Chapter Summary Questions for Omnivore’s Dilemma

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Study & Discussion Questions for Omnivore’s Dilemma
Introduction:
 What is meant by “national eating disorder”?  Do you find the idea credible?  Why?/why not?
 Pollan contrasts American eating habits with those of other cultures, particularly the French.
Why?  Do you think this is a valid comparison?  Why?/Why not?
 Explain the concept of the omnivore’s dilemma.
 Summarize the ideas behind Pollan’s four meals.
 How do you think our industrial food chain could put our health at risk?
Chapter 1:
 How are US‐Americans “corn people”?
 What sort of problems might arise from having so much of our food/ingredients produced from
one crop?
 How has corn domesticated us?
Chapter 2:
 How has government policy shaped corn production and, thus, in part, what we eat?
 Explain the technological advances that led to these changes in farming.
 What do you see as being the upsides and downsides of these changes in agriculture?
Chapter 3:
 Explain the differences between corn as food and corn as a commodity.  Who had driven this
shift to commodity and how?
 What effects might this commodification of corn have on our health?
Chapter 4:
 Compare the natural versus the industrial diets for our beef.
 What effects on human health might be caused by this dietary shift and the accompanying use
of medications on beef cattle?
Chapter 5:
 Explain the concept of an “industrial eater.”
 Think about your own eating habits.  Are the food processing companies successful in their
tactics for overcoming your ability to eat a fixed maximum of food each year?  How?/How not?
Chapter 6:
 What health problems are associated with high fructose corn syrup?    How have this and other highly processes ingredients come to be such a central part of the
American diet?
Chapter 7:
 What are the plusses and minuses of such a corn‐intensive diet?  Taken into consideration our
health, the environment, the economy, and even energy independence.  Who wins?  Who
loses?  How?
 Toward the end of this chapter (pg. 117), Pollan asks, “Why should it matter that we have
become a race of corn eaters such as the world has never seen?  Is this necessarily a bad thing?”
How would Pollan likely answer these questions?  You?
Chapter 8:
 Explain the concept of “grass farming” – how is this a different understanding of agriculture?
 Explain the concept of “industrial organic”?
Chapter 9:
 Explain and give examples of “grocery lit.”  Does such “literature” affect the way you think about
food and your buying decisions?  Why/why not?
 Compare and contrast the industrial food chain from the first section of the book with the
industrial organic described in this chapter.  How different are they?
 What are the health and environmental (since environment is also connected to health) impacts
of industrial organic?  Is it worth the extra cost and effort to eat organic?  Why?/Why not?
Chapter 10:
 Revisit your earlier (Ch. 8) definition of grass farming.  With this more in‐depth discussion, how
would you now define it?
 Summarize the steps and things that must be taken into consideration for successful grass
farming.
Chapter 11:
 As we saw on George Naylor’s corn farm in Iowa, most American farms no longer grow a wide
variety of crops, but Joel Salatin’s approach to animal farming shows a deeply interconnected
system.  Explain the different aspects of the system and how each part contributes to the larger
whole.
 What sort of health benefits might this different approach to animal husbandry (including the
grass farming from Ch. 10) have on our health?
Chapter 12: What does Pollan tell us here about our food safety regulations?  Do you think the regulations &
regulatory system make sense?  Why/Why not?
 How safe do you think our food supply is?  Why?
 What changes do you think might be beneficial in the food safety regulatory system?
Chapter 13:
 What does Pollan suggest about the cost of industrial food versus Salatin’s food?
 What do our food choices say about our priorities as a society?
 Does the idea that you may over the long term spend less on healthcare if you were to spend
more on naturally produced foods seem credible to you?  Why?/Why not?
Chapter 14:
 How does Pollan think his meal produced by Joel Salatin’s farm might be nutritionally different
from a similar meal grown on a regular, industrial farm?  Do you agree?  Why?/Why not?
Chapter 15:
 Do you agree with Pollan that the hunter‐gatherer food chain is no longer sufficient for us?
 What would be the costs or benefits to trying to restore more of that food chain?  Could that
effort be viable?  Why/Why not?
