A reread of a book that deserved the effort

The Omnivore's Dilemma
by Michael Pollan

Life-changing.


Simply put, this book attempts to answer the question, "What's for dinner?"  And the answer is anything but simple.

It is not an expose of American factory farming.  Not in the slightest.  He tells simple facts, not lurid, over-adjectized horror stories.  But American factory farming is a horror story any way you tell it--the facts alone will turn your stomach.  Yes, I'd read about factory farming in the eighties and I adjusted my diet accordingly.  Years went by and the burden of child-bearing and feeding a family overtook me; I lost sight of just why I didn't used to eat meat very much.  When I thought about factory farming at all, I just assumed, it couldn't be as bad as it used to be.

It's worse.

Forgetting that part of the book--just one section near the beginning--this book needs to be read just so you can understand the magic and the madness mankind has wrought from the simple kernels of corn.  One plant; one species; one gene pool--and our modern lives depend upon it.  A typical McDonald's dinner consists of chicken nuggets (56 percent corn), french fries (23 percents), and a  milkshake (78 percent.) 

[We are]...corn's koala.  

Other questions the book attempts to answer include: how did all that corn get into our food?  Why are the farmers producing so much corn and still losing money?  What is the true cost of organic vegetables?  How did the organic movement cope with the pressure to get big or get out?  They're not simple questions. 

Then he spends a week visiting and working on an alternative farm, one run by a self-professed grass farmer.  Fescue, timothy, clover, bluegrass; plantain and timothy and sweet grass.  It's a cow's business to know the difference--and it's the true farmers job to make the difference.  The farm is a place where chickens, turkeys, pigs, rabbits and cattle all share the job of keeping the grass healthy...and in turn they lead a life that makes you almost proud to be an eater of flesh.

And last, Mr. Pollan explores hunting and foraging--what is the meaning of a meal when it's all produced by the hands of one man?  He learns quickly that it's never one man.  The man needs a history of gardening and a network of friends--people who are experienced in recognizing chanterelles and morels when they're hidden under a deep litter of leaf.  People who know how to extract yeast organisms from inner-city air.  People who know how and where to hunt pig--his best help comes from a displaced Sicilian with a passion for prosciutto.

Standing on the backs of so many friends, he produces the fourth meal.  Wish I were there to help eat it.

Heading to Local Yokal tomorrow.