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Michael Pollan Case Study

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1. Explain why Michael Pollan finds the questions “What am I eating? And where in the world did it come from?” so difficult to answer. Michael Pollan finds this question so difficult because all food is made up of other foods, mostly corn. On page 17, he states, "any food whose provenance is so complex or obscure that is requires expert help to ascertain." He continues the rest of the chapter talking about how most foods have traces of corn in them, by following the industrial food chain. All foods by the FDA must have their ingredients posted on the wrapper, so buyers know exactly what they are eating. Michael Pollan knows he has to look at the wrapper and see where all those ingredients are from to really see where the food he is about to came from. 2. Pollan describes American farmers today as “the …show more content…

Explain why Pollan has a problem with the way the American government subsidizes farms, particularly those that grow corn. Pollan does not agree with how the government is just paying off the farmers and not helping the situation of subsidies and falling prices. Pollan does not like how the farmers are treated different from any other food processors or exporters in the food business. The farmers are the ones that are taking the beating with the bad economy and instead of fixing it; the government just pays them off. 4. Discuss the role cheap fossil fuel plays in determining the way American farmers grow corn. Explain why Pollan might characterize the availability of cheap corn as a “plague”. The cheap fossil fuels are killing the economy, killing the chances for corn. Pollan characterizes the availability of cheap corn as a plague because a plague is an infectious disease that harms a lot of people. The cheap corn impacted millions of farmers, degraded the land, polluted the water, and bleed out the federal treasury with the subsidies. All of these factors were killing the farmers as well as the economy, just as a plague kills people and their

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Michael Pollan’s alternative to Factory farming has given a huge insight into a better ethics on food. In “The Animals: Practicing Complexity” Michael Pollan writes about a polyface farm and how it works. The goal of a polyface farm is to emotionally, economically, and environmentally enhance agriculture. Everything on a polyface farm has the potential to be helpful to something else on the farm. Pollan states “The chicken feed not only feeds the broilers but, transformed into chicken crap, feeds the grass that feeds the cows that, as I was about to see, feeds the pigs and the laying hens” (Pollan 345).

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Pollan’s powerful essay ends with a paragraph that reads almost as a plea to farmers to consider changing their habits and reducing their dependence on these types of fertilizers which are so

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He states, “[the] potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist [...] Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together” (Eisenhower 3). Eisenhower is aware of those who have gained power over time due to their positions in society, for instance, the wealthy who pay and support politicians to get legislation passed in their favor, and reminds the citizens that they need to be alert and knowledgeable in order to preserve our democracy. Pollan, in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, saw parallels to this in our modern food system. The modern food system relies mainly on corn to function. With that being said, the majority of the corn in America is owned by two corporations, Cargill and ADM, who not only buy all the corn, but also provide all the services that farmers need to grow corn.

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Michael Pollans novel up too section 3 talks about the different foods you can buy in a supermarket or a local farm, and many think that’s it. However there is one more option. Section four of Michael Pollans novel The Omnivoere’s Dilemma also discusses the oldest food chain in history; the first ever food chain; Hunter-Gatherer, also reffered to as the Do-It-Yourself-Meal. In this section Michael Pollan discusses how this is the one of the best food chain, its healthier, better for the enviornment, and it’s is actually the cheapest food chain compared to others with hidden expenses as too the actual damage it causes. Pollan decides to try out the hunter-gatherer food chain to further his research and expericene all the food chain, and doing

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730 Words | 3 Pages

Michael Pollan’s Escape from the Western Diet connects well with what Mary Maxfield says in her article. Both Pollan and Maxfield talk about the ways that dieting is taking over American people’s healths and causing them to become even unhealthier. In Mary Maxfield’s argument she talks about how people believe everything that diet industries say, even though they know that the information they give you is false. This connects really well with what Michael Pollan talks about in his article, which is that people know that these theories that are used for the Western diet are not accurate, but yet they still decide to use the Western diet to help them become healthier.

