Michael Pollan describes the makings of four very different meals. One is an example of the industrial food complex, which produces a surplus of corn. This surplus corn is then fed to our cattle or turned into additives and sugars used in a variety of products. The author questions the healthiness of this practice.

The second meal is made from "organic" food. The author talks about the meaning of organic, and how the organic food industry has broken some of its own rules in the search for a profit.

The third meal is made from locally grown, "beyond organic" food, including a grass-fed chicken. The author describes his week working on a grass farm and discusses the benefits of such an ecosystem where each species helps sustain the others.

The fourth meal is made from food hunted, gathered, or grown by the author himself. He learns to hunt wild Californian pig and gather various kinds of mushrooms.

Anyone who is curious about what you eat, and particularly for people suspicious of packaged and processed foods.

The personable style that Pollan uses. He plays the role of an everyman, just looking for answers. There were a lot of interesting facts - some of them rather depressing but interesting nonetheless. I found the chapters on grass farming and hunting mushrooms the most interesting. All in all, the book was well-researched and well-presented.

I wish there were illustrations. There were a few times when the author even mentions taking pictures to record his experience, and I wish those were included. I also didn't particularly like the chapter on vegetarianism and the ethics of eating meat. I couldn't tell if Pollan was actually agonizing over eating meat or using this moral conflict as a writing tool to cover the topic. As someone who doesn't buy the vegetarian argument, I didn't find the moral conflict very genuine, especially as he claimed to be a meat eater from the beginning of the book.

Look closer at what I'm eating.

Michael Pollan is a journalist and author of several books. I picked this book up because I heard him speak on the NPR program "Science Friday."

It is thought-provoking. I think more people should think about what they are eating.

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Created Oct 06, 2007 at 9:14pm • Submit your own review...