The Omnivore's Dilemma

     In The Omnivore's Dilemma, Pollan goes to Polyface, a farm run by Joel Salatin and his family, after Joel denied to FedEx a steak to Pollan. When at Polyface, Pollan learns about the true difference between grass feeding and corn feeding. It is "management intensive" (190) and "depends almost entirely on a wealth of nuanced local knowledge at a time when most of the agriculture has come to rely on precisely the opposite: on the off-farm brain, and the one-size-fits-all universal intelligence represented by agrochemicals and machines" (191). The cattle must graze "at the very top of the blaze of growth" (189). However, the cows must not be allowed to continue to eat or they risk of violating the "law of the second bite" (189). If the cows eat the grass before it can regrow, it will begin to thin, "giving way to bald spots and to weedy and brushy species the cows won't touch" (190). It's interesting to note that this process allows for a greater amount of the sun's energy being used. If the grass produces sugar, then the animals, that we eat, eat the grass. This process avoids the waste of energy from transporting food and animals. By bringing the animals to the food, the link between the sun and us is more direct.
     During his stay, Pollan is told the figures of production in a season which are as follows: "30,000 eggs, 12,000 broilers, 800 stewing hens, 25,000 pounds of beef (50 beeves), 25,000 pounds of pork (250 hogs), 800 turkeys, and 500 rabbits" (222). This is all grown off of 100 acres of grass. The system of the animals from with each other and the grass is complex in comparison to how a CAFO works. Each animal plays their part in helping the chain. The cows cut the grass for the chickens, who in return, return nitrogen to the pasture and feed off of the larvae left behind by the cows.
     Pollan travels with the Salatins to the supermarket. While there, he notices that "farms produce more than food; they also produce a kind of landscape and a kind of community" (258). The farmers will adapt to meet the communities wants beyond the staple foods grow in mass quantities. "Their farmers will quickly learn to grow a few other things besides" (258). Pollan also states that Joel doesn't want to get rid of the current foosd system but "simply to step around it" (260) because "Joel say himself as more of a Luther than a Lenin" (260).

Corn is the Culprit

You have almost certainly noticed a spike in fuel prices recently.  Due to events in the Middle East, the price per barrel has leapt to over $100, or around $3.50 a gallon for those of you who don’t buy oil by the drum.  What does this have to do with your food?  In short, its cost will rise.  Though some of this rise is attributed to an increase in transportation costs, the main culprit is corn.  This article from the Christian Science Monitor explains how the increased demand for corn is driving food prices through the roof.  When oil prices go up, ethanol becomes a coveted fuel source, so farmers take advantage of high corn demand by devoting their farmland to corn production.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0321/Eight-ways-100-a-barrel-oil-may-affect-you/Food-costs-rise-and-corn-demand-is-one-culprit




-k

The Omnivore's Dilemma

Upon reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, the enormity of the business behind the bacon became abundantly clear.  My area of focus for the purpose of this blog is the second section, which deals mostly with the characteristics and origins of the organic food market.  The modern organic movement, according to Mr. Pollan, traces its roots to the cultural revolution of the 1960s.  “The Organic movement…has deep roots in the sixties’ radicalism” (141).  A natural lifestyle was a key aspect of the hippy principles so these origins come as no surprise.  Pollan was fortunate to get to travel the organic farms across America and gain a first hand perspective on the industry.  One such organic farm was Polyface.  This farm emphasized the development of natural ecosystems to create functioning plant and animal production.  Essentially they allow nature to take care of nature.  Grass, however, proved to be the most vital component of this circle of organic life.  It serves as both a cleaning food source, producing healthy animals, and vital in maintaining fertile soil.  “Grass, so understood, is the foundation of the intricate food chain Salatin has assembled at Polyface, where a half dozen different animal species are raised together in an intensive rotational dance on the theme of symbiosis” (126).  Though just having organic farming practices will not prove effective if not coupled with developing local markets.  As one farmer told Pollen, “Just because we can ship organic lettuce from the Salinas Valley, or organic cut flowers from Peru, doesn’t mean we should do it, not if we’re really serious about energy and seasonality and bioregionalism.  I’m afraid if you want to try on of our chickens, you’re going to have to drive down here to Swoope to pick it up” (133). 

We must understand that at the end of the day food production is an industry, almost a living-breathing organism in its own way.  Consumer demand for an organic industry is dramatically changing the industry.  “The word ‘organic’ has proved to be the most powerful words in the supermarket: Without any help from the government, farmers and consumers working together in this way have built an $11 billion industry that is now the fastest growing sector of the food economy” (136).  As informed and concerned consumers, it is our responsibily to sustain this growth and ensure our food’s quality in the future.  DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN!!!

 -K

Feed Responsibly

This is not an informative post, but rather a request to please be mindful of the amount of feed blog readers are giving the Bringing Home the Bacon fish.  Due to excessive feeding, several of our beloved fish, most notably Sparkles and Jimmy, have grown to unhealthy weights.  Fish obesity is no joke, so please be responsible with your feeding habbits.

Thank You!



-K

Affordable Organic!

