...Analysis of Michael Pollan’s Essay “The Food Movement, Rising” Michael Pollan wrote an article entitled “The Food Movement, Rising”. This article talks about how food impacts many facets in the nation including politics, society and family. In this article he shares how food is not just about food and is a much larger issue than meets the eye. He talks about how the issues of food have impacted the country and therefore the world (Pollan). Then, he breaks the issues down on macro and micro levels, focusing on the impact of food on politics, society, and family. Finally, he points out the real cost of food, directly and indirectly. I agree with Michael Pollan about the ongoing issues with food and I am against industrial agriculture too. Americans have not had to think very hard about where their food comes from, or what it is doing to the planet, their bodies, and their society. (Pollan) Pollan points out the exact current problems about food. He believes that people should eat better food. However, Pollan neglects to mention that it was a problem hundred years ago, and it is still a problem today. He points out in his article that food in America has been invisible as an issue until the early 1970s, when food price inflation pushed the topic to be an important national agenda. He mentions that “before this food was never an issue to be discussed in America because it was available at cheap prices”. Also, Americans were completely ignorant of what was the bigger cost they...
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...The Omnivore's Dilemma written by Michael Pollan is a book that helps show how our cultures have changed in choosing what to eat and how how easy we are convinced to change what we eat. The last section of the book called The Forest the author points out the ethical and moral dilemmas and how far we have changed from our ancestors days of hunting and gathering for our meals to buying our meals from supermarkets or fast food restaurants.. The author opens this last section with how he wants to make one last meal with all the elements of this meal are to be hunted and gathered by his own hands and flows the into the topic of how we have changed from not knowing what is and isn't safe to eat and finally into the moral dilemma of eating meat. In the first part, The Forager the author's introduction pulls you in and entices to to keep reading to find out if he was successful in his mission. By using his personal history to explain his lacking experience in hunting and little experience with gathering leaves you hoping that he will ultimately be successful in preparing his meal. The common expectation that the hero or good guy will be successful in his mission is a frequent occurrence in media today. In this case the hero is the author and his quest isn't to save a princess but to be successful in hunting and gathering his own meal that is free from the industrialized food that is around every corner. The author does a great job in flowing between topics with continuing from his...
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...Not So Grrreat! Cereal is the most popular breakfast choice today. However, the cereal aisle is a parent’s worst nightmare of bright colors and cartoon characters floating in a sea of sugar. Cereal boxes are littered with promises of health and nutrition; but these are just empty promises used to trick parents into believing they are feeding their children the right foods. Cereal companies use catchy tunes and slogans to grab the attention of young children. The children then proceed to beg and pester their parents until they get the cereal they want. Most parents strive to feed children nutritional foods but cereal companies have been making it harder and harder. Cereals that are marketed to children have little nutritional value and can lead to poor performance in school; this can be solved by marketing the nutritional cereals to children and parents removing unhealthy cereals from their children’s diets. First, cereals marketed to children have little nutritional value. Cereal companies are required to self-regulate the nutritional value of their products, but this self-regulation only gives the cereal companies the right to fill cereal boxes with whatever they want. In an article by Georgina Gustin in December 2011, Jane Houlihan, vice president for research at the Environmental Working Group, states that cereals don’t belong in your breakfast pantry, they are desserts. Houlihan’s group assessed 84 cereals to make a report focusing on the larger cereal makers, the big...
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...Sean Ruhlman Ms. Rooney ENC-1101 19 November, 2013 Ethical Relativism At what point do we need to refocus our priorities as a civilization? Ethical relativism can best be understood by focusing on the juxtaposition of the benefits of biotechnological advancements in the food industry with the synergetic natural relationship of all living organisms. The argument supporting our technologically enhanced farming is often overlooked by the idealists of our society vying for the end of world hunger. Is it realistic to believe that without these processed foods which make up over two thirds of the world’s diet; the population would be remotely similar in size to that of a population using non-biologically engineered or enhanced foods? Has our society grown to such magnitudes merely as a result of our ability to produce food as quickly and efficiently as we currently do? At what point will humanity’s demand, exceed the Earth’s carrying capacity? This then raises the question of morality. Is it ethically right to turn our backs and deny a portion of our ever-growing population the ability to eat knowing we are beginning to challenge global sustainability? Arguably, it is reasonable to assume that if you were to take away our overly processed, biologically re-engineered foods in order to reach equilibrium, there would be a proportionate loss of human life. This however, may be the only way to ensure humanity’s survival. This is where ethical relativity has to be decided as a...
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...praises Michael Pollan’s book, which follows the food chain of four meals back to their sources, including a McDonald’s lunch and a dinner of supposedly wholesome items from Whole Foods market. She finds Pollan to be a good writer and thorough researcher, not a “preachy” activist. Her brief review is positive, which is why Pollan probably has it posted on his website. This would be a useful source if contrasted against a more critical evaluation of Pollan’s work. Pollan, M. (2002). The botany of desire: A plant’s-eye view of the world. New York: Random House. Pollan outlines the history of four crops-- apples, tulips, marijuana and potatoes. He discusses how humans have influenced their evolution and how crops have influenced our cultures. He recounts real stories, rather than myths, about such characters as “Johnny Appleseed,” an eccentric loner who helped colonize various apple crops across a new America. As a result, we do not have as many varieties of apples as once existed, and the ones we have are less resistant to pests. Pollan, Michael. (2008). In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. New York: The Penguin Press. ISBN 978-1-59420-145-5 Pollan’s book can be summed up in his introductory statement: “Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.” Pollan explores the roots of the current American food system and details how government regulation of the food industry has been affected by pressure from agriculture interest groups and corporations. Agencies...
