The Omnivore's Dilemma

In the book, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Pollan claims we should be more knowledgeable about what we consume as omnivores. As omnivores we have a variety of food, we can choose from, however, we don’t regularly make the best decisions for ourselves. Pollan argues this by showing us where our food really comes from and how we can find many unwanted extras. Pollan shows us that we’ve evolved as humans from how we used to eat to how we eat now. Pollan argues this by introducing us to all the food chains we value today, some much more than others.

Global warming has been a topic of debate for many years now. A more recent argument is that food production is a key contributing factor to the global warming epidemic. In the article “A Carnivore’s Dilemma”, Nicolette Niman provides an insight to the logistics being said in these statements. The article was written in response to the statement farming and food production is leading to climate change. Niman, being a rancher who raises cattle, goats, and turkeys, effectively frames the situation logically by providing credible statistics and examples to help the reader better understand the impacts of different methods of food production. She does this by providing specific information regarding the greenhouse gases involved, being carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides.

Feeding animals, corn is not healthy for anybody, this process only affects the animal's ability to grow at their own pace. In Northern America, one particular Hispanic family tree, 70% of their family members are affected with both type one and type two diabetes, which can be associated with corn. A Hispanic family member changed the way he ate by becoming vegan. One of his main reasons was to stay healthy which meant cutting corn out of his diet. Emphasized in the film, Food inc. and in the novel Omnivore's Dilemma; corn can be easily sold and bought for a cheap price in the U.S. Many producers split the natural process in half by teaching and forcing the animals to eat corn, which fattens them up quicker than if they were eating food

I personally feel Pollan’s dilemma in the order he states it. The question “What should I have for dinner?” is a relevant statement in my everyday life. This essentially is the omnivore 's dilemma. Since humans are indeed omnivores, we can eat whatever we want. The dilemma surfaces when what we are consuming has repercussions. I feel this predicament every time I go for that third piece of pizza or third scoop of ice cream. Should I eat healthy or should I eat what I like? I sense his dilemma and all the pressing issues that must be questioned.

“Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat”, is a famous quote by the well known philosopher Socrates, who believed this is the perspective we should take when we are eating food.Unfortunately, the times have changed and so has the way we eat. We no longer have to go hunting for our food, or grow crops to receive all of our fruits and vegetables. Because we have become a society that has grown into the new world of technology, there would be no need to rely on ourselves for what we need-- we can simply gather our resources from other people. In the book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, written by Michael Pollan, takes us on a journey full of concerns of the “Food Industrial Complex”. Even though the novel speaks mainly of the issues with the food on our plate, these issues are more deeply connected and reflected in former President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Military

In the modern industrial society, being aware of what the food we eat come from is an essential step of preventing the “national eating disorder”. In Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, he identifies the humans as omnivores who eat almost everything, which has been developed into a dominant part of mainstream unhealthiness, gradually causing the severe eating disorder consequences among people. Pollan offers his opinion that throughout the process of the natural history of foods, deciding “what should we have for dinner” can stir the anxiety for people based on considering foods’ quality, taste, price, nutrition, and so on. In order to establish a stronger relationship between humans and food, and allow the humans to know what they are actually eating, Pollan uses different rhetorical analysis includes different appealing strategies and various literary devices, which contribute to persuade people to comprehend the deeper meaning behind the

The three essays assigned this week had several common threads running through them. The strongest core theme is the rapid change in the food cycle in America and the vast changes that have taken place in the way by which we grow, produce, and process the food that average Americans eat. The food we eat now is drastically different from what our grandparents grew up eating and the three essays each examine that in a different way. Another theme is the loss of knowledge by the average consumer about where their food comes from, what it is composed of, and what, if any, danger it might pose to them.

In the novel The Omnivore's Dilemma, author Micheal Pollan talks extensively about corn. He discusses the ecological, economical, and biological effects it has on humans and our environments. Most often, he brings up the shocking statistic that twenty-five percent of all supermarket items contain corn. Pollan steers away from taking a stance on this, but the strong voice in his writing shows the reader how he feels about corn's prevalence. He, rather obviously, thinks of it as a problem.

The article “Is It Possible to be a Conscientious Meat Eater,” written by Sunaura Taylor and Alexander Taylor, looked like a very convincing argument. “Is It Possible to be a Conscientious meat eater” discusses that processed meat is bad for the world, and how it affects us and our surrounding environments in a negative outcome. The one thing I enjoyed reading from this article was the supportive use of evidence through facts to support the author’s thesis statement. However I would argue that the authors, when writing this, didn’t do a thorough job on keeping the subject professional, detailed, unbiased, and citing the sources for their information.

