Omnivore's Dilemma
I truly do not even know where to begin with this book, except to say I think it should be required reading for every single person on the planet...too strong? I think not - but I will try to elaborate.Most of you know that I am very passionate about nutrition and health. Somewhere in college I went from eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to a vegetarian who exercised regularly and tried to learn as much as possible about nutrition. I think it came from the confluence of two events - my engagement to Nicholas and the death of my beloved grandfather from lung cancer. Suddenly it became abundantly clear that I owed it to those who loved me to take as good care of myself as possible. Because believe me there is no pain like watching someone you love die of a completely preventable disease.
Since that time, I have read a lot about diet and the food industry. I thought Fast Food Nation was brilliant and I haven't eaten at McDonald's since. Supersize Me convinced me to stop drinking soda, which I haven't had in almost 2 years. I've read about organic produce, vitamins and supplement, and I even took Food and Drug Law in school.
However, (and I can't emphasize this enough) nothing I have read has even approached the level of discourse in Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma. He not only addresses each of these topics -food industry, organic food, health, diet- and says something new and interesting about each one but he takes all these topics and advances the discussion to a whole new level. He doesn't just talk about what we eat or what we should eat he talks about WHY we eat, HOW we eat as a society. He explores the repercussions of how we eat on every area of our life - our relationships, our bodies, our economy, our plant.
This is a phenomenal book that is not only important to read as individuals but as a civilization. I can't recommend it strongly enough.
7 comments:
Sarah,
I couldn't agree more. I just started this book and am fascinated. I have only finished the "Corn" section so far, and am fascinated by the perspective he offers on agricultural economics. Can't wait to finish it!
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This is definitely on the top of my reading list... but can I just say I think it's hilarious that the next post is a giant picture of S'MORES!!!
You make a convincing plea. I'll have to check it out.
I'm guessing its probably not a good read for my cruise, though. Something about never-ending buffets and a book on health just don't seem to go together.
Although, I have promised myself that I will walk the track at least once/day every day on the ship. I LOVE getting up early, throwing on my Adidas pants, turning up the iPod and walking on the deck with the vast ocean surrounding me. I live for that scenery.
Hey, Pollan says not to eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. I'm confident my great-grandmother would recognize s'mores ;)
I believe your Great Grandmother would recognize s'mores,but I don't think all the ingredients in the 3 things that makes this healthly snack.
I have to say Sarah that your passionate words about your health and this book sort of seemed not so passionate when the s'mores came up.
quite funny.
Ok I had TWO s'more...jeez people! Pollan advocates eating awareness and moderation and not just "heathy eating." In fact, he's very distrustful of what he calls fad dieting (like eliminating all fat or carbs or sugar).
Hey, I would never criticize you for eating a s'more (I believe in moderation not deprivation as well!). But, you have to see the humor in posting about nutrition and then posting a big pic of a s'more. C'mon. It's funny!
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