what the actual difference between organic and conventional food is, if there is a difference between them at all. Organically grown and raised food are foods that have not been fertilized or have not had antibiotics put into the animal producing the food. Although many people assume organic food is healthier because of the over raised price, studies have shown that organic food has, in most cases, little to no differences with the conventional food in supermarkets. In passage 1, the author, Rachel Cernansky discusses both sides of the dispute and gives contrasting details from both sides.
In organic foods, there isn’t a big difference, if any, in quality compared to conventionally grown foods. The prices of certain organics aren’t justified for just a small difference in quality. “ ‘I don’t think there’s a big enough difference in quality to justify the prices’...