141. The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat by Michael Pollan

BOOK REVIEW: The Omnivore's Dilemma - The Secrets Behind What You Eat by Michael Pollan

Food is an integral part of our Malaysian culture and our eating habits can even rival that of the Americans. Food can be found around every corner at any time of the day. But do we know where our food comes from, how it is processed or just what goes into that McD patty we chow down? In this eye-opening read, Michael Pollan tells us exactly how food has evolved and what comes off of this evolution.

In writing this book, Pollan, as an investigative journalist, toured various levels of the food production chain. He began his journey from the industrial farms of Iowa and feedlots in Kansas to organic farms and slaughter houses in Virginia  to finally, the supermarkets in which we all partake. He not only traced the ecological path of food from cultivation to consumption but also the evolutionary path of our diet over the years. Pollan points out that the omnivore’s dilemma is how we as humans have so many dietary options but so little information about what we should eat and where our food comes from.

From the corn fields of Iowa, Pollan explains why corn, because of its photosynthetic efficiency, high yield, versatility and ease to transport, has become the most preferred cereal for cultivation. What is more concerning, as Pollan witnessed on his trip, is how the diet of most animals such as cattle has been changed from grass to corn for economic reasons. Corn fed animals take a shorter time to grow and gain weight compared with animals raised on grass or on their natural diet. However, the physiology of these animals has not evolved to rely on corn and on the receiving end of the negative effects of such ripples along the food change is us, as consumers.

Pollan discussed the negative effect of the industrialization of agriculture: the use of nitrogen based chemical fertilizers in place of livestock manure and crop rotation and the concomitant shift from reliance on solar energy to fossil fuel. Though this may make food production economically cheap, it is ecologically expensive bearing in mind the devastative effect of pollution, and greenhouse gases both by-products of fossil fuel consumption, on the environment. Furthermore, there are the dangers posed by runoffs of pesticides and fertilizers into bodies of water that serve people and other living organisms.

After reading this book, it has allowed me as a foodie and chef to appreciate the essence of real food in this age and time. Eating the way our ancestors did can have positive outcomes for both us as consumers and the environment as well.