Chapter 16:
 What are the good and bad points to the omnivore’s dilemma in Pollan’s view?
 What are the influences of culture on what we eat?  How might this affect our heath?
 Pollan focuses quite narrowly on the United States in terms of the difficulties of food choices
and the issues with our food production methods.  Do you think the American diet is that
different from that of other countries?  Why?/Why not?
 According to www.aboutmcdonalds.com, McDonald’s is found in 118 countries – what does that
say about our globalized food chain versus narrow American eating habits?
Chapter 17:
 Summarize the various ethical questions discussed with regard to eating meat.
 What are your own views on the ethical question of animal suffering and your (potential) meat
consumption?
Chapter 18:
 What different emotions does Pollan experience while hunting?
 If you have hunted, have you experienced similar feelings?  Explain.
 Do you think hunting your own food would give (or gives) you a different perspective as you
eat?  Why?/Why not?Chapter 19:
 What does mushroom foraging suggest about the omnivore’s dilemma?
Chapter 20:
 Pollan indicates that the meal he has produced is at the far opposite end of the human food
chain from his first meal at McDonald’s and that “the pleasures of one are based on nearly
perfect knowledge; the pleasures of the other on an equally perfect ignorance.” (pg. 410).  Do
you agree with Pollan?  Why?/Why not?
 Why does Pollan say that both his first and last meals are “equally unsustainable” (pg. 411)?  Do
you agree?  Why?/Why not?  Do you think the industrial organic or locally grown are
significantly more sustainable?  Why?/Why not?
 Has reading this book changed the way you think about food or what you choose to eat?
Why/How?/Why not?
 What connections do you see between what you eat and your health?  How has the book
affected your thinking in that regard?

omnivores dilemma chapter summary

The Omnivore’s Dilemma is the latest book by Michael Pollan, best known for his previous best‐
selling work, The Botany of Desire. Here, Pollan has crafted a well‐written and enjoyable
exploration of humans’ relationship with food. The book is written for a lay audience, but is
appreciable by all.
Pollan begins by focusing on a seemingly simple question, “What should we have for dinner?”
The answer, it seems, is not so simple for omnivores like us. Pollan guides the reader by
examining the three major types of food production and divides the book into these three areas:
Industrial (focusing on the modern food industry’s reliance on corn), Pastoral (focusing on
organic food production, both “big” and “small” scale), and Personal (focusing on personally
hunting and gathering one’s food).
The first, Industrial section of the book demonstrates that nearly everything we consume in
Western society, particularly in America, is in some way derived from corn. The processed
foods that seem a staple of modern living are derived largely (if not wholly) from corn. Even
foods such as eggs, chicken, fish, and beef are essentially derived from corn: cows, chickens,
and fish are coerced to consume a food that to them is highly unnatural. If we are what we eat,
as Pollan says, we are mostly corn.
Pollan describes the modern industrial food chain by tracing the path of corn from farmer to
feedlot to finished product. Along the way, he explains how the modern food chain has come to
be dominated by corn. He explains how corn has evolved from a simple grass to the dominant
crop that it is today. Particularly interesting is his argument that corn exploits us as much as we
it. Humans exploit corn by using it in everything from whiskey to sweetener. Corn exploits
humans by becoming a seemingly indispensable part of the modern food chain. Certainly, corn
is a wildly successful species, and has become so by evolving into such an attractive food crop.
Not surprisingly, Pollan is critical of the industrial food chain. He argues that the virtue of
cheap food, particularly food derived from cheap corn, hides its cost. The true cost is instead
borne by us all in the form of taxes and corn subsidies, environmental damage, and health
problems. Pollan describes striking similarities between the modern obesity epidemic and therampant alcoholism of 19
th
century America. Both are explicable by the need to use up an ever‐
growing surplus of cheap corn. Further, he argues that we are participating in an unsustainable
system of food production, and that our dependence on a single crop is a glaring weakness that
may have serious consequences for our health and for the environment. Next, Pollan examines
the modern “alternative” to the industrial food chain.
