Has Micheal Pollan changed how you eat?

Anthony :

With all do respect to the author, Mr. Pollan has not changed the way I eat. He has in some way changed the way I think about food before I read the book. But as a young male in modern society I have literally been forced what to eat. Being caught up in fast food and the cheapest item on the self at the grocery store has been embedded in to my way of living since as far back as i can remember.

What really stuck with me after reading this book though, was the fact that the average North American has more corn in their diet then people from South American country's whom are known to have very corn based traditional meals. This is simply because everything is either a product of corn or in the case of the animals we eat, are feed corn.

My own personal reason for not changing my diet after reading this book is very simple actually. It's the fact that if you want to live healthy to Mr. Pollan's standards, you would have to have a lot of money just for food. 

You see what this book doesn't mention is that when the manufactures use corn it brings down the price of the item in question. There for when it gets to your table it's not $6.99 a pound.    

All in all corn is great. It has kept our society going from one day to the next. As far as I'm concerned if everybody listened to Mr. Pollan's literature, a lot of jobs would be lost in the farming and agricultural industry overnight. The corn market might collapse, and as we all know our society is practically built on the stuff.

Well that's all I have to say. Thanks for reading our blog. Happy eating to you!

Finally....

I hope you enjoyed our blog. This will be the last entry.

Chef Reid, we would appreciate it if you viewed our blog online, as it looks much better than the printouts we are giving you.

The website is: http://cornomnivores.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading!

What is Michael Pollen trying to tell us?

Brenan:

Overall, I thought this book was incredible. It informed me of some of the atrocities that I have been consuming my whole life.  I think in the chapter "corn" what Mr Pollan is simply telling you to ask your self is:  How did my vegetables come to be, What is in the meat am I consuming, and What is in the fast food our nation has come to eat on a regular basis?

The answers to these questions can only truely be answered by the individual, and I think that is what he was really trying to push. Forcing the nation to eat more healthy, one book sale at a time.

What would you cook for Michael Pollan?

Brenan:

If I were to cook for Michael Pollan, I would make him Bison Tenderloin, which I was happy to recently learn is all grass fed, and there is a large producer in Alberta hoping to bring them back.  The wonderful thing about bison is they eat grass, but unlike cattle, they aren't greedy, and they only eat the tops of grass, this way the grass grows back twice as fast, and is twice as sustainable.  I would wrap the tenderloin in wild boar bacon, since bison doesn't have much fat marbling.  I would go foraging for wild mushrooms and hope to find some chantrelles! I would saute the mushrooms in garlic and butter.  I would also serve it with ramps, roasted at a low temperature and then finished in the same pan the mushrooms were cooked in. i would deglaze the pan and finish it with some sort of demi.

I would have a very hard time not eating it all before it got to the table though.

"Have you ever grown your own food? Has that changed the eating experience?"

Brenan: 


Yesterday, I walked onto my balcony to water my two beautiful F-1 tomato plants that I've been growing this summer, to discover that i had a very nice and plump beefsteak tomato that was ready for the plucking. I thought about it and decided that I would just have to eat it fresh, to really get the most out of it. I feel as though nothing could be better than growing your own food.  You have the guarantee that they will be pesticide free, organic, what ever you deem necessary.   When I first bought my two tomato plants I hadn't read The Omnivores Dilemma, and after reading in a few chapters I found out what the F-1 on the tag actually meant. I was a little dissapointed that the delicous tomato I enjoyed so throughly was actually a first generation plant mutation, but I got over it after I took a bite. 


Unfortunately here in the city it is a little difficult to completely sustain yourself on food you grow, but when i finish school and have a few free hours on my hands i plan to explore toronto as a hunter gatherer.  I've heard the don valley has plenty of wild mushrooms, and even fiddleheads when they're in season. 


So in conclusion, the overall eating experience when you grow your own food changes it completely.  The feeling of accomplishment is almost overwelming, never mind the taste!


Here is a picture of my beautiful tomatoes!

What concerns you about the way you eat or the way your food is created?

