The Omnivore's Dilemma

A Natural History of Four Meals

By: Michael Pollan

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

The best-selling author of The Botany of Desire explores the ecology of eating to unveil why we consume what we consume in the 21st century.

"What should we have for dinner?" To one degree or another, this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't, which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore's dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance.

The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time we're realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment. The Omnivore's Dilemma is best-selling author Michael Pollan's brilliant and eye-opening exploration of these little-known but vitally important dimensions of eating in America.

We are indeed what we eat, and what we eat remakes the world. A society of voracious and increasingly confused omnivores, we are just beginning to recognize the profound consequences of the simplest everyday food choices, both for ourselves and for the natural world. The Omnivore's Dilemma is a long-overdue book and one that will become known for bringing a completely fresh perspective to a question as ordinary and yet momentous as "What shall we have for dinner?"

©2006 Michael Pollan (P)2006 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

Gold Medal in Nonfiction for the California Book Award • Winner of the 2007 Bay Area Book Award for Nonfiction • Winner of the 2007 James Beard Book Award/Writing on Food Category • Finalist for the 2007 Orion Book Award • Finalist for the 2007 NBCC Award

"Thoughtful, engrossing . . . You're not likely to get a better explanation of exactly where your food comes from."—The New York Times Book Review

"An eater's manifesto . . . [Pollan's] cause is just, his thinking is clear, and his writing is compelling. Be careful of your dinner!"—The Washington Post

"Outstanding . . . a wide-ranging invitation to think through the moral ramifications of our eating habits."—The New Yorker

why can't we get good food?

Great to the last page. Very important for anyone who eats. Pollan has written an extraordinary book.

Pretty good, but incomplete.

Mr. Pollan is an excellent story teller, and wordsmith. However. while he does does touch on part of the criticism of eating animals. He completely ignores the health and global impacts of consuming animal products. He does mention that the father of the polyface farm family died at 65.

absolutely wonderful

I have no additional thoughts or words that haven't been said before about this book. please give this a read it's wonderful

Great and insightful book

Great narrative around the author’s experience trying to provide an on-site/real-life perspective of how different classifications of food are produced. It may cause others to rethink their approach to food purchases.

Excellent!

Very well researched and compellingly written. The book is a rare combination of the educational while being entertaining.

Engrossing and enlightening

When the book opened, I thought it was going to become some PETA fueled anti-meat rant, and then I thought it was going to become some anti-GM food hippy organic food rant, but I was wrong on both counts. It touches those subjects and many more. In fact, the book moves seamlessly between many subjects.

The author loves meat, and food, but he wants to know exactly where it comes from. He starts by homing in on corn, which is by far the most important component of our diet, being in almost everything we eat in one form or another (interesting, eh?). He then looks closer: how did corn come to dominate our diet, and why do farmers get paid less for their corn than it costs to grow it, and what is the real cost of all that cheap corn?

He then looks at the organic movement, and shows that organic is far from the pastoral ideal we imagine it to be. It is better than over-tilled and fertilized fields and manure filled feedlots, at least. I know a lot of farmers and I have seen some of this first-hand.

Then the author focuses on a truly sustainable farm, and the genius farmers who not only make it work, but make it work well. They can also tell you precisely why it works.

And that's only the first half of the book. The author keeps moving, filling the pages with startling facts and truly excellent writing. The author is apparently a journalist, and it shows in his extensive research and persuasive arguments.

I enjoyed this far more than I expected to. It helps, I suppose, that I was receptive to it. Still, I couldn't put it down, and I can recommend it to anyone who eats.

The Omnivore's Dilemma

If you read only ONE book this year, make it this one! Simply put, The Omnivore's Dilemma is a total eye-opener! Of course I knew that most of the food on the market was laced with pesticides, but had no idea to what extent we are being duped.

Michael Pollan presents this work as extremely well researched and written. I will absolutely read his other books.

And, I must say that I enjoyed the voice of the narrator, Scott Brick. He's one of the best.

Eye opening and gut wrenching

Something you've always suspected, but never really wanted to know. After reading this book, you know too much. Very informative though and it is well worth reading about what you put into your body every day. You know the saying "garbage in, garbage out", so you better take to heart some of the facts presented here. If you're at all interested in living healthy and (hopefully) long and/or have young children you must read this book. You should know what you're eating and feeding your kids!

amazing...

This book, as well as 'Born to Run' have completely changed my life. It has forced me to look at what I'm eating and realize that it's not at all healthy. This book made me a vegetarian. Get it, it's worth ten credits!

super interesting

very thorough and interesting investigation of four ways a meal can be produced. The best part by far is polyface farm, as a world view where an understanding of science and nature are brought together to produce healthy, sustainable food. An easy listen, I suggest listening to the botany of desire as well