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...Kaitlyn Keane Prof. Sanjay Jain MGMT 162: MWF 10:30am April 24, 2015 Whole Foods Case 1. In what ways do you think Whole Foods has created value for society? And how have their efforts to create social value led to business results? When the majority of Americans were not eating properly Whole Foods came in and offered healthy and organic food items that enhance customers’ lives by nourishing their bodies. With this emphasis on healthy and tasty foods, more and more Americans began to purchase healthier and organic options. Whole Foods also created value for society by working with organic regional and local farm owners to sell their produce in their stores. The company has also contributed donations to nonprofit organizations that supported things such as sustainable agriculture, reducing waste, and encouraging environmentally friendly store maintenance programs. Employees were also encouraged to give back to the community through 20 hours of paid community service. These examples of ways Whole Foods has created value for society have helped their business in multiple ways. It fostered a strong group of dedicated employees who praised the company’s values. The value created for society also attracted more loyal customers who supported the grocery store doing so much for the environment and society. In turn this has increased the companies sales and profitability. 2. In the last few years is Whole Foods more about growth or is its social mission? How does it...
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...lifestyle given the right amount of motivation. Eating organic stands bold with its reputation of failure; what people don’t comprehend is the transition from an unhealthy lifestyle should not be immediate and must be handled with patience. There are many secret tricks and concealed knowledge about organic produce that most individuals never unfold due to their own frustration. Allen, concerned mainly with the cost of healthy food and ignoring the health needs of her family, puts herself in distress while contemplating what is truly important for her family. Of course she cares about her family’s diet and wishes to nourish it the best she can, preparing a meal from scratch with no added pesticides or fillers must be an exception. Michael Pollan, a writer for the New York Times and a...
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...Review | A review on Michael Pollans “The Omnivore dilemma” | | Cody Windsor Harrington | DeVry University | The Omnivore Review As agriculture technology continues to advance in the new world most of us have lost our pre historic skills of basic survival when it comes to hunting and gathering. America’s agriculture logistics are so well developed that most Americans relay on this system to stay alive. A small portion of people out there still remain intact with their pre historic agriculture skills. That is what Author Michael Pollan writes about In Part 3, Chapters 15, 16, and 17 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Michael Pollan talks about looking for different foods, the ethics of hunting animals and harvesting the meat as well as giving a brief look into what brought about the paradox of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Chapters 15, 16, and 17 bring up a lot of good points about foraging and hunting. Pollan provides in depth detail and research on the topics. The difficult part is staying focused on the story the author is illustrating. Pollan tends to bounce around on different topics and drags out details making it difficult to keep the reader entertained. Chapter 15 of Omnivore's Dilemma discusses how Pollan is preparing to make a meal from all of the foraging groups. Fruits, vegetables, fungi, and meat were the components that made up this meal. His goal was to find and gather enough from each group to make his first meal from nature. Pollan discusses his recent move to...
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...The Forager’s Dilemma Christopher K. Johnson DeVry University The Forager’s Dilemma In the book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, which was written by Michael Pollan, I read a story about a man’s journey to find a meal he could call his own. Part III, “The Forager” is about reconnecting with the earth and its nature. From pages 277-286, the text will give the reader a taste of what it is like to forage. Pollan is a self-proclaimed “Great in-doors man” and only has a few fond memories of dealing with nature. He has never owned or shot a gun nor has he ever hunted mushrooms due to his fungi phobia. Even with all his lack of natural experience, he is set on showing the reader how different it was to hunt, gather, and grow our own foods rather than depend on the present day agriculturalist. After struggling with everything that has happened throughout the story, he never gives up, even though his doubt gets the best of him in the end. In the first three chapters of Part III were well written and a good read for anyone interested. The purpose of this review is to give you my point of view in hopes to provide a good evaluation for my fellow readers to compare their notes with. There were quite many facts in this reading that caught my attention. One fact in particular was how agriculture brought about infectious disease and malnutrition. Anthropologists venture to say that the typical hunter-gatherers work week was about 17 hours long. These work ethics...
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...Samuel Benson Mrs.Vermillion AP L+C 19 February 2018 Omnivore’s Dilemma Summary Michael Pollan, an average American journalist, paid no attention to where his food came from as everyone else did prior to the writing of his book, Omnivore’s Dilemma. That was until he was sent out to cover a story on genetically modified foods and was surprised to see how complicated and contrived the food manufacturing system was. His findings prompted Pollan to set out on his own quest to discover what he really was putting in his mouth. His journey carried him all across America and taught him the importance quality food has on all other aspects of life. Pollan started out uncovering the modern farming machine and how it ticks. All of agribusiness is run...
