The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Naturalist in the Supermarket

Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma is divided into three different sections: corn (industrial), grass (pastoral), and the forest (personal). The first chapter of this book introduces the significance of corn in the industrial food chain. This reading began by stating the endless amount of biodiversity found in America’s supermarkets. “There must be a hundred different species in the produce section alone, a handful more in the meat counter. And this diversity appears only to be increasing” (16). Similar to the book’s introduction, Pollan then presents the questions, “What am I eating? And where in the world did it come from?” The initial question of the introduction: “What should I eat?” would be almost impossible to answer without first addressing these two questions. The more and more diverse supermarkets become with numerous food options, the more difficult it will become for American’s to recognize what is healthy for them to eat.

After Pollan talks about this large biodiversity and “national eating disorder”, he then goes into the idea that the industrial food chain is dominated by corn. “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 plants that is dominated by a single species: Zea mays, the great tropical grass most Americans know as corn” (18). Pollan than proceeds to give an elaborate list of the many different types of foods that include corn, which basically includes everything.  “Indeed, the supermarket itself – the wallboard and joint compound, the linoleum and fiberglass and adhesives out of which the building itself has been built – is in no small measure a manifestation of corn” (19).

I found this chapter in Omnivore’s Dilemma incredibly interesting. The beginning of the chapter expanded on our last class discussion on the “national eating disorder.” Being a college freshman where an unlimited amount of food is available in the dining halls, it is essential to balance the healthiness of your meals. The endless biodiversity within foods certainly does not help. I constantly hear students in the dining halls questioning if a certain dish is healthy or not? Individuals know they should eat healthy, but not knowing what you are eating makes it impossible to decipher the proper meal.

In regards to Pollan’s writings regarding the large impact corn has on the industrial food chain was very surprising. Before reading this article, I had a slight knowledge that corn was used frequently, but never to the realistic extreme. This proves just how important corn is in the production of the food (and even drinks) we, as Americans, consume each day.

·         What can we Americans do in order to become more aware of the food we are eating as well as what it is we are eating?

·         Do you think the “national eating disorder” is going to increase or decrease in the future as more and more foods are produced?

·         What are your thoughts on the question we are left with at the end of the Chapter 1 reading in the middle of page 19? “And us?”