Michael Pollan Omnivore Dilemma Essay Example

explored in the first section, while organic food as big business and on a small farm is covered in the second section. In the third section, foraging for mushrooms and pork from the wild is described alongside hunting and gathering for food. Each section ends with a meal that includes McDonald's cheeseburger and fries in the first section, Whole Foods' roast chicken and salad in the second section, and fresh eggs' grilled chicken, corn, chocolate souffle made from fresh eggs in the third part. Crumpacker emphasizes that each area has its own theme, but all sections address corn and petroleum product dependence as an underlying thread running throughout the book. Michael Pollan concurs that most of our food consumption utilizes vast amounts of fossil fuels.

Oil products have multiple uses in agriculture and transportation, including fertilizers for plants, pesticides to ward off insects, fuels for trucks and trains, and packaging materials. This dependency on oil is closely tied to our desire for food. In his unique writing style, Pollan explores the origins of our food and the logistics that bring it to our tables, navigating the complexities of the food industry. Through his work, the author demonstrates a deep emotional connection to the various perspectives involved including cows in fields, consumers eating fast food in their cars, shoppers at Whole Foods striving to make responsible choices, and even foragers in the wild. These different vantage points highlight important issues that arise from our food-related behaviors. (Crumpacker BW09)

The work's logo is the connection between the pathos and reality of the chain. It links the way we separate ourselves from the farmer and market, using excessive amounts of

corn and petroleum to obtain and manufacture food, and then succumbing to the marketing of "organic" food. The difficulty of foraging in our environment challenges traditional market practices. Pollan's ethos derives from his ability to trace such links intimately to a solid conclusion, along with his credentials as a food writer and consumer.

Within his exploration of the various food industries in the United States, Shea (54) notes the vividness of Pollan's descriptions of his experiences and learnings, which allows the reader to partake in them. Flannery (51) emphasizes that whilst oil features in Pollan's account of agribusiness, corn is its main focus due to its role as a primary feed source for American livestock and farmed fish across multiple industries such as poultry, pigs, and sheep.

Although only the beginning, prepared foods include significant elements like dairy products from corn-fed cows, eggs from corn-fed chickens, as well as ingredients such as corn starch, corn oil and high-fructose corn syrup which is used to sweeten a variety of products including juice and toothpaste. Beer's alcohol content can also be attributed to corn. Corn is found in nearly every food item – frozen yogurt, ketchup, mayo, mustard, hot dogs and bologna – even vitamin pills.

According to French gastronomist Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a person's diet can reveal their true identity. Michael Pollan observes that the production of corn involves a significant amount of oil consumption. This results in some oil products evaporating, leading to acid rain. Additionally, some oil seeps into the water table and washes into rivers, which adversely affects both drinking water and marine ecosystems.

The industrial logic leads to production of vast corn farms. In case of a

drop in corn prices, farmers opt to plant more of it next year hoping to recover their margins. Paradoxically, despite reduced earnings for farmers, there is a glut of cheap corn, which results in the need to find even more uses for it. The impact of consuming such amounts of corn is unknown as we have not yet fully understood nature despite our belief in controlling it.

Long ago, although ships were stocked with ample food, the lack of vitamin C caused sailors to suffer from scurvy. Today, we navigate the same waters and may assume that our diet is sufficient, but there are likely still nutrients in our food that we are unaware of, and that we don't realize we need. We have become disconnected from the natural cycle of agriculture, where livestock and crops are interrelated for mutual benefit (Crumpacker BW09). The historical roots of the omnivore's dilemma are also significant and form part of Pollan's work. Understanding how the concept has evolved throughout history is critical to grasping what Pollan is addressing in his writing. Essentially, the history of the omnivore's dilemma raises the concerns that Pollan presents to society.

The concept of the "omnivore's dilemma" suggests that our dietary choices define us. It stems from the idea that people's consumption of both plant and animal-based foods can result in ingesting less desirable substances, causing harm to health. This risk is due to humans' omnivorous nature and exposure to various food sources, which may lead to being "polluted" by harmful substances (Leppman 24). The fear of consuming something harmful is a real concern for many individuals, as historically, it has been believed that "you

are what you eat." Pollan argues that when we distance ourselves from traditional and cultural aspects of eating, we become subject to market demands that may harm our overall health.

In his subsequent book, Pollan reiterates the notion of reintroducing individuals to food as opposed to solely focusing on nutrient components and byproducts. According to Fischler (1988a: 204), preparing newly introduced food using traditional culinary methods and flavorings can decrease aversion and increase acceptance, thereby resolving the omnivore's dilemma. Pollan's later book, In Defense of Food (2008), emphasizes that food has transformed into a list of nutrients that only slightly resembles actual food. Pollan emphasizes the significance of cooking our own food and highlighting the cultural and historical value of food in our lives. This further strengthens Pollan's rhetoric and perpetuates the ideas he initially presented in Omnivore's Dilemma.