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...The book, The Omnivores Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollen, is a much more tangled and thought provoking treatise on American cuisine, than the title even begins to suggest. In chapters 15-17, Pollan skillfully brings us along as he explores the good, bad, risk, and reward of our choice to eat as a Hunter-gatherer. He delves into relationships of this choice that are normally unimagined by the vast majority. He paints the emotion mental turmoil of this decision with illuminating facts and masterful language in a way that exposes somewhat humorous paradox’s that keep us hungering for more of this insightful and exhilarating book. In these chapters Pollan explores the dilemmas facing us through his own experiences in choosing to eat as a Hunter-gatherer. Using poignant language that unfolds naturally he depicts the risks of gathering or hunting foods from various perspectives. His flowing logic in making his choice is laced generously with support from sources such as Walden, Thoreau, Leopold, Shepard, and others, thus giving credence to the entire process. This thorough, well supported reasoning frequently gives rise to subtle ironies making the American dilemma of eating somewhat laughable and the book all the more fascinating. Pollan keeps the reader mentally engaged and yearning to learn what absurdity the next round of reason might expose regarding our eating dilemma. In his treatment of mushroom hunting you can see his mother warning him that some...
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...Running head: The Omnivore’s Dilemma: First Draft The Omnivore's Dilemma: First Draft Introduction Reading The Omnivores Dilemma, The Forest section goes over the life, killing and processing of animals as food. The process of killing these animals comes into question in many people’s minds, as they fear or worry the animals were treated badly in their lives, or were killed in an inhumane way. This will explain on how it is hypocritical of an individual who eats meat to have an issue with and against the ways these animals are processed. The Feeding of Animals Animals that are raised as livestock are there for the reason of eventually being killed and processed for food. They are fed as an animal being raised for such purposes. One would not feed an animal high grade food whenever they are going to be slaughtered and used for consumption; because they will be eaten, their food quality needs to be good, but not top end food. These animals just need to be healthy. The argument for animals needing to be fed high quality foods in these situations is absurd to say the least. The Containment of Animals The perception that animals are contained inhumanely is largely incorrect. While of course some operations would not adhere to the set standards, for the most part confinement of livestock is done according to established guidelines. Take the opening scene from the movie Babe...
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...Isabelle Gaylor Mrs. Vermillion AP 11 English 02 November 2015 The Omnivore’s Dilemma Summary The Omnivore’s Dilemma was written by Michael Pollan, a journalist, who had no prior knowledge of where his food came from and how it was made. This book goes through each step and learning process Pollan went through on his journey of “food enlightenment”. In the first chapter, Pollan brings up a very true and slightly terrifying point almost right away. Everything we eat has something to do with corn. Chips made from corn flour, beef from corn fed steers, and even sodas are made sugary with corn syrup. There is virtually no escape from the circle of corn that makes up our diets. Corn is also made into fertilizer both by being mashed into the ground by wandering cattle and through the feces of chickens, cows, etc… In the third chapter, Pollan explores the heart of the industrial food chain. Bombs from World War II hold a large amount of ammonium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate also happens to be a great supplier of nitrogen which is used to grow plants. Although Hybrid corns eat up a lot of nitrogen, it is still way more than they can take. The excess nitrogen seeps into the ground and eventually becomes run-off, that causes major nitrogen pollution....
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...The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Scrutinizing the ethical factors concerning the “eating of animals,” Michael Pollan asserts that “most domesticated animals cannot survive the wild” (Pollan 310) and “without us eating them, they simply wouldn’t exist at all.” (Pollan 310) Furthermore, he makes an attempt to refute Peter Singer’s cultural and philosophical affirmations about the “exploitation of non-humans,” (Pollan 309) especially when Singer endeavors to show the “speciest” mentality (as Pollan calls it) that our society has towards non-humans, thus raising the question on whether the “principle of equality” (Pollan 308) can be fairly utilized between humans and nonhumans. A vegetarian lifestyle is, by all means, no...
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...Why Eat Meat Matt Moffa DeVry University Why Eat Meat Think of it this way, if everyone turned vegan or vegetarian eventually there will be no fertilizer and then eventually no plants. If we were all vegetarians we would have to turn all our livestock covered farm land into edible plant fields, which means no livestock and therefore no fertilizer. Then we would have to invent some kind of chemical fertilizer to fertilize the fields, but then wouldn’t that being hypocritical? People should eat meat because it is healthy to eat meat and there is a good meat. People need to eat meat because eating meat is healthy for the body. The human body gets many consumption of meat that fruits and vegetables cannot give them. Many vegetarians or vegans could argue that you can substitute those nutrients with pills. This is a viable argument, but how do you think they created those pills? Most vegetarians would say that eating a vegetarian diet is healthier then eating any meat. Well how much healthier is it really? Beef, chicken and fish are all extremely high in protein. This protein, which is not found in plants, is said to improve the overall health of the body, repair and building of tissues, the production of anti-bodies used to strengthen the immune system and contains all the essential amino acids. Other nutrients found in meat are iron, zinc and selenium. Iron helps in forming hemoglobin that transports oxygen to different...
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