Why are we feeding our children things that we wouldn't even feed our pets?
The bottom line is that Pollan makes a very good point about how we as humans have come to be so separated from the natural world. Animals in the wild don't worry about food like we do (well, they might worry where their next meal is coming from, but they don't have to worry about what kinds of chemicals and strange genetically modified foods they are eating). If we eat "industrially," we are essentially eating corn all the time. It is in everything we eat -- soda, chicken nuggets, even in meat we buy at the store and cook ourselves because it is used to fatten the meat. The idea that we humans are now essentially ridden with corn in our bodies is disturbing. How is this going to effect the human race down the line? Pollan mentions that not only are we made up of corn, but we are also made up of fossil fuels now because corn needs nitrogen and gets it from fertilizer instead of soil. The corn is fed to the cows who then eat grass and get sick so then they are pumped full of antibiotics. A meal at McDonald's -- say, a hamburger, fries, and soda is entirely corn.
Pollan's book, more than anything else, really opens one's eyes to the practices of the food industry. Most of the general public probably is not aware of how much corn they...
It is in everything. How does this affect our health? How does it benefit corn growers? What are the repercussions both financially and health-wise? These are all questions that Pollan forces us to ponder.
After reading his book, I am definitely going to think twice about what I buy at the store and what I feed myself and my family in the future. The problem that we face today is that organic is so expensive. If we go to Whole Foods and buy organic vegetables and grass-fed beef, our grocery bills will be through the roof? Why can't healthy food be the norm and why can't it be something that everyone can afford to buy? People are forced to buy fast food and other unhealthy food (made with corn) because it is cheap and filling. It is detrimental to the health of our children and the human race, in general.
Pollan sets out to answer one basic question: As an omnivore, what should I eat? We are lucky because we have so many things that we can eat and most of us love to try new foods. But, the problems that we have are special to the human race because we can't survive on bamboo (like Koala bears) or mosquitoes -- and who would, really? But in understanding this, we face all sorts of dilemmas because the food that we are being sold is not healthy and is not conducive to good living.
