For the past 3 days, I have experimented with my dietary habits by pursuing a very strict vegan diet. Though at first I choose it since it seemed like the most easiest way to gain a new perspective on a very different lifestyle than mine, it took much more mental discipline than I expected. I made sure the night before I initiated my new short term diet that I consumed as much meat and fatty as possible, up to the point where I would've felt the craving to eat something lighter.
I was never a very picky eater, usually devouring everything that is handed to me as long as it looked, smelled, and tasted edible. Due to my love for food, It is a bit difficult to let the things I've read in Omnivore's Dilemma and seen in Food Inc. stop me from feeling that the way food is created today is 100% necessary and is totally fine since it is keeping us full and alive. I was hoping for some sort of epiphany that might help me gain a greater realization and insight into the unit, but not much changed even after successfully completing my diet. Meat tasted just as good when I didn't know the food industry's deepest darkest secrets.
One thing I did learn from this new experience is that Ariel's aunt was correct about these dietary habits working for some but not for others. I have always been very light and easy going about the food I eat, never keeping track of whether I am eating healthy or not. Going vegan, a hardcore alteration in my daily habit put strain on me mentally since it limited my decisions. If I am ever going to pursue this again, I will make sure to build it up slowly and be smart about the whole process.
Even though it wasn't especially fun at all, I still feel that going vegan is an worthwhile experience for meat lovers like me. It seems much easier to do than it truly is. The commitment that goes into the lifestyle is horrendous from my perspective, but I can see why people still choose it. The physical benefit of it is quite interesting, I felt it even after just two days of being a vegan. I should possibly think about doing it again for a longer term, maybe around a week or two but also restrict myself from smoking as well to see any drastic changes.
Sunday
Tuesday
HW 10
Due to the ever so growing food production rate, we have become forced to mass produce food through ways that oppose the natural process of growth. We have become to rely on chemicals and pesticides in order to maintain and grow our crops and animals faster and more efficiently to keep the stomach of people in America full. Though problems often come up during the process, we do not step back to understand the faults of the artificial process, but we rely on it more in order to eliminate any possible threats or conflicts that may stop the business. Instead of removing chemicals that cause the problems, we add more in order to kill them off. Real genuine farmers are being overwhelmed by the growth of industrial corporate farmers.
One thing I always like about movies over books is the visual aspect. Instead of using our "imagination" we are directly given the actual process in action right before our eyes. It came out as rather much more disturbing in the movie than just reading the book. Based off the amount of information that is given, I still find books to be much more informative and easier to look back on. Movies offer you it at a faster pace but is much easier to absorb since its audible and visual aspects help me analyze it with ease, but rereading is one of the best parts about gaining information through reading. I think Omnivore's Dilemma was a wonderfully written book with minimal biased opinions, but it was still viewed through the eyes of Pollen who obviously had judgements on what he saw. Food Inc on the other hand offered the visual in which the viewers were able to react to, but also had commentary from the author of Fast Food Nation and Omnivore's Dilemma.
Though the book and the movie both illustrated a strong sense of disgust towards the system, I feel like my mentality towards it cannot be changed. It is something we have gotten ourselves into, and also seems like the only way for the growing population to survive. We outnumber the wild animals, therefore we have to grow our own animals and crops in order for us to consume. We are no longer hunter gatherers, we have evolved into farmers. It's just farming done at a faster pace.
One thing I always like about movies over books is the visual aspect. Instead of using our "imagination" we are directly given the actual process in action right before our eyes. It came out as rather much more disturbing in the movie than just reading the book. Based off the amount of information that is given, I still find books to be much more informative and easier to look back on. Movies offer you it at a faster pace but is much easier to absorb since its audible and visual aspects help me analyze it with ease, but rereading is one of the best parts about gaining information through reading. I think Omnivore's Dilemma was a wonderfully written book with minimal biased opinions, but it was still viewed through the eyes of Pollen who obviously had judgements on what he saw. Food Inc on the other hand offered the visual in which the viewers were able to react to, but also had commentary from the author of Fast Food Nation and Omnivore's Dilemma.
Though the book and the movie both illustrated a strong sense of disgust towards the system, I feel like my mentality towards it cannot be changed. It is something we have gotten ourselves into, and also seems like the only way for the growing population to survive. We outnumber the wild animals, therefore we have to grow our own animals and crops in order for us to consume. We are no longer hunter gatherers, we have evolved into farmers. It's just farming done at a faster pace.
Sunday
7d
Chapter 17
Precis: Slaughter houses are considered to be a bit barbaric for some people. This creates controversey over whether or not it should even be allowed since animals feel pain and suffer the same way we do. To justify this process which these animals must go through, the lives of animals should be treated with respect and kindness.
