2011 Random Read #4...You are what you eat eats

Yet another great read and potential contender for best book i'll read this year. About the food we eat and how it gets to us The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals taught me many things about the natural and unnatural food chains that we all find ourselves in. If you're a fan of McDonald's, or any other fast food, its probably a good idea for you NOT to read this book because what you don't know can't made you vomit. I am not a fan of fast food, and this book only reinforced my aversion to it. But, unfortunately it has also turned me off of mass produced meat, meaning I now will probably have to spend more to buy grass fed beef instead of the grain fed Frankencow meat that is sold at most grocers.

But wait, there's more. Don't think this book venerates 'Whole Foods' either. Pollan, the writer, it brutally honest about the price still paid in order to sell food cheaply, regardless of where its sold or how its marketed, may it be labelled organic or not.

Pollan breaks down the three potential chains that can connect us to our food in a concise and descriptive way. He starts with a look at what he calls the industrial system. This is the chain that provides food to most Americans. It consists of produce loaded with pesticides and chemical fertilizers and meat adulterated in the name of cost eating foods that aren't natural to them causing illness and higher fat contents at the cost of taste and loaded with antibiotics to fight disease. To fully experience this food chain he takes his wife and son to, where else, 'McDonalds' for an industrial family meal. Yum dripping with a warm sauce of sarcasm.

Next, he breaks down what has become of the 'organic' chain, which in reality has become just another arm of the industrial, and in most cases owned by the same parent companies. Many of these 'Industrial-Organic' have even gained the moniker of 'Face-Farms' because of the positive P.R. those parent companies garner by owning them. There is hope however in the case of many a smaller organic, or 'beyond organic' as they call themselves, farms. One such is Polyface farm in the Shenandoah valley in Virginia. Here they practice sustainability at its best and bring farming back to a place of real nature with seemingly no waste. This place sounds amazing, but to enjoy any such farm you need to live with a half days drive, which I don't. Once again, to complete the chain Pollan has a meal, in this case a series of meals as he stays and works on Polyface farms for several days.

At his point I was frustrated, not with the book, but with the food system that we are all a part of and that the U.S. government advocates and supports thanks to lobbyists working for these food producing giants.

Then came the last of the possible food systems, the Forager, the modern day equivalent of our 'Hunter-Gatherer- ancestors. Now, I must admit, I am a minor league foodie. I love me some 'Top-Chef' and 'Iron-Chef' and late night Food Network is my channel of choice, so this last section really whet my appetite. Pollan learns, through the guidance of what he calls his forager 'Virgils', to find and identify wild mushrooms, and hunt california wild boar. With these two components as well as additions from his garden and fruit from area trees he makes an amazing sounding meal, basically made without any money as everything was gathered and prepared by him and one other guest.

If your interested in food and where it comes from definitely read this book, but if you'd prefer the bliss of ignorance about what is actually in your food don't even read this introduction. Happy reading AND eating.