The Omnivore's Dilemma: the Secrets Behind What You Eat, Young Readers Edition by Michael Pollan

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Bibliographic Information:

The Omnivore's Dilemma: the Secrets Behind What You Eat, Young Readers Edition

Pollan, Michael

ISBN 978-0-8037-3415-9

2009 Dial Books, New York, NY

Plot Summary:

Michael Pollan dug in to the depths of our modern food chain and wrote a book about what we are consuming. First, Pollan went to a modern farming operation in Iowa where he learned that the diversity of crops has depleted to mostly corn and some soybeans. Pollan's investigation found that the scientific processes that seed companies developed have made it necessary for the farmers to always buy new seeds. They have become dependent on government loans to produce crops every year and prices are so volatile that they rarely make enough to pay those loans back. The corn goes through the process from the grain elevator to the feed lot or to processing plants and ends up in most of the foods on the supermarket shelves. These processed foods have altered how we eat. 

Next, Pollan looked at the industrial organic food sources. These sources are produced without farm chemicals, but they are still using industrial farming techniques. The politics behind these organic food companies has altered how the term organic is used in food. These foods still aren't the same as the ones that our ancestors ate.

After that, local food sources were examined. These food sources were intended to be sustainable and grass based. The different grasses feed cows, chickens and other animals used as food. The work involved in this farming was overwhelming to Pollan and he saw this as a justification for much higher food prices.

Finally, Pollan looked at food from a hunter-gatherer perspective. These food sources had to be obtained by the very people eating them. The process to get the food was time consuming, but not costly. This limited the foods available to what he could find, pick, hunt or kill. 

Critical Evaluation:

This book could really be terse. Pollan's style of writing was full of information and there were interesting illustrations, photos, and side notes in the book. Although it is labeled a “Young Readers Edition” I did not find any reviews that would recommend it for lower level readers. It is still a tough subject.

Pollan made this a personal journey into the food chain. He interviews farmers, works on a sustainable farm, goes hunting and gathering, and he grows his own. The writing style made a nonfiction book into a story narrative that readers can follow from beginning to end. The conclusions are left up to the readers, but information is not held back.

The information Pollan shares could really change how children eat. Making the language of his bestselling work accessible to a younger audience is a brilliant move in the initiative for a healthier society.  Pollan knows how to tap in to what culture cares about, how we treat animals and what is really in our food, and use that to exert influence.

Reader’s Annotation:

When you know where your food really comes from, will you still eat the same way? 

Author Information:

For the past twenty-five years, Michael Pollan has been writing books and articles about the places where nature and culture intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in the built environment. He is the author of Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation (2013) and of four New York Times bestsellers: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual (2010);In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (2008);The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006) and The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World (2001). 

In 2003, Pollan was appointed the John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, and the director of the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism. In addition to teaching, he lectures widely on food, agriculture, health and the environment.

Michael Pollan, who was born in 1955, grew up on Long Island, and was educated at Bennington College, Oxford University, and Columbia University, from which he received a Master’s in English. He lives in the Bay Area with his wife, the painter Judith Belzer, and their son, Isaac.

Retrieved from http://michaelpollan.com/press-kit/ on 7/26/2015

Genre(s):

Nonfiction

Curriculum Ties:

Nutrition, First Lady's Healthy Eating Initiative, Agriculture

Booktalk Ideas:

Nutrition classes, Food source talks, History of food and consumption

Reading level: grade 7+

Interest age: 10+

Challenge Issues: 

No foreseeable challenge issues, but our library selection policy is always on hand to deal with objections to materials. Challenge Defense File

Why I chose this book:

The recent movement in schools to encourage students to lead a healthy lifestyle means that youth are looking for resources on healthy food choices. This award winning author published a youth oriented book at just the right time for it to be a part of my collection.