Well as I pointed out in my last post, food prices are on the rise. There still is hope for the organic lifestyle though! Brad Tuttle of "Time" magazine suggests a personal approach to going organic, literally! He suggests that growing your own vegetables can save some serious money. When prices are on the rise like they are now, the organic advocates could use all the help they can get. See link for full article.

http://money.blogs.time.com/2011/03/09/gardening-pro-its-wise-to-start-small-on-the-cheap/

-Alex

The Omnivore's Dilemma Chapters 15-18

Michael Pollan begins the third and final section of his book The Omnivore's Dilemma with the description of his final and ultimate desire in his exploration of food. This desire to prepare the ultimate meal composed of items that he has collected himself belonging to 3 basic groups: meat, plant, and fungi. He starts chapter 15 by issuing this challenge to himself. He continues the first section of chapter 15 by talking about how a hunter-gatherer lifestyle would be impossible on a national level in the modern age. In the second section, he admits his own ignorance in the areas of hunting and gathering while also adressing the tasks he will need to accomplish to prepare his meal. He talks about the need for an almost universal guide due to his lack of knowledge of nature. He eventually finds one but still knows that he needs to get liscenced to hunt in order to gather the food for his perfect meal. While waiting for his hunting class date to arrive, he educates himself about various edible plants and how to identify them. He decides to try his hand at foraging and finds a mushroom but has problem identifying it. This leads him into his chapter 16 discussion of the omnivore's dilemma. Chapter 16 was rather lengthy but it primarilly defined this dilemma, that the omnivore are faced with such a large number of different types of foods that descisions between foods are difficult because some foods are appetizing while others are harmful. In chapter 17, Pollan begins a long discussion about the ethical aspects of eating meat. He begins by talking about what made him a vegetarian and presents an exmple of how vegetarians explain the purposes behind their actions. The example that stood out most to me was that animals deserve equality in the sense that they should not be forced to feel pain. Feel free to call me heartless but I believe that God made man the dominant species on Earth and the act of killing an animal doesn't seem morally wrong to me personally, so I respectfully disagree with Pollan. He then proceeds to talk about the happiness of various types of animals, these types being wild or domesticated. He then talks about the views of veagans (which still don't make much sense to me). He concludes this chapter by talking about the various ways in which animals are killed and how this knowledge would change the eating habits of Americans if they were aware of this. The final chapter in this section, chapter 18, is a narrative and reflection on two different hunting experiences Pollan went through in his quest for a perfect meal. On his first trip, he failed to kill anything. On his second trip, he made his first kill, and got some satisfaction from it.

      When describing my experience with this book, I think the best way to put it would be that it was an formative experience. It was informative in the sense that it was good to see inside the mind of someone with very different opinions from me. I can't exactly say that he changed my views though. I still plan to eat meat on a fairly regular basis and going on a hunting trip still remains on my bucket list. The book was still an interesting read though. However, I am not sure Mr. Pollan is someone who I could sit down to a relaxed dinnertime conversation with, especially if the conversation was about what the meal being served was.

-Alex

Final Thoughts

Reading the ending of The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan was much more uplifting than reading the beginning. I suppose this was because Pollan's focus was shifted from a corporate view on food to a much more personal view.While reading the final section three bits stuck out to me and I'd like to share them along with sharing my thoughts on them.

"Here, I decided, was one of the signal virtues of hunting: It puts large questions about who we and the animals are, and the nature of our respective deaths, squarely before the hunter, and while I'm sure there are many hunters who manage to avoid their gaze, that must take some doing" (358).
I have never wanted to hunt before, but now I'd like to do it just once. We are by nature animals. We are built to survive by instinct and part of our survival requires that we hunt other animals and make them our sustenance. Maybe for once I'd like to do this for myself and face what Pollan says all hunters must confront: death and our correlation to other animals.

"In the garden almost every species you encounter engages with you. Nobody hides; nobody means you harm; your place in the local food chain is established and acknowledged" (385-386).
Pollan brings this point up while foraging for mushrooms in a place where a forest fire had destroyed the forest. I think he raises a very interesting point: for the most part, no not for the most part, we just don't have to work for our food. We, as much of us have learned, are extremely far removed from the production of our food and truly the supermarket is the average Americans equivalent of a garden. It's a shame that very few people can say they consume food they had a role in producing.

"Oh, it can be hard work, hunting and gathering, but in the end it isn't really the work that produces the food you're after, this effort for that result, for there's no sure correlation between effort and result. And no deserving of this: I felt none of the sense of achievement you feel at the end of a season of garden, when all your work has paid off in the bounty of the harvest. No , this felt more like something for nothing, a wondrous and unaccountable gift" (389-390).
I think this quote underscores the utter magnificence of the food chain. It is incredible to me that we are able to find all the nourishment we need in nature. Why is it that we should try to go about and change that? Sure I see why we should domesticate animals and create farms. But why go further than that? I see no reason why we shouldn't eat all natural and not the all natural defined by the corporations.

These are just some of my thoughts that were provoked by this book. Which I recommend reading. At first the book can seem slightly depressing/enraging and stuffed overly full with information while lacking on pure thought. But in the end Pollans reflections on the journey he has made by investigating food prove to make a page turner out of The Omnivore's Dilemma.

--Eric