Pollan celebrates the joys of cooking and reminds us of an important fact that "when you cook at home, you seldom find yourself reaching for the ethoxylated dyglycerides or high-fructose corn syrup." While preparing a meal from plants and animals, a cook has several concerns, but health isn't one of them as it's a given. Pollan's ultimate advice is to avoid consuming anything that your great grandmother wouldn't consider as food.

In the book "Food Really Does Grow" by Michael Pollan, it is evident that his writing aims to encourage consumers to take responsibility for their own consumption and be more healthy both intellectually and physically. One particular passage that effectively uses various rhetorical strategies including logos, ethos, pathos, is when Pollan discusses the ethics of purchasing organic foods from mass market centers. For instance, he uses

the example of buying unseasonable asparagus from Argentina and points out its ethical implications such as the high costs, energy consumption, and disregard for seasonality. Nevertheless, he argues that such a purchase could also support a country in need of foreign exchange and promote sustainable farming practices without harmful chemicals. Therefore, buying organic food from a global marketplace involves multiple trade-offs that need to be carefully considered.

The entirety of the work is discussed in this passage (Pollan 175). Pollan puts forth an inquiry, gives a practical response from the market, and then leads the buyer to contemplate about the pathos, logos, and ethos of their decisions that led them to their current position within the consumer process.

Mr. Pollan's premise is that Americans are abnormally concerned about what they eat due to the lack of a traditional food culture, an overwhelming number of food choices, contradictory scientific studies, and numerous diets. This has led to an obsession with getting thin while becoming fatter and jumping from one food fad to another. To address this confusion, Pollan believes in understanding what we eat and where it comes from. His use of language and point of view appeals not only to the food audience but to society as a whole in America, where convenience has caused us to unknowingly and knowingly remove ourselves from our food sources. ("Food for Thought; What" B08)

According to Pollan, the food industry benefits from our uncertainty about what to eat, using it to create and market new products. This strategy is deliberate and designed to make grocery shopping an overwhelming experience. Even informed shoppers may struggle, as illustrated by the author's own

experience of shopping at a local co-op instead of a mainstream retailer like Wal-Mart. However, even this option is no guarantee of making the right food choices.

Despite being in the coop, the issues of our industrial food system can't be avoided. The same corporations that produce organic foods also offer cigarettes. According to Dinovella (41), our food system relies on consumers' limited knowledge beyond the disclosed price at the checkout scanner, and this cheapness and ignorance are mutually reinforcing. The work presents numerous examples of food problems that relate to both the author's ethos and consumer behavior. The desire for cheaper and more convenient foods without knowledge brings harm to us all. What makes the work fascinating is that Pollan's rhetoric about ethics is never preachy, but rather amusing and insightful as he presents ethical challenges to the food industry and consumers.

In brief, Pollan urges readers to closely consider the reality of the food they consume and highlights the issues that arise from industrialization and urbanization. He emphasizes not only the importance of seeking natural alternatives, but also taking a critical look at the marketing tactics used by big businesses. Moreover, Pollan introduces the "hunter-gatherer" experiment as a means of gaining insight into the sourcing and consumption of food. While he acknowledges that foraging is not a practical way of living in modern society, he suggests that it should be used to shed light on the mysterious sources of our food and challenge individuals to think deeply about ecology and ethics. As Pollan notes, "hunting and gathering (or growing) a meal would perforce teach me things about ecology and ethics that I could not get

in a supermarket or fast-food chain or even on a farm."

According to Pollan (280), his work serves as an introduction to responsible consumerism. He addresses issues that are often only discussed by extreme advocates on either side of the political spectrum. By experiencing firsthand the journey of becoming a blind, knowledgeable, and responsible consumer, Pollan creates a masterpiece of modern rhetoric that speaks to a universal audience. Although his work may not offer all the solutions to the challenges of separating food from the consumer, it does provoke deep thinking - an essential element of the rhetorical response. Works Cited: Crumbpacker, Bunny. "You Are What You Eat." The Washington Post, 9 April 2006, BW09. Dinovella, Elizabeth. "Think Globally, Eat Locally."

The article titled "Plants in Production" was published in The Progressive in November 2006, authored by Maura C. Flannery.

"The American Biology Teacher 70. 1 (2008): 51. 'Food for Thought; What We Eat, from Source to Table.' The Washington Times 30 July 2006: B08. 'Food Really Does Grow on Trees, You Know.'

Two sources have been referenced in this text. One is an article titled "History, Old Favorites in Collection of Food Essays" published in The Washington Times on June 10th, 2007, on page B08, written by Elizabeth J. Leppman. The other source is an article published in the Daily Post (Liverpool, England) on February 1st, 2008, on page 12, which was not titled.

In 2005, Hong Kong University Press published a book titled "Changing Rice Bowl: Economic Development and Diet in China."