The final quarter of the book covers chapters 16-20 named: 16) The Omnivore's Dilemma, 17) The Ethics of Eating Animals, 18) Hunting: The Meat, 19) Gathering: The Fungi, and 20) The Perfect Meal. These chapters covered pages 287-411.
The first chapter I read in this section doubled as the title of the book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, chapter 16. In this chapter, Pollan explains the problem that Americans have when it comes to food. When we have so much food to choose from, what do we pick? He also points out that America is so diverse, with people from so many different backgrounds, that we will have a very diverse selection of food. Our country has no singular tradition of food, which is why our cultural norms can change so easily. Just in the last decade, think of how we have strayed away from carbs. How many other countries can you think of that would change the focal points of their diets so often?
In chapter 17, The Ethics of Eating Animals, he decides he needs to spend some thought on the ethics of eating meat. He reads a copy of Peter Singer's book called Animal Liberation. Singer poses questions that can be summarized as: how come we as humans justify not eating less intelligent humans but use the same logic to eat animals? I thought that was kind of a dark question to ask but he also says that if you were to say "because we are human and they are animals", well then we would be a "speciesist". Pollan ends up exchanging emails with Singer, and Singer makes a point that the principle of eating animals isnt wrong, its the practice. Pollan states that slaughterhouses should have glass walls, to ensure humane efforts are taken in slaughterhouses.
In chapter 18, Hunting: The Meat, Pollan goes on two hunts for a wild pig. The first hunt ends up unsuccessful. But during the second, he is one of two men who shoot and kill a pig. He described his feelings of the kill first as happy and grateful to have slain an animal. But then his feeling changes, he now feels disgusted, both by what he has done, and for the fact that the pig had begun to be dressed. And after this is all over, he sees a photo of him after the kill when he is very happy and excited, then felt a great sense of shame. Through all of this, he says he would rather suffer with this level of disgust, than become a vegetarian and miss out on all the meat he loves.
In chapter 19, Foraging: The Fungi, Pollan goes mushroom gathering with a friend who is more experienced. When they end up finding some, they go home to cook them, but Pollan feels much more comfortable eating the ones that his friend, Angelo, had picked. After throwing his away he realizes that this is one of the signatures of omnivores, we would rather eat something that someone else has and lived to tell about it.
In chapter 20, The Perfect Meal, Pollan finally makes a meal that features the big he had killed in chapter 18. One part I found interesting, was him saying grace, he thought it would be too cheesy to thank the food that he was about to eat. He then realizes that that form of grace was already done in the way that he had found and prepared the meal with such care. He states that he knows most families wont be able to prepare meals this way, that it just isn't practical. He knows this type of meal is more of a ritual, and as such it still does have a place in our lives.
Summary:
This book was very interesting from beginning to end. It was something I really enjoyed overall. I loved how he dove head first in to finding out where our meals come from, and how much effort it takes. Some of the most interesting things I will take with me are things about the corn industry. The fact that corn is used to make almost everything we eat, about how it is fed to animals unnaturally, and about how it loses almost 90% of its food energy... I don't think I will ever forget these things. I also really enjoyed the farm chapter, about how the cows and chickens help form a circle of life with each other to contribute to a self-sufficient farm. I think this book will have an effect on me that I will start to put more thought in to what I am eating. I know I want to lean towards more organic foods when I can, and that there is a price that goes along with that. I am willing to pay for what I believe is a better product, produced in a better way. I think that these are important matters, farms and communities should be self sufficient, there would be a lot less potential for food shortages if all communities work to provide for themselves, independent of other parts of the world. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested in the food they eat or looking for new perspective on the food industry or our own cultural norms. For those who don't care, there will still be McDonalds.
