A TRUE Omnivore

I found this section of the book probably the most interesting so far, because it is something that everyone has seen or heard of throughout most of their lives, and at this point in time more-so. Pollan talks about how we as humans have a need to have both meat and herbs in our diet, and how so people may take that idea and try to make their own "healthy" diet. Every animal is created to be able to eat certain things, and some things not. This was explained by the story of the monarch butterfly and how it only eats the milkweed because it has everything that could be needed for survival. However humans are a little more complex and require a lot more nutrients and minerals to keep our bodies going. Out teeth are able to not only tear meat like a carnivore, but also grind plants like a herbivore and our jaws make this capable for this action to happen. We were given this ability to use it. You see new ads everyday of the healthiest diets ever of the sure way to shedding unwanted poundage before beach season, however very few of those diets incorporate the use of all the blocks of the food pyramid. I also found the section to explain how the possibility of brain size may also influence diet. The fact that as our brains become more mature and grown they tend to become less picky, and really open up their food variety choices.

In chapter 17 the idea of animals eating animals becomes apparent. To me the idea of eating another animal is simply the food chain. Granted I agree that for the most part, the animals are treated very inhumanly for the production of food products. However, if we were to take time and care into preparing every single chicken, cow, and turkey, the amount of time spent on this process would not only drastically increase the price of the product, but also decrease the amount of output product. No emotions attach I think what is being done to produce the food should be left to the professionals. That being said, I will say that free range chicken/beef is much more satisfying at the expense of cost. After watching the video Food Inc. I definitely got a wake-up call into what REALLY goes on in feedlots. I knew the process was bad and gruesome, but that was just plain sick. However, even after seeing that, I am not going to vow and stop eating meat products all together. The food tastes good, its filling, and it keeps people healthy, which is really what people are looking for in a meal, satisfaction.