Gems:“The proper measure of their suffering, in other words, is not their prior experiences but the unremitting daily frustration of their instincts" pg 310
“If possessing a higher degree of intelligence does not entitle one human to use another for his or her own ends, how can it entitle humans to exploit non-humans for the same purpose?” pg 307
Thoughts & Questions: There is always the prey and the predatore, in our case we are usually always the predator. It's very natural that one must live off the life of others and us humans being at the top of the food chain, I believe it is already justified. If you feel pity for all the animals we eat, then they should stop complaining and just stop eating them personally.
Chapter 18
Precis: We were born hunter gatherers, we have always survived off the death of other animals. Even now many of us hunt animals and enjoy feeling the power of holding up our game. Yet when it comes down to the food industry, we see how barbaric the process of mass killing is.
Gems: “Only the hunter, imitating the perpetual alertness of the wild animal, for whom everything is danger, sees everything and sees each thing functioning as facility or difficulty, as risk or protection" pg 343
“Predator and prey alike move according to their own maps of this ground, their own forms of attention, and their own systems of instinct, systems that evolved..." pg 336
Thoughts & Questions: Hunting is a process of survival for all living beings, in one way or another. The origin of our survival and existence now is killing and consuming. The process is a natural cycle, yet people who want to protect nature see killing animals as a threat. To a certain extent it can be seen as animal cruelty, but if it is in order for us to survive it still should be considered very much humane. We do the same now, but in an accelerated speed while we raise our animals.
Chapter 19
Precis: Alongside hunting, humans have access to consuming plants and in order to do so we gather. Though the process is not as physically challenging as hunting for meat, we face dangers due to lack of identification.
Gems: “For the individual human, his community and culture successfully mediate the omnivore’s dilemma, telling him what other people have safely eaten in the past as well as how they ate it" pg 372
“If the soil is the earth’s stomach, fungi supply its digestive enzymes " pg 375
Thoughts & Questions: Our current system we use to make food is way too fast paced for gathering. Instead, agriculture has adapted us into growers of what we have gathered. Based off information brought down over the years of edible plants and fungi, instead of searching for them we grow it where ever we please.
It seems though, that mushrooms are much more interesting than they seem. The lunar energy that they say mushrooms consist of seems like an appealing idea, especially as a source of energy being pulled out of a fungi. Sounds like science fiction.
Chapter 20
Precis: By creating food out of meat from animals seems cruel at first, but consuming nature is a significant bond we have with the earth. We appreciate nature through consuming it and living with it.
Gems: “Reserving the historical trajectory of human eating, for this meal the forest would be feeding us again" pg 399
“Another thing cooking is, or can be, is a way to honor the things we’re eating, the animals and plants and fungi that have been sacrificed to gratify our needs and desires" pg 404
Thoughts & Questions: I find this chapter to be very liberating and especially unbiased. Instead of bashing on our new system of processing food, it reaches into the core of what food really is and its significance. I believe Michael Pollan executed the balance very smoothly.
Precis: Slaughter houses are considered to be a bit barbaric for some people. This creates controversey over whether or not it should even be allowed since animals feel pain and suffer the same way we do. To justify this process which these animals must go through, the lives of animals should be treated with respect and kindness.
Gems:“The proper measure of their suffering, in other words, is not their prior experiences but the unremitting daily frustration of their instincts" pg 310
“If possessing a higher degree of intelligence does not entitle one human to use another for his or her own ends, how can it entitle humans to exploit non-humans for the same purpose?” pg 307
Thoughts & Questions: There is always the prey and the predatore, in our case we are usually always the predator. It's very natural that one must live off the life of others and us humans being at the top of the food chain, I believe it is already justified. If you feel pity for all the animals we eat, then they should stop complaining and just stop eating them personally.
Chapter 18
Precis: We were born hunter gatherers, we have always survived off the death of other animals. Even now many of us hunt animals and enjoy feeling the power of holding up our game. Yet when it comes down to the food industry, we see how barbaric the process of mass killing is.
Gems: “Only the hunter, imitating the perpetual alertness of the wild animal, for whom everything is danger, sees everything and sees each thing functioning as facility or difficulty, as risk or protection" pg 343
“Predator and prey alike move according to their own maps of this ground, their own forms of attention, and their own systems of instinct, systems that evolved..." pg 336
Thoughts & Questions: Hunting is a process of survival for all living beings, in one way or another. The origin of our survival and existence now is killing and consuming. The process is a natural cycle, yet people who want to protect nature see killing animals as a threat. To a certain extent it can be seen as animal cruelty, but if it is in order for us to survive it still should be considered very much humane. We do the same now, but in an accelerated speed while we raise our animals.
Chapter 19
Precis: Alongside hunting, humans have access to consuming plants and in order to do so we gather. Though the process is not as physically challenging as hunting for meat, we face dangers due to lack of identification.
Gems: “For the individual human, his community and culture successfully mediate the omnivore’s dilemma, telling him what other people have safely eaten in the past as well as how they ate it" pg 372
“If the soil is the earth’s stomach, fungi supply its digestive enzymes " pg 375
Thoughts & Questions: Our current system we use to make food is way too fast paced for gathering. Instead, agriculture has adapted us into growers of what we have gathered. Based off information brought down over the years of edible plants and fungi, instead of searching for them we grow it where ever we please.