The Pastoral section of The Omnivore’s Dilemma makes a distinction between large‐scale organic
production (“big organic” in Pollan’s words) and smaller, local organic producers (“small
organic”) Big organic is characterized by corporations such as Whole Foods. Here Pollan
illustrates how the well‐intentioned organic food movement has grown into a slightly modified
version of industrial food production. Striking examples are provided, such as the “free‐range”
chicken farm where chickens live in nearly identical conditions to their non‐organic
counterparts. They are afforded access to the outdoors only after spending weeks confined
indoors. As a result, the chickens are too afraid to ever leave the sheds in which they spend
their entire lives. Furthermore, because organic food production precludes the use of antibiotics,
the chickens are so prone to disease that workers must wear sterile clothing and masks to
prevent mass infection and death. Other flaws in “big” organic are discussed, painting a picture
of a feel‐good movement that provides few benefits. Pollan’s final position on “big” organic is
somewhat unclear. He clearly perceives substantial flaws in the system, such as the fact that it is
as non‐sustainable as typical industrial food production, but at the same time he seems to argue
that it is at least a step in the right direction.
Pollan’s position on “small” organic is much less equivocal. He spends a substantial section of
the book detailing his visit to a small organic “grass” farm. Although Pollan does his best to
maintain a journalistic, neutral view throughout the book, it is clear that he was captivated by
the work being done by the grass farmers. Pollan shows that the most important crop to these
farmers is in fact the numerous varieties of grass, which form the foundation of the life cycle on
the farm. These farmers work to farm in a sustainable, natural way that closely resembles the
symbiosis of nature. In this section, Pollan provides a fascinating look at the evolved
relationships between different species of plants and animals, and how these relationships can
be utilized to create a sustainable farming system. Although Pollan is clearly enamored with
such “small” grass‐based farming, he also recognizes the near impossibility of implementing
such farming on a large scale. For example, the higher costs associated with this production
method make it unlikely to be adopted by the population as a whole.
Finally, Pollan examines our most ancient food production method: hunting and gathering. Of
course he recognizes that such a system is no longer a viable one for many humans. But he
argues that it is important to participate in and appreciate the shortest food‐chain possible, by
eating food hunted or gathered personally. In this way the true costs of food, such as substantial
time and energy investments, as well as the loss of another living being, may be better
appreciated. Here Pollan demonstrates just how difficult hunting and gathering is, even
equipped with modern tools such as rifles or GPS. Passages detailing the author’s shift into a
hunter’s mindset were particularly interesting. Even having never hunted before, Pollan quicklyand automatically found himself attuned to the environment, aware of sights and sounds that
normally go unnoticed. He writes “my attention to everything around me, and deafness to
everything else, is complete… everything is amplified” (pp.334‐335). Pollan’s hunting guide
refers to this phenomenon as “hunter’s eye.”
Scholars interested in the evolution of human behavior may be somewhat disappointed by the
relative lack of attention Pollan gives to the field. It is clear that Pollan understands the
importance of evolution, yet his discussion of evolved human psychology and behavior is
minimal at best. Notably, Pollan devotes considerable time discussing the work of Paul Rozin,
particularly his research on food selection behavior. Rozin postulated that the “omnivoral
problem” would explain much about human nature, and this seems to have formed the basis of
Pollan’s thinking and writing. Little other empirical research is discussed. However, passages
such as those mentioned above, detailing the emotions and experiences of hunting and
gathering, seem to describe the operation of evolved mechanisms.
In summary, The Omnivore’s Dilemma is an outstanding book aimed at a wide audience. Pollan
provides a fascinating look at how we choose what we eat. Scholars may be disappointed by the
little attention devoted to evolved human psychology and behavior. However, Pollan still
provides a superbly written book offering a complex answer to a deceptively simple and
increasingly important question.
William F. McKibbin is a Ph.D. student in the Evolutionary Psychology Lab at Florida
Atlantic University. His current research interests include conflict between the sexes,
particularly with regard to sexual behavior.
Todd K. Shackelford received his Ph.D. in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin
in 1997. He is Professor of Psychology, Chair of the Evolutionary Psychology Graduate Program,
and Director of the Evolutionary Psychology Lab (www.ToddKShackelford.com) at Florida
Atlantic University.
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