The Omnivore's Dilemma Chapter Summaries

Chapter one of The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan follows corn on its journey from acting as the primary crop of the Native Americans all the way to its introduction into the industrial setting. Pollan makes it explicitly clear that corn is in everything. Behind all the chemicals listed in the “ingredients” section on a product, consumers will find corn. Corn even plays a role in our chemical makeup. Because of corn’s ability to intake more carbon than most other plants, it does not have a preference over the carbon isotopes it consumes. By looking at the carbon isotope ratios in humans, we can determine how much corn one has eaten. Pollan states that corn’s variability is what makes it such an important crop. The European settlers

In the book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, Pollan explains and describes each of the four major food chains in America; Industrial, Industrial Organic, Local Sustainable, and Hunter-Gatherer. The book was written to inform people about how the food is treated, made, processed, and farmed. However, with four major food chains, the question that arose was, which food chain is the best to feed America? The adjective “best” could be categorized as many things, including taste, accessibility, and affordability. The food chain Industrial Organic is the best way to feed the United States of America.

The first introduction in the film is multiple images of farms, and agriculture of all kinds. Then the author quickly states that farms do not look like they use to. The message, and start of this film is to inform the viewer about the changes in agriculture, and present ideas about where our food actually comes from. The purpose of the film is to introduce to consumers the risk of eating foods that are owned by large corporations. This film addresses issues with large corporations owning all food sources, treatment of animals, and food-borne illnesses.

In Chapter 1 it discussed the industry food chain risks is a subject and this was discussed in class. We have seen that industry food chains tend to get the most out of a little. They do this using corn as a filler in most foods that we buy, and to that degree

Tyson is the biggest chicken producer in the business and they keep farmers in debt by making them expand their farms and raising my chickens in horrid conditions but finally a farmer stepped up and told how horrible these conditions were even though it ended in her contract being terminated for speaking up and its sad. In “How Corn Took Over America” by Michael Pollan’s biggest claim is that corn is in everything we eat or drink, that necessarily true but my question is who, why and when did they decide corn would be in everything we eat or drink or even in our everyday life. In The movie Food Inc. the farmer tells us that at first it was young black men taking the chickens and then it became hispanic so it comes to the point that companies are getting immigrants to do their dirty work because the don’t wanna get their hands dirty.

It is very easy to be amazed at the variety of products that can be found in today's supermarkets, all over the world. The United States in particular is a society of consumers, and many in this country would expect no less than full shelves of everything from produce, to meats, to snacks, etc. However, what most consumers today fail to realize is that the variety seen in most supermarkets in this country is really not too varied at all. In fact, the point that Michael Pollan aims to make in the first chapter of his book is just that: everything comes from corn. The paragraphs below will detail this author's beliefs in relation to today's consumer market, and focus on the ways in which most of us consume the products we are offered (often without questioning anything). Pollan's point will be stressed in this paper as well; namely, that today's society is suffering from poor nutrition and a lack of variety, due to the fact that 'everything boils down to corn,' as Pollan states, as well as the relative lack of education about the places from which one's food comes.

Thesis: Michael Pollan overlooks the many benefits of the current system of food production, which allows us to produce more food on less land than pre-industrial agriculture. His proposal that the nation switch to a local produce model is not economically feasible for the United States.

“The Omnivores Dilemma” a book written by Michael Pollan, where he asks a very straightforward question of what we should have for dinner. In the first chapter, titled “The Plant”, tells a story from the perspective of Pollan himself as an everyday shopper in a modern day American supermarket. Pollan brings up the fact that from a naturalist’s perspective our grocery stores are absolutely astonishing, because where else are you going to find an array of different cultured foods in just one store. He then goes on to pose a question: Do you really even know where the food you eat comes from? Pollan decided to do some digging of his own, seeing if any completely opposite foods had anything in common. To his surprise, a lot of these diverse foods did have something in common when it came to ingredient and it was corn. From finding out that information he goes on to compare Americans consumption of corn, to Mexicans consumption of corn. Pollan’s findings show that Americans do in fact consume more corn than our neighbors to the south, Mexico. This first chapter really made me think about how much, we Americans, consume corn (or some derivative of corn) and if there is a healthier option to choose from. So my question that I must ask is: why is corn a more efficient and beneficial option than any other plant, and is there a plant that would be a better option?

This week's reading 'The Feedlot,' written by Michael Pollan was highly informative, stating the truths of industrial farming. The thesis in this essay portaies how commodity corn effects the environment, the feeding cows, and human beings. The essay focuses on many topics ranging from the cost of the corn, to the well being of the cows. Pollan wants to make us aware as consumers, to be as informed and updated on what we eat and the process the product undertakes. By focusing on the living conditions of the cows, and what they are fed, impacts us too.

I believe this is a main argument in the story because diabetes and obesity are main problems in a lot of countries and the numbers have risen so much due to the sugar that has been added. Pollan adds that a “Recent university shows that less sugars have been added and in sodas and especially glucose”. Corn is glucose and glucose is led to trigger something in your body that triglyceride levels will rise and cause high chance of diabetes. Also growing corn is also very bad because it kills our environment and does serious damage this is caused because of the chemicals farmers use to put on corn to take care of it but it in the end it is also very bad for the corn which causes it to be

Most environment and health arguments surround the misuse of nitrogen and corn. In “What’s Eating America” Michael Pollan used the classical oration to structure his argument that America depends on nitrogen and corn; his argument consisted of an introduction, background, lines of argument, alternative argument, and a conclusion. The introduction, also known as the exordium is where the writer introduces his subject of argument. In Pollan’s introduction, he starts gaining the readers’ interest by referencing the connection that all societies even America runs on corn. “For the great edifice of variety and choice that is an American supermarket rests on a remarkably narrow biological foundation: corn”. Although, he does

The main argument in this article is how it explains we as society have evolved with corn and some people think we do not need it or have not evolved. The author wants to show us how crops can grow everywhere and that we the people should

Corn back then was used just as edible purposes but now there is an extensive list of everything it is used for. The animals should be fed grass or wheat, which is what they are used to by nature, but they are now being fed corn. Even fish such as tilapia have been consuming corn. Consumers also eat forms of corn through meat. Since the industries use corn to feed animals, because it is cheaper and easier to grow their meat contains the corn nutrition. Because there is an abundance of food that contains corn-based syrups, it actually provides an overdose on corn related nutrition. The utilization of corn today is only helping out the industries that produce it because they are the only ones profiting. Many people do not even realize the new use of corn

Agricultural production in the United States has reached phenomenal highs in recent decades, far surpassing the small local farms one would have found a century ago. Large food corporations have become dominant in our culture and especially in the food we eat, but the question of how it may be harming us without our knowledge has become a prevalent issue in our day. The documentary Food, Inc. was produced by Filmmaker Robert Kenner, along with Elise Pearlstein and was released in 2008. During the time up to this event, activists were moving against the big food corporations accusing them of inhumane practice and disease while supporting the return of organic and non-GMO crops. This film addresses this issue and provides discussions and interviews

Corn is the country’s most important dietary staple, and is grown commercially on farms in the North-West part of the country