It seems though, that mushrooms are much more interesting than they seem. The lunar energy that they say mushrooms consist of seems like an appealing idea, especially as a source of energy being pulled out of a fungi. Sounds like science fiction.
Chapter 20
Precis: By creating food out of meat from animals seems cruel at first, but consuming nature is a significant bond we have with the earth. We appreciate nature through consuming it and living with it.
Gems: “Reserving the historical trajectory of human eating, for this meal the forest would be feeding us again" pg 399
“Another thing cooking is, or can be, is a way to honor the things we’re eating, the animals and plants and fungi that have been sacrificed to gratify our needs and desires" pg 404
Thoughts & Questions: I find this chapter to be very liberating and especially unbiased. Instead of bashing on our new system of processing food, it reaches into the core of what food really is and its significance. I believe Michael Pollan executed the balance very smoothly.
Thursday
7c
Chapter 11
Precis: When the rotational grazing process is used, all of it is fully natural. The animals fertalize and feed each other without any artifical chemicals being placed into what they consume. It is the most natural way of farming animals.
Gems: "Polyface is proof that people can sometimes do more for the health of a place cultivating it rather than by leaving it alone" pg 209
"In an ecological system like this everything’s connected to everything else, so you can’t change one thing without changing ten other things" pg 213
Thoughts & Questions: How much of the US population would have to start farming if we were to take away industrial animal farming? Would it even work in such a industrialized society?
I personally think of it as wishful thinking, that maybe we can fix the world. In all honestly I think we have become too far apart from nature to form a strong bond with it once more, it's what makes us "normal humans" today.
Chapter 12
Precis: Chicken slaughtering is a process that is done periodically which makes it still more or less a job able to be done by people. Slaughtering of chickens(though they are small animals)can be very unsanitary due to the mass number.
Gems: “Slaughter is dehumanizing work if you have to do it everyday" pg 233
Thoughts & Questions: Farming has changed too much over the years. It is no longer a relationship between human and nature, it is now just like any other job. A relationship between companies and money. The reason why I say this is because the industries don't care much for the consumers, changes are made to seem like it benefits the customers but in the end it is being made to benefit the buisness. By opening up slaughterhouses to the public, it would force these companies to clean up the process and make it seem more humane. It may completely reestablish a cleaner and safer food industry.
Chapter 13
Precis: By purchasing products straight from farms, the food is much more organic and fresh. It also supports the farmer and his lifestyle of supporting communities with food. It also allows an interaction to between the consumer and the grower that is rarely done today.
Gems: "I tell them the choice is simple: You can buy honestly priced food or you can buy irresponsibly priced food" pg 243
"We can, in other words, reject the industrial omelet on offer and decide to eat another" pg 257
Thoughts & Questions: Though this can't be done or I guess I should say won't be done by 100% of the population in the US, but it offers a chance for people to hop off the bandwagon and try something new and better in the sense of quality of food. It also supports the farmers that refuse to industrialize their buisness. It may be more expensive and limited, but after viewing the way animals are raised and slaughtered, If I had the chance to buy from a local farmers market or from a supermarket, I would be much happier and safer purchasing straight from the farmer.
Chapter 14
Precis: By feeding animals corn, we changed the natural system of both the animals and humans. For years we continued to feed on grass fed animals who offer much more nutrients resulting in healthier people. Such sudden alterations and forced evolutions of what people consume can lead to bad and lethal results as we see today.
Gems: “When chickens get to live like chickens, they’ll taste like chickens, too" pg 271
"we evolved to eat the sort of foods available to hunter-gatherers, most of whose genes we’ve inherited and whose bodies we still (more or less) inhabit" pg 267
Thoughts & Questions: The rapid growth in human population forced agriculture which led to industrialization of society. Though it does not mean we are bad people, we just created it in order to survive the change was too sudden. I believe the biggest change was not technology but agriculture. Once we stopped becoming hunter gatherers and became farmers we lost a significant mentality of what it means to live.
Chapter 15
Precis: Unlike all the hidden secrets we have today within the food industry, when we were hunter gatherers there were no secrets. It is immpossible to revert to the old method, but it is very crucial that we let people view the process of creating food.
Gems: “So even if we wanted to go back to hunting and gathering wild species, it’s not an option: There are far too many of us and not nearly enough of them" pg 279
Thoughts & Questions: Have we exploited the industrial system too much, or was it necessary for our survival?
Chapter 16
Precis: As humans we have choices in what we eat, since we are the top of the food chain. Though we have the meantality of "choice" it causes stress and confusion. Due to confusion society has created an unchangebale what to eat and what not to eat guideline that limit our acess to the large variety of foods.
