the omnivore's dilemma

I have decided to comment on my current reading, The Omnivore's Dilemma. Which of course means that I must use the italics for proper writing form. haha. Anyway. I finished the first section, about corn. Mildly disgusting, in some ways, as the author explains in a quote from Todd Dawson, "a Berkeley biologist who's done this sort of research", "When you look at the isotope ratios, we North Americans look like corn chips with legs." Not entirely promising, I don't think. The book is very well written, I guess a plus considering the author is also a noted journalist (who's name is Michael Pollan, in case you were wondering or happened to want to read the book yourself). So, the first section of the book follows industrial corn to the feedlot and finally to a McDonald's meal, which according to the carbon isotopes, is largely corn based. Feedlot cattle are being fed corn, and recycled cow parts, and hormones and antibiotics, rather than what they were created to eat, which is grass. The entire industrial food chain is about producing quantity, often sacrificing quality. And sacrificing environmental and even physical health and well-being in the process. Agribusiness is totally political, and industrialised, and no longer gives a wit about the farmer or anyone really other than itself and the profit margin it can create. Having spent most weekends of my life on a farm, albeit a small one and not one to produce large quantities of anything, basically just a family farm with cattle for the ag exemption, I find this whole concept rather disturbing. It just doesn't sit well, doesn't seem right. There is something to be said about getting up before dawn to get out in the field and around the farm and growing your own food and putting in a good day's work and spending time with God's creation. Or maybe I'm just old-fashioned. The second section in this book, however, is about just that, and while I have not gotten terribly far into it, it fosters some hope in me already. According to this farmer, "the way I produce a chicken is an extension of my worldview." I find that an excellent point, and somewhat thought provoking. He also says, "just because we can ship organic lettuce from the Salinas Valley, or organic cut flowers from Peru, doesn't mean we should do it, not if we're really serious about energy and seasonality and bioregionalism." Apparently industrial food is also a huge waster of energy and natural resources, expending more energy than it finally produces in food calories. And this farmer considers himself to be an 'opt-out' person, who would rather not participate in any sort of industrial agriculture or even the rapidly growing 'organic' food sector that he believes is falling prey to much of agribusiness without being so obvious. "But the Western mind can't bear an opt-out option. We're going to have to refight the Battle of the Little Bighorn to preserve the right to opt out, or your grandchildren and mine will have no choice but to eat amalgamated, irradiated, genetically prostituted, barcoded, adulterated fecal spam from the centralized processing conglomerate." Rather colorful pronouncement, I believe. Maybe there will be hope, maybe people like this farmer will continue to fight for their worldview, and the hellfire our country is headed for may be postponed for a bit. Anyway, just a sample of what I'm reading, and a few of my thoughts on it, I recommend the book to anyone interested. Peace.