Daisy:

A lot of the times I worry that I might not be eating too healthily, because of all the processed inorganic food I eat. Like I said before, I am not a big fast food consumer, but that does not mean I do not go to the local grocery store to pick up some pre-cut, pre-packaged chicken and bottled salad dressing. I do have the option of making that dressing myself, or butchering a nice whole, grass-fed, organic chicken myself. But realistically, who has the time. And, as an unemployed student, who has the money? But what I do realize is that sooner or later, I will have to begin thinking smarter about my food and help others do the same. There is a history of diabetes, as well as colon cancer in my family, so I am aware that someone like me has to be more cautious in terms of what I eat.

How did the stories of George Naylor in Iowa help Michael Pollan to understand and communicate his subject?

Daisy:

Pollan really wanted to follow the process of corn from the fields and the farms, to the dinner table. He also wanted to see how this entire system was treating the farmers of middle America. His stories about Naylor helped give perspective to the readers in terms of how farming was like, from back when Naylor's grandfather operated the farm to now.

Is "Eating an agricultural act?"

Daisy:

I really do believe that eating is an agricultural act. When you begin to consciously choose to eat products that come from local farms, or are organic, you have committed an agricultural act. Most people nowadays just simply purchase the items that they can get at their local grocery store. The thought that usually crosses their minds when they pick up that piece of steak is, "How much will this cost me?" "Do I really want steak for dinner tonight?" They don't ask the REAL questions, such as, "Is this piece of steak disease-free?" "How much process corn has the cow eaten?" "Has that affected its nutritional value?" By asking these questions, you will begin to think deeper about food, thus committing an agricultural act.

Does the way we eat reflect our collective values?

Daisy:

In this society, we value speed, convenience and value. So it's no wonder that the majority of our diet consists of food that is nicely preserved for us, dishes that we can just heat up instantly. We don't have to worry about prepping anything. In fact, we don't even have to go near a stove. We can simply get in our cars, go through a McDonalds' drive-thru and buy ourselves a satisfying meal for dirt cheap, without even having to put one foot on the pavement.

Brenan:

It's interesting to see the difference in my own views since going to Culinary school and since reading this book.  I used to be one of the people Daisy is referring to, always interested in speed, convenience, and value. Somewhere along the line, (quite possibly on a line) my values changed and I started to see food as more than just something we eat.  I started to view food as a metaphor for life. Enjoy it, however long it may take to create it, and realistically, good food is expensive, and if it's not expensive, it is time consuming to make yourself.  I have come to accept this fact.

My values now aren't the same as the values Daisy is speaking of, but I believe food has changed my values.  I hope that this book will make people look at food lke i do.

I agree with Daisy's point, and I definitely believe the way we eat reflects our collective values.

What health problems can be linked to modern food production?

Daisy:

Obesity

Diabetes

Cancer

Heart Disease

Food Intolerance

Will you, or have you made any changes in your eating habits since reading "The Omnivores Dilemna"?

Brenan:

"The Omnivores Dilemma" changed my eating habits the second i read that 25% of (Correct this number) the supermarket is made from corn.  It frightened me that the same product i have been consuming my whole life is also the product that puts the shine on my magazines.  I have always viewed myself as a healthy eater but lately i have been obsessive about it.  I haven't bought anything that comes in a package unless it's meat. Unfortunately for me there isn't a conveniently positioned Healthy Butcher around me or else i would take full advantage of it.

I believe Michael Pollan is doing a wonderful thing by writing about food, because he does it so well.  I was surprised to hear that he didn't always do so but i am exuberant that someone is taking the time to expose the food processing industry.

THANK YOU MICHAEL!

Also. A picture with me and the enemy below.

Daisy:

It's funny that Brenan says that corn is the enemy. I agree that corn may have altered our diet and the structure of our food, but it has given us a lot of different options. However, I do think that it is important to become aware of what goes into one's mouth. I have never been a big consumer in fast food but I have always been a huge snack eater. I may start looking into snacks that do not contain things such as high fructose corn syrup.

It really is amazing how many corn derivatives go into something, like a granola bar. I took a picture of a list of ingredients on one of my sister's granola breakfast bars and here is what I found.

There are about 7 ingredients that come from corn. Mind-boggling.

How do you feel about monocultures as they relate to crops?