Gems: “Cooking, one of the omnivore’s cleverest tools, opened up whole new vistas of edibility" pg 293
“The blessing of the omnivore is that he can eat a great many different things in nature. The curse of the omnivore is that when it comes to figuring out which of those things are safe to eat, he’s pretty much on his own" pg 287
Thoughts & Questions: I find the freedom of the omnivore is very nice since I enjoy food and its choices. Though the human mind is so complex that we are pressured by these decisions, with these strengths that not many other animals have there is always a side effect. If you were given the choice of taking out the omnivore's dilemma from your head would you? Do you believe life would be much easier?
Precis: When the rotational grazing process is used, all of it is fully natural. The animals fertalize and feed each other without any artifical chemicals being placed into what they consume. It is the most natural way of farming animals.
Gems: "Polyface is proof that people can sometimes do more for the health of a place cultivating it rather than by leaving it alone" pg 209
"In an ecological system like this everything’s connected to everything else, so you can’t change one thing without changing ten other things" pg 213
Thoughts & Questions: How much of the US population would have to start farming if we were to take away industrial animal farming? Would it even work in such a industrialized society?
I personally think of it as wishful thinking, that maybe we can fix the world. In all honestly I think we have become too far apart from nature to form a strong bond with it once more, it's what makes us "normal humans" today.
Chapter 12
Precis: Chicken slaughtering is a process that is done periodically which makes it still more or less a job able to be done by people. Slaughtering of chickens(though they are small animals)can be very unsanitary due to the mass number.
Gems: “Slaughter is dehumanizing work if you have to do it everyday" pg 233
Thoughts & Questions: Farming has changed too much over the years. It is no longer a relationship between human and nature, it is now just like any other job. A relationship between companies and money. The reason why I say this is because the industries don't care much for the consumers, changes are made to seem like it benefits the customers but in the end it is being made to benefit the buisness. By opening up slaughterhouses to the public, it would force these companies to clean up the process and make it seem more humane. It may completely reestablish a cleaner and safer food industry.
Chapter 13
Precis: By purchasing products straight from farms, the food is much more organic and fresh. It also supports the farmer and his lifestyle of supporting communities with food. It also allows an interaction to between the consumer and the grower that is rarely done today.
Gems: "I tell them the choice is simple: You can buy honestly priced food or you can buy irresponsibly priced food" pg 243
"We can, in other words, reject the industrial omelet on offer and decide to eat another" pg 257
Thoughts & Questions: Though this can't be done or I guess I should say won't be done by 100% of the population in the US, but it offers a chance for people to hop off the bandwagon and try something new and better in the sense of quality of food. It also supports the farmers that refuse to industrialize their buisness. It may be more expensive and limited, but after viewing the way animals are raised and slaughtered, If I had the chance to buy from a local farmers market or from a supermarket, I would be much happier and safer purchasing straight from the farmer.
Chapter 14
Precis: By feeding animals corn, we changed the natural system of both the animals and humans. For years we continued to feed on grass fed animals who offer much more nutrients resulting in healthier people. Such sudden alterations and forced evolutions of what people consume can lead to bad and lethal results as we see today.
Gems: “When chickens get to live like chickens, they’ll taste like chickens, too" pg 271
"we evolved to eat the sort of foods available to hunter-gatherers, most of whose genes we’ve inherited and whose bodies we still (more or less) inhabit" pg 267
Thoughts & Questions: The rapid growth in human population forced agriculture which led to industrialization of society. Though it does not mean we are bad people, we just created it in order to survive the change was too sudden. I believe the biggest change was not technology but agriculture. Once we stopped becoming hunter gatherers and became farmers we lost a significant mentality of what it means to live.
Chapter 15
Precis: Unlike all the hidden secrets we have today within the food industry, when we were hunter gatherers there were no secrets. It is immpossible to revert to the old method, but it is very crucial that we let people view the process of creating food.
Gems: “So even if we wanted to go back to hunting and gathering wild species, it’s not an option: There are far too many of us and not nearly enough of them" pg 279
Thoughts & Questions: Have we exploited the industrial system too much, or was it necessary for our survival?
Chapter 16
Precis: As humans we have choices in what we eat, since we are the top of the food chain. Though we have the meantality of "choice" it causes stress and confusion. Due to confusion society has created an unchangebale what to eat and what not to eat guideline that limit our acess to the large variety of foods.
Gems: “Cooking, one of the omnivore’s cleverest tools, opened up whole new vistas of edibility" pg 293
“The blessing of the omnivore is that he can eat a great many different things in nature. The curse of the omnivore is that when it comes to figuring out which of those things are safe to eat, he’s pretty much on his own" pg 287
Thoughts & Questions: I find the freedom of the omnivore is very nice since I enjoy food and its choices. Though the human mind is so complex that we are pressured by these decisions, with these strengths that not many other animals have there is always a side effect. If you were given the choice of taking out the omnivore's dilemma from your head would you? Do you believe life would be much easier?
7b
Chapter 6
Precis: In the early 19th century, a significant amount of harvested corn were made into whiskey. Instead of selling corn as just, corn, they began to be used massively to create corn syrup which is used in many ways including soft drinks. Serving sizes were also increased and allowed people to consume more calories for a cheaper price.