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717 Words | 3 Pages

In turn, he provides his own rules for escaping the western diet as well as the idea of nutritionist set forth by scientists.   Then Pollan explains that scientific theories of nutritionist focus on individual nutrients rather than foods as a whole. He further goes on to refute this claim mentioning that these scientific theories contradict with one another. Pollan explains “the scientists who blame our health problems on deficiencies of [micronutrients] are not the same scientists who see a sugar soaked diet leading to metabolic syndrome and from there to diabetes, heart disease…” (Pollan, 421).

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527 Words | 3 Pages

This caused a new problem when the farmers could not pay back these loans and became bankrupt. The banks kicked farmers off of their land and forced onto the

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As Patel himself states, we need to get inside the hourglass and make the food system work for all of us, as farmers, producers, distributers, and consumers as a whole. Regardless of the confusion a first time reader may run across, this book does one thing undoubtedly right: it makes you think long and hard about everything you thought you knew about food. It goes far past GMOs and RoundUp, way beyond HFCS and the overproduction of soybeans, over and above those who are stuffed and those who are starved. Throughout the span of the novel, Patel not only helps you realize that there are many issues in our food economy, but also makes you feel how vital it is to take back what we did not even realize had long been

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Freedman takes a divergent tone, however also turns into satirical and possibly even sarcastic at certain factors throughout the paper. His use of the phrase “Pollanites” is a quality example of ways he manages to incorporate a satirical tone, whilst last credible and real to his point. Freedman writes to a target market of yankee eaters, mainly those suffering with weight

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456 Words | 2 Pages

Michael Pollan is a food researcher that is on a mission to become more knowledgeable about the food we eat. He is searching the four food chains. The food chains are local sustainable, industrial organic, industrial and Hunter-gatherer. Also because it’s organic and humanely slaughtered and it taste like chicken.

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1022 Words | 5 Pages

Do people really know what they are buying at the store? Do they know that most of the fruits and vegetables have pesticides in them? Do they know that there are some everyday activities that can help the environment? In Derrick Jensen and Stephanie McMillan “As the World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial,” they talk about how everyone can help save our planet. For example, changing the light bulbs in the house to fluorescent light, riding bikes instead of driving, and recycling can also help.

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1595 Words | 7 Pages

Farmers were making poor choices in the hopes that it would save their farms and crops and allow them to provide food, money, and shelter to their families. Farmers may have been implementing poor practices, but it was out of the hope that would save them and their livelihoods. Furthermore, “wheat prices in the United States plummeted, so farmers in the Great Plains had to plow up more grassland and plant more wheat just to make a profit. This further contributed to the environmental

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1624 Words | 7 Pages

The economy fluctuates and changes, farmers don’t know why, but everyone is affected. However, in the past, farmers never needed to rely on an economy because they provided for everyone, until the 1920’s when farms began shifting away from a traditional

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1304 Words | 6 Pages

A strong suggestion Pollan encourages, to his readers, is gardening. Gardening soothes the soul, produces more local produce, and reduces ones ' carbon footprint according to Pollan. Throughout the article, Pollan shows he understands that to make a differnece about climate change it may be difficult and a long process but is possible. By adding humor, specific diction, and concessions Pollan can make his argument in why we, as a society, should bother to do something about climate change. In the article "Why Bother?", Michael Pollan discusses the issues of climate change and why individuals should do something about it.

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670 Words | 3 Pages

In “How Junk Food Can End Obesity,” by David H. Freedman, he claims that processed foods can help fix the obesity crisis in a more realistic manner, rather than whole-some foods. The popular opinion emphasizes whole-some foods because they aren’t informed about the similitude between processed and unprocessed foods. The essence of the essay is that people believe processed foods are bad and unhealthy for us, therefore whole-some foods are highly recommended for the health of an individual. Freedman mentions many prominent authors who wrote books on food processing, but the most influential voice in the food culture Freedman makes a point of is, American journalist, Michael Pollan. The media and Michael Pollan indicate that everything should be replaced with real, fresh, and unprocessed foods, instead of engineering in as much sugar, salt, and fat as possible into industrialized foods.

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