The idea of one crop taking over the human diet is one that is very unsettling. Even the idea of one particular species taking over one crop is something that is terrifying. Whoever through of mass producing crops of the same strain had good intentions in general, I'm sure. However, when they began genetically altering the natural structure of these crops, making them stronger against pests, they also began the devastation of weaker strains. It also saddens my heart to see all the heritage breeds die out.

Corn used to look like this:

Now ALL of our corn looks like this:

The same. Uniform. Sterile looking. Monocultures have not only devastated the weaker strains in corn and other crops, it has stripped us of all variety.

Companies now also have the right to patent crops and animals, giving them control of how they are genetically modified. It kind of gives you perspective as to how much of the structure of our food these companies control...

What is an “industrial eater”?

Anthony:


An industrial eater is what humans have become. Instead of eating raw corn and some natural derivatives like tortillas, humans consume strange contortions of corn or processed foods. It has gotten to the point where corn is no longer a plant but a structure of our society.

Sadly enough, this has created a huge industry known as the super market. Almost everyone goes there, but barely any of them are educated on what is actually in the food they are buy. Some people say they read the ingredients on the back, but does that really tell you what in your food? Do you (the consumer) really know what’s going on? The answer is most people don’t, hence the “industrial eater”.

As a whole, we eat what we are told to eat. And we don’t ask questions.

Has Michael Pollen changed the way I think about food?

 Brenan:

Yes. One hundred percent yes. But just reading the book "The Omnivores Dilemna" didn't change my views completely.  The curiosity I acquired from this book made me look deeper for the answers I was really looking for. I grew up in a small farming community called New Hamburg, fifteen minutes outside of Stratford. After reading this book I questioned my whole childhood and really started to question if the extremely whole hearted, friendly farmers I have known my whole life have really just been in on the big scam- manufacturing food- as opposed to growing it.
To answer this question I took it upon myself to take a trip back home (though I'm getting quite comfortable here in the city!) to find the answers I've been looking for.
Although I never grew up on a farm, some of my friends have, so I made a call and within a few hours, there I was, driving down a long country driveway with the increasing smell of cow manure wafting into my car. Mr. Weber was kind enough to lend his time to me to answer a few of my questions.
John Weber (as i was very happy to discover) is not the typical American corn belt farmer that Michael pollen has described to us, Mr Weber is a dairy farmer, that just so happens to grow corn as well.  He gave me a tour of his barn and the corrals where his cows live, and then quickly showed me his cornfield, which was just planted and was barely above my knees.  I asked Mr Weber why he choose dairy farming over the life of a corn farmer and he told me this. "Money, I think of myself as a business man, although I'm very much a farmer, there's no money in corn!"  Mr. Weber's family have been a dairy farmers for 63 years and in his 5 acre farm he grows food for people, not animal feed. 2 acres of this is sweet corn that he sells at farmers markets and to local buyers.  He stressed the importance of eating local and is lucky enough to have a diet consisting of almost all products he grows!  I would love to do this, but the only thing I don't think i could handle would be the smell.  Even in the house you can smell the cows! I guess I'm just destined to always be a city kid.
I thanked Mr Weber for his time, took a few pictures of the corn, and then drove off into the seemingly endless country sunset.

To summarize my answer, Michael Pollen has changed the way I think about food by sparking my curiosity in the food i have grown up on, and in turn, making me much more careful about what i consume.

My next question: Will you, or have you made any changes in your eating habits since reading "The Omnivores Dilemna"?

How has Michael Pollan changed the way you think about food?

Daisy:

You really start thinking about all the processed food that passes through your mouth. You begin to look at food labels and reading the ingredients and begin realizing how much corn is actually in each individually packed cookie, or in the burger bun and the burger itself. You even begin to look at the actual meat differently, as if it isn't meat at all. You look at it as, like Michael Pollan said, a journey of corn, and the amount of energy required for this piece of meat to reach you table.

Introduction

We are Anthony Beaudry, Brenan Clarke and Daisy Ng. We've been reading up on Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma" and decided to write a blog to discuss it. As we've gone through the chapter on corn, we've come across a lot of fascinating points Pollan has made and we each have our own opinions of how his book has changed us and our views on food, as well as what and how we eat.

Throughout this blog, you will hear different points of view from each of us and you will see us debate our different considerations.

Stayed tuned!

- Anthony, Brenan & Daisy.