Gems: “The power of food science lies in its ability to break foods down into their nutrient parts and then reassemble them in specific ways that, in effect, push our evolutionary buttons, fooling the omnivore’s inherited food selection system. Add fat or sugar to anything and it’s going to taste better on the tongue of an animal that natural selection has wired to seek out energy-dense foods.” pg 107
“Three of every five Americans are overweight;one of every five is obese.”
Questions&Thoughts: After reading this chapter, I think corn is one of the most valuable crops. It has everything a company needs to maintain a substantial profit and has multiple paths making it very important not just for one reason, but for many.
What are some possible alternatives to high fructose corn syrup that can feed America's sweet tooth while enforcing healthier dietary habits?
Chapter 7
Many Americans see fast food (majorly McDonald) as a comfort food. The simplicity of McDonald and their menu makes it much more accessible than any other restaurants where they will have to gaze down at the menu for longer periods of time.
Gems: "Whatever it is (surely the food scientists know), for countless millions of people living now, the generic fast-food flavor is one of the unerasable smells and tastes of childhood-which makes it a kind of comfort food" pg 111
"So what? 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? The answer all depends on where you stand" pg 117
Questions & Thoughts: To answer the question in the quote on pg 117, I believe overall it isn't necessarily a bad thing at all. For foods besides the ones served in McDonald, they are all processed somehow and unnatural one way or another. Though we point fingers at these fast food chains for being unhealthy, there are plenty of other places that serve food causing obesity and diabetes. It is acceptable to say that McDonalds is the ring leader of the unhealthy fast food revelation, but they have supported and blessed us with things that make life slightly easier for the most part. It is up to us to have the mentality to fight fast food addiction for our health.
Chapter 8
Precis: Polyface farms support the natural cycle of life, though it restricts the rate of production it leaves the work to nature. These farms portrays the natural beauty of the relationship between animals and grass by letting each animal do its thing which keeps the farm healthy as well as the cattle. Things grown in the farm are used for the community, creating a fine line between the industrial farms that mass produce.
Gems:"If you ask Joel Salatin what he does for a living (Is he foremost a cattle rancher? A chicken farmer?) he'll tell you in no uncertain terms, "I'm a grass farmer". pg 125
"Polyface Farm stands about as far from the industrialized sort of agriculture as it is possible to get without leaving the planet" pg 130
Thoughts & Questions: By placing the products harvested at the Polyface Farm into the global market, would it alter the "natural" process or would the financial aspects force them to mass produce? Would it even be possible without changing the rules of the farm?
Would you buy the meat from Polyface farm for its natural growth if the prices were double of industrial meat? Is quality really that important to us?
Chapter 9
Precis: The word organic brainwashes people into believing that they are eating the healthiest products on the market. The reality of it is harsh, to know that the "organic" product you just bought is no different from the mass produced product next to it. Companies are utilizing the word organic to attract more consumers, and people are eating it with no knowledge about the process but just to make themselves feel better.
Gems:“Artificial manures lead to artificial nutrition, artificial food, artificial animals and finally to artificial men and women" pg 148
“Cuddled by us and our chemicals, the plants see no reason to invest their resources in mounting a strong defense" pg 180
Thoughts & Questions: I believe the usage of chemeicals have a very negative long term affect. As seen with medication, germs and bacteria have a way to become more resistant to things that may halt their movement or kill them. By harvesting 100% artificial crops, somewhere down the road, the food industries will begin to see a downfall where they are unable to keep up. By enforcing more organic and natural growth, we may be able to work our way around it.
Chapter 10
Precis: The consumption of grass by cows slows down the industrial speed of processing food. Therefore grass fed cows do not make enough money for big industries. The only way to produce enough meat for everyone is to mass produce.
Gems: “We should call ourselves sun farmers. The grass is just the way we capture the solar energy” pg 189
“Cows eating grasses that had themselves eaten the sun: The food chain at work in this pasture could not be any shorter or simpler” pg 195
Thoughts & Questions: Is there any way to industrialize rotational grazing effeciently? Or will the major profit coming from the industrial process overwhelm any chance of change or hope?
Precis: In the early 19th century, a significant amount of harvested corn were made into whiskey. Instead of selling corn as just, corn, they began to be used massively to create corn syrup which is used in many ways including soft drinks. Serving sizes were also increased and allowed people to consume more calories for a cheaper price.
Gems: “The power of food science lies in its ability to break foods down into their nutrient parts and then reassemble them in specific ways that, in effect, push our evolutionary buttons, fooling the omnivore’s inherited food selection system. Add fat or sugar to anything and it’s going to taste better on the tongue of an animal that natural selection has wired to seek out energy-dense foods.” pg 107
“Three of every five Americans are overweight;one of every five is obese.”
