2/23/2010

At the beginning of chapter 16, Pollan explains the "omnivore" part of the Omnivore's Dilemma. He explains how our bodies are made to be omnivorous; every part of our body caders to both meat and plants. He also explains a connection with brain size and food variety in the diet. Since humans have big brains, we get more variety. Koalas have small brains, they are picky eaters. This situation kind of made me think of small children and how picky they are. For example, most children do not like salad or sea food, however most adults enjoy such foods. It seem that as one grows mentally, the eating pallet expands as well.

In chapter 17, Pollan addresses the common American diet fads. This includes vegetarianism which is "finding its way into the cultural mainstream" (pg. 305). We, as humans, are made for eating both meat and plants and have been doing so for tens of thousands of years. Why the sudden change? How is eating meat ethically bad? One quote that stood out was "For at the same time many of us seem eager to extend the circle of our moral consideration to other species, in our factory farms we're inflicting more suffering on more animals than any time in history," (pg 307). By this, the author is explaining the two sides of our country and how they are getting more extreme. While vegetarians strive to save all the animals, the omnivores give into the big companies' animal abuse.