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

Eye opening

Awesome book. The way Michael explores the different versions of our food system is systematic and covers everything from McDonald's to pasture raised chicken to organic lettuce to wild mushrooms. Learned a heck of a lot and will now be referring to Americans as "Corn people"

Educational and entertaining

Amazing book, full of riveting facts and is beautifully narrated, I can’t stop talking about it with friends.

In-depth and entertaining as well as educational.

A sensible layout of material, easy to follow and interesting to listen to. Never once did I find myself bored, fast forwarding through information, or daydreaming.
This is the kind of information that I would like to share with my children, I know they would not sit through the entire discourse, but when they're in the car riding along with me I like to play these types of informative pieces of material for them. I'm surprised at how much interest my nine-year-old and seven-year-old take in where their food comes from and the way animals and Earth play into that.

Unfortunately, there was a few, very few, instances of adult language. Therefore, I did not feel comfortable letting her play on in the vehicle without first listening through its passage myself

A must read!

America must wake up to our demise and wake up you will if you dare to read the truth with an open mind.

Worth the long read

I have learned a ton of things from this book. No you won't learn how to perfectly braise a roast, but the reasons behind why to eat grass fed meat, why local is just as important as organic. I found this extremely interesting and I'm so glad I read it. If you are rethinking how and what you eat or want to know why you should, this is a great place to start or continue that journey. Next up? In Defense of Food!

Amazing and insightful book. A must read.

I started listening to this after watching Michael Pollan's Cooked series on Netflix. I must say it was a great decision.

I have to admit that this book has had a profound effect on my life and how I see the world of food around me. It has inspired me to learn how to cook more of my own food and to explore deeply where my food is coming from. It brought up many moral questions about my food and I think everyone should be asking themselves a lot of the same questions.

Time to prepare my own feast...

I've just finished both shopping for a feast I'll be serving tomorrow and listening to this wonderful work.

I'm an omnivore on a primarily carnivore diet. Tomorrow's dinner guests are vegan activists and one is a dear friend. My challenge is to transform creole cuisine into vegan fare. Chashew butter replaces creamy cow fat, mushrooms instead of crab. Thank God, I don't have to turn water into wine.

I don't know if my feast tomorrow will be perfect, but I can assure you that the book I just took in via audible was perfect.

Narrate Your Books Your Self

I listened to Caffeine 2 weeks ago and The Omnivores Dilemma I finished 5 minutes ago

You have a delivery that I find easier to hear and listen
Scott ( in my opinion) is somewhat “ professorial “ and I felt he was talking at me -rather than too me

My other comment is the story might have been condensed a little- with some of the tangential facts reduced or eliminated

fred pettinato

Awaken yourself to industrialization

This was a fantastic Book that includes both great journalism, research, and personal accounts. It is remarkable how our culture has set us on a coarse to seek greater comfort, speed, and “well-being” through industrialization with out respecting the true impacts of our decisions. The omnivores dilemma highlights notable cultural shifts and policies that got us here, and shares beautifully written details of various facets of how we get our food. This book was recommended to me years ago, I finally got around to reading it… I really wished I would’ve taken the time to do it sooner. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Excellent book

A fantastic book that balances raw facts with an artistic writing style to communicate them effectively.