The Perfect Meal

Chapter 20 was very interesting to me personally, because I have tried before to make this "perfect meal" Growing up we usually incorporate some sort of fresh grown veggies or products in our meal. I found it interesting that Pollan was going to give this an attempt, by setting out a specific set of rules. I felt that he had a good shot of making this idea a reality. Although this may seem very difficult to follow all the rules, and he made note of "bending" the rules, I feel Pollan did a good job sticking to them. I found it somewhat eerie that he was willing to boiling the saline water to get salt that surely was going to be gross. I have a feeling that his guests may not enjoy the meal fully if he had mentioned where he contracted the salt, But than again, a lot of people wouldn't enjoy you McDonalds burger if they knew the process.

Pollan went through the extreme agony to make sure his dinner could be the best it could be. Waking up before dawn, diving into freezing cold water, searching blindly into dangerous waters, and running the risk of hypothermia. I found it interesting that "More Californians are killed gathering abalone each year---by getting dashed on the rocks, being attacked by sharks, or succumbing to hypothermia---than die in hunting accidents." As Pollan went about trying to gather everything for his dinner, I realized how much harder it is now, compared to years ago, to get fresh food. Yes its possible, but considering that Pollan was not buying anything or spending money, finding the meal portions was most difficult I feel. Even if he could spend money, he would have to spend a small fortune, for the simple fact that these days, the healthiest food is more expensive than the stuff that everyone eats on a monthly basis. I think this is a major eye-opener for society as we know it.