Questions&Thoughts: After reading this chapter, I think corn is one of the most valuable crops. It has everything a company needs to maintain a substantial profit and has multiple paths making it very important not just for one reason, but for many.
What are some possible alternatives to high fructose corn syrup that can feed America's sweet tooth while enforcing healthier dietary habits?
Chapter 7
Many Americans see fast food (majorly McDonald) as a comfort food. The simplicity of McDonald and their menu makes it much more accessible than any other restaurants where they will have to gaze down at the menu for longer periods of time.
Gems: "Whatever it is (surely the food scientists know), for countless millions of people living now, the generic fast-food flavor is one of the unerasable smells and tastes of childhood-which makes it a kind of comfort food" pg 111
"So what? 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? The answer all depends on where you stand" pg 117
Questions & Thoughts: To answer the question in the quote on pg 117, I believe overall it isn't necessarily a bad thing at all. For foods besides the ones served in McDonald, they are all processed somehow and unnatural one way or another. Though we point fingers at these fast food chains for being unhealthy, there are plenty of other places that serve food causing obesity and diabetes. It is acceptable to say that McDonalds is the ring leader of the unhealthy fast food revelation, but they have supported and blessed us with things that make life slightly easier for the most part. It is up to us to have the mentality to fight fast food addiction for our health.
Chapter 8
Precis: Polyface farms support the natural cycle of life, though it restricts the rate of production it leaves the work to nature. These farms portrays the natural beauty of the relationship between animals and grass by letting each animal do its thing which keeps the farm healthy as well as the cattle. Things grown in the farm are used for the community, creating a fine line between the industrial farms that mass produce.
Gems:"If you ask Joel Salatin what he does for a living (Is he foremost a cattle rancher? A chicken farmer?) he'll tell you in no uncertain terms, "I'm a grass farmer". pg 125
"Polyface Farm stands about as far from the industrialized sort of agriculture as it is possible to get without leaving the planet" pg 130
Thoughts & Questions: By placing the products harvested at the Polyface Farm into the global market, would it alter the "natural" process or would the financial aspects force them to mass produce? Would it even be possible without changing the rules of the farm?
Would you buy the meat from Polyface farm for its natural growth if the prices were double of industrial meat? Is quality really that important to us?
Chapter 9
Precis: The word organic brainwashes people into believing that they are eating the healthiest products on the market. The reality of it is harsh, to know that the "organic" product you just bought is no different from the mass produced product next to it. Companies are utilizing the word organic to attract more consumers, and people are eating it with no knowledge about the process but just to make themselves feel better.
Gems:“Artificial manures lead to artificial nutrition, artificial food, artificial animals and finally to artificial men and women" pg 148
“Cuddled by us and our chemicals, the plants see no reason to invest their resources in mounting a strong defense" pg 180
Thoughts & Questions: I believe the usage of chemeicals have a very negative long term affect. As seen with medication, germs and bacteria have a way to become more resistant to things that may halt their movement or kill them. By harvesting 100% artificial crops, somewhere down the road, the food industries will begin to see a downfall where they are unable to keep up. By enforcing more organic and natural growth, we may be able to work our way around it.
Chapter 10
Precis: The consumption of grass by cows slows down the industrial speed of processing food. Therefore grass fed cows do not make enough money for big industries. The only way to produce enough meat for everyone is to mass produce.
Gems: “We should call ourselves sun farmers. The grass is just the way we capture the solar energy” pg 189
“Cows eating grasses that had themselves eaten the sun: The food chain at work in this pasture could not be any shorter or simpler” pg 195
Thoughts & Questions: Is there any way to industrialize rotational grazing effeciently? Or will the major profit coming from the industrial process overwhelm any chance of change or hope?
Monday
Hw #7
Ominivore's Dilemma by Michael Polan
Introduction
The introduction gives a brief understanding and outline of the purpose of the book. Michael Pollan directly tells us what it is that he wants us to absorb from reading his book, that we humans are still part of a food chain, though indirect, it still exists. It also explains what an omnivore's dilemma is, and more or less what an omnivore is.
We live in a three principal food chain, the industrial, the organic, and the hunter gatherer. We never completely understand the process in which foods go through, and the chain of events never cross our minds as long as the "organic" products are labeled that way.
-Food is the core element that has helped us evolve as humans.
-Where would the human race be today if agriculture was never initiated? Would we still be living primitive lives, or was it fated and necessary for our survival?
Chapter 1
The first chapter explains the significance of corn, and the history of its survival. It portrays a very important plant that was key to our survival as "new" American's when the land was discoverd, as well as how humans were significant for the survival of corn. Explains various aspects of corn including reproduction and its mutation.
"The great edifice of variety and choice that is an American supermarket turns out to rest on a remarkably narrow biological foundation comprised of a tuny group of plant that is dominated by a single species: Zea mays, the giant tropical grass most American's know as corn" (pg 18)
-Corn helped colonize America
-Without corn, agriculture would have been less efficient and may have never become a reliable source of the survival of the human race.
