The Omnivore's Dilemma

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan is an exploration of what people eat and why. Pollan is an immersive journalist who has studied and written on a wide range of topics including gardening, food, architecture, and psychedelics. Pollan is the Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Each of Pollan’s books examines the intersection of humans and nature. Pollan’s 2001 book The Botany of Desire breaks down the biological relationship between humans and four plants: tulips, potatoes, apples, and marijuana. In more recent works, Pollan researched and tried a series of psychedelics to better understand their potential roles in human evolution and health. The Omnivore’s Dilemma furthers Pollan’s major themes by inspecting industrialized farming and its severance from a human connection to nature. Other works by Pollan include How to Change Your Mind and This is Your Mind on Plants.

This study guides uses the 2006 edition from Penguin Press.

Summary

The Omnivore’s Dilemma seeks to better understand the relationship between humans and the food on their plates. Pollan’s work begins with a simple question: “What should we have for dinner?” (1). To answer this question, Pollan immerses himself in multiple approaches to farming. He examines the industrialized farming systems that dominate the market, viewed through the different lenses of fast-food chains, the highly processed foods at supermarkets, and the farms themselves. The Omnivore’s Dilemma questions the systems that severe human understanding and connection from the natural world. Modern food systems seek to hide away the biological processes involved with food production and streamline convenience. Ingredient lists in processed foods reveal a devotion to cheap industrialization that commodifies eating.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma presents three themes. The first is “The Logic of Nature vs. The Logic of Man.” In this theme, Pollan exposes how natural processes conflict and contradict man-made approaches. Humans seek to inflict order and reason upon otherwise complex and diverse biological systems. The second theme, “Food as Connection to the Natural World,” shows what realigning nature and agriculture can do for human health and the planet’s well-being. Pollan also shows how modern industrialized farming seeks to undermine the connection between food and nature. The third theme, “The Cost of Convenience,” studies the numerous disadvantages that come with a highly convenient, and, therefore, highly processed, approach to food.

Pollan utilizes four meals to consider how humans eat and why they eat particular foods. The first meal is found in Part I. The author details corn’s rise to prevalence and the plant’s permeating power in the global food market. Part I reveals how cheap corn grew into an enterprise of surplus that continues to feed itself. As more corn is produced at cheaper rates, the industry is incentivized to find singular refined components that can be used in myriad ways. Corn finds its way into every type of processed food and sugary drink in the forms of high fructose corn syrup, corn oil, dextrose, and even non-food outputs such as ethanol. Corn is also used to feed animals in industrialized feedlots, leaving consumers with less variety in their choices than first glance would suggest.

Pollan considers this information while enjoying a McDonald’s combo meal. He engages a biologist to break down exactly how much corn he and his family consume after one trip to the fast-food empire. He soon finds that his burger and fries is designed to promote overeating while simultaneously separating the concepts and culture of food from its natural sources.

In Part II, Pollan visits Joel Salatin’s farm. There, Pollan encounters a new approach to agriculture that provides a stark contrast to his experiences in Iowa and Kansas. Salatin’s farm emphasizes biodiversity and the importance of pasture in raising and producing quality food. Salatin claims that his animals do most of the work, although Pollan notes the grueling labor involved in running a farm. However, he understands Salatin’s point when he sees how the animals work to contribute to the overall health of the farm and to one another. Pollan gains firsthand experience slaughtering chickens, then enjoys the fruits of his labor via a meal comprised of several of the ingredients he gathered on Salatin’s farm.

Pollan’s final meal in Part III places the weight of labor on him. He decides to eat a meal that is comprised of only foods that he has grown, gathered, and hunted himself. He engages in a series of ethical mental gymnastics to determine whether he can justify the killing and eating of meat. Pollan determines that he will continue as an omnivore but will seek sources of animal products raised in environments where they live good lives. Although he does not fully answer the question “What should we eat?”, Pollan’s final meal gives insight into a new kind of relationship between humans and food. Ultimately, Pollan advocates for reconnecting with nature and the sources of what humans eat.