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The Omnivore's Dilemma Analysis

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When Americans think of nature images of the wild west, wide open plains, and majestic landscapes spring forth. Nature is part of the American heritage; a site of beauty set aside for preservation outside the industrial cities that encompasses daily life. Because of this segregation between nature and man, it is easy to forget that everything on the planet is nature, not simply the parks set aside for preservation and egos. Throughout American history, dating as far back as the indigenous people, this connection between man and the natural world has been prevalent. By examining the the conservationist movement of the twentieth century and the impact Americans have had on the environment, there is a chance to close the chasm that now exists …show more content…

But there are blinders on every American as to what nature actually provides to the modern man. The supermarket, for instance, has become the bounty in which one simply has to hop into the car and drive in order to obtain a sustainable meal for the family. There was no time intensive labor in planting or harvesting vegetables or butchering an animal. It is all neatly packaged and ready for preparation and consumption. Michael Pollan expresses the loss between Americans and food in his novel The Omnivore’s Dilemma. He suggests that “there exists a fundamental tension between the logic of nature and the logic of human industry, at least as it is presently organized,” which has developed a disconnect between Americans and food (Pollan, 9). This disconnect is the lack of understanding nature. “We eat by the grace of nature, not industry,” Pollan claims, “and what we’re eating is never anything more or less than the body of the world” (Pollan, 411). We consume food without considering it as part of nature. While nature is inside of us, we continue to view it as a part from us. The sad injustice to nature is that man has forgotten the biotic connection between the natural world and humanity. Whether protecting nature is a spiritual experience or simply a means for survival, nature is as much a part of human life as the human themselves. The separation created by modern environmentalism between human and non-human entities can only be reunited if people learn to view life as a part of nature. The scary part about that thought, however, is will that be enough now? Only time can

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