Chapter 2
In chapter 2, it explains how farmers harvest there crops in order to survive. George Naylor is introduced as a farmer who struggles to survive by harvesting no more than corn and soybeans. In order to sustain a reasonable crop, hybrid corn is invented which allows faster mass production of corn. The chapter also explains how the process of harvesting corn changed from natural sun into fertilizers that allowed crops to grow at faster rates.
“The 129 people who depend on George Naylor for their sustenance are all strangers, living at the far end of a food chain so long, intricate, and obscure that neither producer nor consumer has no reason to know the first thing about the other" (pg 34).
Hybrid corns are much more durable. They can survive under conditions that were impossible before, allowing them to be harvested in various locations.
-I believe the importance of corn has been degraded from a significant crop that made farming possible, to just another crop that should be mass produced into money.
-What is an option that can enable a more "natural" growth of crops, or is mass production needed in order to feed the people?
-The food industry needs to let people know about these hidden facts. It will make them look better on their part, and make us feel more secure as consumers.
Chapter 3
Due to mass production of corn, industrial transportation became very unhygienic and wasteful. Various types of corn were formed in order to fasten the pace of harvesting corn and to keep the business running, even the labeling and categorization of corn as far as selling goes, became a non-existent process. Transportation of corn became different after the invention of railroad tracks, it became grain elevators where they would fill train cars and elevator conveyor belts with corn causing the grains to be mistreated more and more.
-"But before buyers would accept this new, nonspecific, trackless corn they would have to have some assurance of its quality" (pg 60)
-But Nature abhors a surplus, and corn must be consumed" (pg 64)
I don't believe this process of mass production is suprising at all, since everything is mass produced these days I don't necessarily have high expectations for the quality of most products, unless they are priced within a expensive range. Though it may seem very unsanitary, we should be worrying more about whether food gets to places to feed the people, more than worrying about whether the food is in excellent quality. There is a reason why things are more expensive, because they are produced with care, if you can't afford it then you shouldn't be complaining about what your getting.
Chapter 4
CAFO(concentrated animal feeding operation) is used in America to nurture and slaughter livestock, where these animals are put in a compact space where they are fed (mainly corn, 60%). Cows that are not part of the CAFO get fed grass which is grown by spreading of the seeds using their hooves and fertilized by their manure which is the under-appreciated wonders of the relationship between cows and grass. Cattle's were also fed cattle as a source of food and nutrients, but one of the healthiest ways to feed and grow a cow is still corn and grass.
-"So this is what commodity corn can do to a cow; industrialize the miracle of nature that is rumminant, taking this sunlight- and prairie grass- powered organism and turning into the last thing we need: another fossil fuel machine. This one, however, is able to suffer" (pg84)
-"The whole system would have to change- and slow down. Hell if you gave them lots of grass and space, I wouldn't have a job" (pg79)
For meat, I believe the concept of needing to feed the people and keeping buisness moving is the same as the mass production of corn that is done through the grain elevators. Livestock is much harder to take care of then plants, therefore they must make it efficient in order to keep the production at its maximum speed. I understand what Michael Pollan is trying to let us see, but nevertheless, the mass production of things will always come with its flaws, but improving the process is another story.
Chapter 5
Most of the corn plant is not consumed by us humans as a solid food like corn on a cob or a corn muffin, but is consumed through sodas and oil where it goes through a "wetmill" in order to break down certain parts to fit certain foods or beverages. Preservation of food has always been a dream for humans, and it has evolved from drying and adding salt, to canning and freezing but none of them could keep food perserved forever, so after the second world war, a reverse process of not improving food but improving nature began. Nothing has changed since we began to make high tech food besides the chemicals we use to make them last.
"When fake sugars and fake fats are joined by fake starches, the food industry will at long last have overcome the dilemma of the fixed stomach:" (pg 99)
"the dream of liberating food from nature continued to flourish-indeed, to expan in ambition and confidence. In the third age of food processing, which begins with the end of WW2, merely persving the fruits of nature was deemed too modest: The goal now was to improve on nature" (pg 91)
I believe preservation of food was like a miracle for us humans who needed to fight everyday for their share of food for only a single day. It probably was like stopping time and decay, but just for food which allowed them to get other stuff without worrying too much about whether they will starve for the night. Food technology is like an evolution process that changed us from hunter gatherers to beings that save and trade.
Introduction
The introduction gives a brief understanding and outline of the purpose of the book. Michael Pollan directly tells us what it is that he wants us to absorb from reading his book, that we humans are still part of a food chain, though indirect, it still exists. It also explains what an omnivore's dilemma is, and more or less what an omnivore is.
We live in a three principal food chain, the industrial, the organic, and the hunter gatherer. We never completely understand the process in which foods go through, and the chain of events never cross our minds as long as the "organic" products are labeled that way.
-Food is the core element that has helped us evolve as humans.
-Where would the human race be today if agriculture was never initiated? Would we still be living primitive lives, or was it fated and necessary for our survival?
