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plusverb's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I could give this book 3.5 stars, which is about what I think of it. The first two sections were a fascinating, detailed and broad overview of the state (and origins) of the Standard American Diet (the first section) and its booming alternatives (the second section). Alas, the third section was a rambling mess about the hunger-gatherer lifestyle, to no real point whatsoever, weirdly introspective and overly personal in a book about a universal philosophical conundrum, and just. I'll put it this way: there are nearly 50 pages devoted to his conversations with mushroom hunters. They're not particularly informative conversations either. There is a whole page dedicated to one hunter's recommendations for their first morel hunt, including a detailed description of what type of boot he should wear. I am not even kidding. I finished it just to finish it, but the third section is a real miss in light of the triumph and cohesion of the first two. I almost recommend reading only the first two sections and ignoring the third.
alongapath's review against another edition
4.0
The Omnivore's Dilemma is a complete education in food. I doubt that someone can read this book in its entirety and not be influenced by it.
Pollan divides his lessons into four types of food production: Industrial, Organic, Sustainable and Foraged. And from each part, he creates a omnivore meal that is a true example of that type of food production, after having researched each menu from seed to plate. Throughout his research, he reveals all matter of political, economical, scientific and philosophical detail impacting the end result. I learned more about the anatomy of a corn plant than I ever imagined possible.
Although parts of the book read like a textbook, each aspect is important in understanding how farming practices, livestock feed, slaughter and food preparations/preservation all play into the health of our bodies and the land. As you can well imagine, the Industrial meal has no redeeming qualities while the Sustainable meal allows the body and the conscience to be well-nourished. It is not difficult to predict that local, sustainable farming practices are held up as the golden goal, with happy chickens and piglets roaming contentedly on the grass farmer's acres.
The Foraged meal chapter surprised me. Pollan threw himself headlong into boar and mushroom hunting and even went so far as to harvest his own salt from ocean water for the resulting meal. But he absolutely went over the top as he described the drug-like trance he experienced while hunting wild pig and the severe reprimand he received for having spent an entire day hunting without loading his rifle, resulting in missing the opportunity to take down a pig. This chapter struck me a silly since his emotions were far more apparent here than when he visited a KAFO slaughter house in the Industrial chapter or the open-air chicken processing event in the Sustainable chapter. The resulting foraged meal took him many weeks to acquire and prepare and resulted in a meal that even he seemed embarrassed to serve his guests. Since this was the final chapter, I worry that he may have left readers with the notion that foraging was a waste of time and that we would be better off with the convenience food offered at a drive-thru. I hope that readers can see past the fantasy-enhanced writing of this chapter and still realise that hunting and foraging are reasonable, sustainable ways to acquire delicious food.
Pollan predictably preaches to the converted but, as a person who tries my best to eat only locally farmed food, I learned an amazing amount and I know that I will revisit this book in the future to remind myself why I do so.
Pollan divides his lessons into four types of food production: Industrial, Organic, Sustainable and Foraged. And from each part, he creates a omnivore meal that is a true example of that type of food production, after having researched each menu from seed to plate. Throughout his research, he reveals all matter of political, economical, scientific and philosophical detail impacting the end result. I learned more about the anatomy of a corn plant than I ever imagined possible.
Although parts of the book read like a textbook, each aspect is important in understanding how farming practices, livestock feed, slaughter and food preparations/preservation all play into the health of our bodies and the land. As you can well imagine, the Industrial meal has no redeeming qualities while the Sustainable meal allows the body and the conscience to be well-nourished. It is not difficult to predict that local, sustainable farming practices are held up as the golden goal, with happy chickens and piglets roaming contentedly on the grass farmer's acres.
The Foraged meal chapter surprised me. Pollan threw himself headlong into boar and mushroom hunting and even went so far as to harvest his own salt from ocean water for the resulting meal. But he absolutely went over the top as he described the drug-like trance he experienced while hunting wild pig and the severe reprimand he received for having spent an entire day hunting without loading his rifle, resulting in missing the opportunity to take down a pig. This chapter struck me a silly since his emotions were far more apparent here than when he visited a KAFO slaughter house in the Industrial chapter or the open-air chicken processing event in the Sustainable chapter. The resulting foraged meal took him many weeks to acquire and prepare and resulted in a meal that even he seemed embarrassed to serve his guests. Since this was the final chapter, I worry that he may have left readers with the notion that foraging was a waste of time and that we would be better off with the convenience food offered at a drive-thru. I hope that readers can see past the fantasy-enhanced writing of this chapter and still realise that hunting and foraging are reasonable, sustainable ways to acquire delicious food.
Pollan predictably preaches to the converted but, as a person who tries my best to eat only locally farmed food, I learned an amazing amount and I know that I will revisit this book in the future to remind myself why I do so.
painausten's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't realize this was different from the original book so I'll definitely want to read that one too.
cillygirl75's review against another edition
4.0
This book is really interesting. If you are interested in protecting the environment and knowing what's in your food, this is a must read. It's not a dry, boring non fiction book. Michael Pollan keeps you interested with humor and his personal experiences.
sralujan's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting read about a man who decides to trace several meals he eats back to their source. Nonfiction, which I am sure will discourage most of my friends, but still interesting. Tracing the path of corn and all the food items that contain corn was eye opening. I must say his last meal was the least tempting to me. After that boar hunting story, it only confirmed even more I am one who should never butcher her own meat. Add to that wild mushrooms and I am fine without.
traveltounravel's review against another edition
"So that's us: processed corn, walking."
"The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world."
"The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world."
arseniosantos's review against another edition
3.0
Challenging and thought-provoking concepts... but very hamfisted writing that gets pedantic and in its own way too much for its own good.
johnkerl's review against another edition
5.0
One of the most profound, satisfying, and enjoyable books I've ever read.
Not a diatribe about food -- rather, this reaches well into our culture, our lives, our history, evolution, where our own bodies come from.
Not a dry good-for-you-like-veggies kind of book -- rather, an amazing, page-turning amount of fun.
Not a one-sided polemic -- the chapter on vegetarianism/veganism went honestly and deeply into arguments on both sides, and momentarily had me convinced of each. If only more of our modern conversations were so honestly balanced ......
Not a diatribe about food -- rather, this reaches well into our culture, our lives, our history, evolution, where our own bodies come from.
Not a dry good-for-you-like-veggies kind of book -- rather, an amazing, page-turning amount of fun.
Not a one-sided polemic -- the chapter on vegetarianism/veganism went honestly and deeply into arguments on both sides, and momentarily had me convinced of each. If only more of our modern conversations were so honestly balanced ......