Summary-
Ever since the 19th century there has been mass production of corn. Because of this, since the 19th century Americans have been mass consuming corn. One of the biggest contributions to corn consumption was the use of it in alcohol. The use of corn over this time period has indirectly led to many health problems. The consumption of corn is not slowing down, Americans are consuming more corn, and are having more health problems.
"Gems"- "That at least is what we're doing with about 530 million bushel of the annual corn harvest. Turning it into 17.5 billion pounds of high-fructose corn syrup." Page 103
Thoughts-
-We have all these health problems that can be related back to corn, yet we still rely on it more then any other grain, or any other food for that matter.
-When will we acknowledge the health risks we have, and change our diets to move away from corn?
Michael Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, Chapter 7-
Summary:
Most americans eat fast food. It's appealing because of it generally has low prices, good tastes (grease and salt), and kids love it. What americans don't know is how unhealthy and even dangerous the food their eating is. A typical Mcdonalds meal will fulfill half the recommended amount of calories per day your supposed to eat. If you go into a Mcdonalds and order any two items off their menu, they would probably similar in at least one way; they would be involved with corn. There is very little variety on fast food menus. Almost all of the items involve corn as an ingredient, or to be cooked in (corn oil). Fast food also uses a lot off energy and fossil fuels to produce the food that is killing us ever so slowly.
"Gems"- "19 percent of American meals are eaten in the car."
Thoughts-
-I eat fast food usually like at least once a week. I hear how bad it is all the time, but I don't really think about it while I eat. I think about how good it tastes. Will this book stop me from going to Mcdonalds tomorrow and ordereing three mcdoubles? Not at all. But I'll know what I'm eating. I'll be aware.
- Can the fast food industry grow anymore then it has already? What changes will it make to become more healthy?
Michael Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, Chapter 8-
Summary:
Joel Salatin a farmer that wants to take organic to the next level. He has made a farm where every organism plays a part. Unlike feedlots and other farms, Salatin's animals are fed grass, and the manure the cows produce is used as fertilizer (cause, well you know, IT'S NOT TOXIC). When you think of old McDonald's farm, this is the about the closest you'll find to that cheery farm life picture. Why? Because it's an ecosystem based off of grass. This takes organic to the next level, considering that Joel Salatin was saying how industrialized organics have become, due to the broadness of what organic means.
"Gems"-
"Salatin is the choreographer and the grasses are his verdurous stage; the dance has made polyface one of the most productive and influential alternative farms in America" Page 126
Thoughts-
-These types of farms, the alternative farms, should be the dominant farm across the country. They are the ones producing quality food, using natural methods. But that wont ever happen. People like Naylor have gone to far to change their farming ways. And the consumer has given up the search of quality, and now has moved on to finding the quantity. With corn-based farms there's no quality, but the quantity is sure there.
- Will the remaining alternative farms survive in a country that doesn't care where what their eating is coming from?
Michael Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, Chapter 9-
Summary:
Over the past ten years, everybody has been on an organic craze. When people think of organics, they think of small little farms growing this healthy food. In reality, most of that food you find in that in an organic supermarket like whole foods was grown almost like the corn. The organic market has been industrialized, not as much as the corn market, but not that far off. Organics from the beginning were designed to provide a more healthy option of eating. Now organic is just a label to make yourself feel good. As Casey Smith put it, "Although organic food has more potential to be healthy, environmentally friendly, tasty, risk-free, and kind to animals and farmers, it still (more often than not) corresponds to animal cruelty, petroleum use and chemical intake." Because the organic lifestyle changed from being grown on small farms, to being grown like other foods, it has really become industrialized.
"Gems"- "No farms I had ever visited before prepared me for the industrial organic farms I saw in California." Page 158
"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 or six weeks old."
Thoughts-
-There's really no point of eating organic foods anymore then. It's basically eating the same thing as regular foods, it just costs more. It's almost sad how the greed of people can take a good idea, and it's diminished for a profit. I think that people need to be more aware of the fact that eating organic isn't really eating that much better then regular produce, or regular chicken. Like it said in the book, free-range chickens are penned up the first 5 weeks of their life. Organic foods have really lost their meaning.
- How will the alternative farms, or truly organic farms compete with these industrial organic farms?
Michael Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, Chapter 10-
Summary:
Joel Salatin has a self-proclaimed "beyond organic" farm. He doesn't use the cheaper method of running his farm on corn. He uses grass. He grows grass, feeds grass to his animals, and because this doesn't create toxic feces like corn, he uses it to type fertilize. The methods that Salatin uses are better for the earth then traditional corn farming. The government doesn't show appreciation to this of farming, offering no commodities for the food they produce. They give the money to farmers like Naylor for corn production. Farmers like Joel Salatin are under appreciated.
"Gems"- "If the sixteen million acres now being used to grow corn to feed cows in the United States became well managed pasture, that would remove fourteen billion pounds of carbon from the atmosphere each year, the equivalent of taking four million cars off the road."
Thoughts-
-Just that quote above shows how much better alternative farms are compared to normal corn farms. American corn farms damage the earth. They could be replaced with these "beyond organic" farms, but that won't ever happen. People think more about money then anything. Thoughts of money aren't limited to the rich mans mind either.
-What would it take to see a major reform leading away from the dependence of corn?
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