Chapter 1
The first chapter explains the significance of corn, and the history of its survival. It portrays a very important plant that was key to our survival as "new" American's when the land was discoverd, as well as how humans were significant for the survival of corn. Explains various aspects of corn including reproduction and its mutation.
"The great edifice of variety and choice that is an American supermarket turns out to rest on a remarkably narrow biological foundation comprised of a tuny group of plant that is dominated by a single species: Zea mays, the giant tropical grass most American's know as corn" (pg 18)
-Corn helped colonize America
-Without corn, agriculture would have been less efficient and may have never become a reliable source of the survival of the human race.
Chapter 2
In chapter 2, it explains how farmers harvest there crops in order to survive. George Naylor is introduced as a farmer who struggles to survive by harvesting no more than corn and soybeans. In order to sustain a reasonable crop, hybrid corn is invented which allows faster mass production of corn. The chapter also explains how the process of harvesting corn changed from natural sun into fertilizers that allowed crops to grow at faster rates.
“The 129 people who depend on George Naylor for their sustenance are all strangers, living at the far end of a food chain so long, intricate, and obscure that neither producer nor consumer has no reason to know the first thing about the other" (pg 34).
Hybrid corns are much more durable. They can survive under conditions that were impossible before, allowing them to be harvested in various locations.
-I believe the importance of corn has been degraded from a significant crop that made farming possible, to just another crop that should be mass produced into money.
-What is an option that can enable a more "natural" growth of crops, or is mass production needed in order to feed the people?
-The food industry needs to let people know about these hidden facts. It will make them look better on their part, and make us feel more secure as consumers.
Chapter 3
Due to mass production of corn, industrial transportation became very unhygienic and wasteful. Various types of corn were formed in order to fasten the pace of harvesting corn and to keep the business running, even the labeling and categorization of corn as far as selling goes, became a non-existent process. Transportation of corn became different after the invention of railroad tracks, it became grain elevators where they would fill train cars and elevator conveyor belts with corn causing the grains to be mistreated more and more.
-"But before buyers would accept this new, nonspecific, trackless corn they would have to have some assurance of its quality" (pg 60)
-But Nature abhors a surplus, and corn must be consumed" (pg 64)
I don't believe this process of mass production is suprising at all, since everything is mass produced these days I don't necessarily have high expectations for the quality of most products, unless they are priced within a expensive range. Though it may seem very unsanitary, we should be worrying more about whether food gets to places to feed the people, more than worrying about whether the food is in excellent quality. There is a reason why things are more expensive, because they are produced with care, if you can't afford it then you shouldn't be complaining about what your getting.
Chapter 4
CAFO(concentrated animal feeding operation) is used in America to nurture and slaughter livestock, where these animals are put in a compact space where they are fed (mainly corn, 60%). Cows that are not part of the CAFO get fed grass which is grown by spreading of the seeds using their hooves and fertilized by their manure which is the under-appreciated wonders of the relationship between cows and grass. Cattle's were also fed cattle as a source of food and nutrients, but one of the healthiest ways to feed and grow a cow is still corn and grass.
-"So this is what commodity corn can do to a cow; industrialize the miracle of nature that is rumminant, taking this sunlight- and prairie grass- powered organism and turning into the last thing we need: another fossil fuel machine. This one, however, is able to suffer" (pg84)
-"The whole system would have to change- and slow down. Hell if you gave them lots of grass and space, I wouldn't have a job" (pg79)
For meat, I believe the concept of needing to feed the people and keeping buisness moving is the same as the mass production of corn that is done through the grain elevators. Livestock is much harder to take care of then plants, therefore they must make it efficient in order to keep the production at its maximum speed. I understand what Michael Pollan is trying to let us see, but nevertheless, the mass production of things will always come with its flaws, but improving the process is another story.
Chapter 5
Most of the corn plant is not consumed by us humans as a solid food like corn on a cob or a corn muffin, but is consumed through sodas and oil where it goes through a "wetmill" in order to break down certain parts to fit certain foods or beverages. Preservation of food has always been a dream for humans, and it has evolved from drying and adding salt, to canning and freezing but none of them could keep food perserved forever, so after the second world war, a reverse process of not improving food but improving nature began. Nothing has changed since we began to make high tech food besides the chemicals we use to make them last.
"When fake sugars and fake fats are joined by fake starches, the food industry will at long last have overcome the dilemma of the fixed stomach:" (pg 99)
"the dream of liberating food from nature continued to flourish-indeed, to expan in ambition and confidence. In the third age of food processing, which begins with the end of WW2, merely persving the fruits of nature was deemed too modest: The goal now was to improve on nature" (pg 91)
I believe preservation of food was like a miracle for us humans who needed to fight everyday for their share of food for only a single day. It probably was like stopping time and decay, but just for food which allowed them to get other stuff without worrying too much about whether they will starve for the night. Food technology is like an evolution process that changed us from hunter gatherers to beings that save and trade.
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