Since the dawn of the scientific revolution, historical advances has been made for the pursuit of a finer and a stronger understanding of life. But, not all advancements has benefited our society. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed concerns regarding these developments in his “Farewell Address” speech. As his final speech as president, he leaves his audience with a message that may have shocked some listeners. Not to mention he also gave his thoughts on how we should go about solving our issues as a nation. In one aspect of his speech, he speaks on the military industrial complex, which has similarities to our food industrial complex in terms of complications. To further demonstrate these complications, author Michael Pollan sets out to discover what goes on behind the closed doors of the food world in his novel “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”.

In this article “Against Meat” (2009) Jonathan Safran Foer explains his experience from a young age until the present struggling whether being a vegetarian or an omnivore because he doesn’t want to hurt animals at the same time he can’t resist food because it tasted good. Jonathan Safran Foer is an American novelist (born February 21, 1977) He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in philosophy, in his freshman year he took a writing class from the novelist Joyce Carol. In 2002 he published the novel Everything Is Illuminated, which was subsequently adapted into motion picture starring Elijah. The Times (London) call it “work of a genius” especially he published the book when he was 24 years, he also wrote Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005), and for his non-fiction work Eating Animals (2009)., he teaches creative writing at New York University. Looking to the author background, he seems to be a credible and well qualified to write about it because Foer made a research when he first become a father to make the healthiest choice for his son.

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. On a differing take on the solution, “Escape from the Western Diet” by Michael Pollan provides the complete change of our diet and way of life based around cooking and eating meals. however creates a more powerful and logical argument against the “Western Diet” in his article, He uses a combination of his credibility from his publications on health and foods, evidence against the practices of the medical community, along with his solution to the issue of obesity to create an article that draws in audience’s emotions and rationale.

Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma addresses a variety of concerns about food production and consumption. One might ask what exactly is the omnivore’s dilemma? And the basic answer to this question is “what should we eat for dinner”? Being humans makes us omnivores, which means we can at whatever we want. Part of the dilemma is figuring out what is safe to eat and what its safe to think. This is all determined by what your culture tells you to eat. In some cultures it is normal to eat horse while in others it is illegal. This shows how diet varies by region and culture. For example in the Dominican Republic they eat a meal called “Mondongo” and this dish is basically pig or cow intestine including the stomach, feet, and many other inner parts. To the people of the Dominican Republic this meal is part of their tradition and it’s a type of delicacy. On the other hand in many other places it’s seen as dirty or something that shouldn’t be eaten. Being a poor country all parts of the animals are not to be wasted thus making it a norm. Another example of the Omnivore’s dilemma is deciding what to eat and what not to eat based on the condition of how what they are going to consume was grown or raised. 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

For years, the health and safety of genetically modified foods have been debated and researched by scientists, but the question still stands: should genetically modified foods be allowed for consumption? The process of genetic modification involves inserting a gene from bacteria or a virus into an organism where it would normally not be found. The purpose is to alter the genetic code in plants and animals to make them more productive or resistant to pests or farming techniques. Genetically modified organisms, more commonly known as GMOs, have been a controversial topic of debate for a number of reasons. The ethics behind genetically modified foods come into question due to an abundance of short and long-term effects from the process, many of which are still unknown today. It is unethical to genetically modify foods without proper government regulations and thorough research into the negative effects it poses upon human consumption and environmental health.

Many of us, nowadays, eat and enjoy eating meat but many would agree that this is actually not an ethical action. Michael Pollan, in his persuasive style article “An Animal's Place" published in The New Work Times Magazine, on November 10, 2002 intends to persuade his audience that humans should respect animals and as long as they are treated well in farms and give them a more peaceful life and death it will be fine to eat them. According to Pollan, in today's huge industrial farms, cruel and unbearable things happen that are against animals rights. There is a high possibility that in the future these actions will stop as already some protest for animal rights have begun, because animals have feelings and farms take advantage of them thinking that they are mere machines, making them suffer. The solution to this conflict according to the author who supports friendly farms that respect and give a fun and secure life for animals. I believe that the author is convincing because he first makes clear what the argument is about, he then presents both moral arguments and