HW 7

Michael Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, Chapter 1-

The basic supermarket in the U.S. doesn't show itself as having very much to do with nature yet however it contains decorations of plants and animals. I question where all the meats and plants originally came from which leads me to a corn field. I then Discuss the importance and large role corn plays in what we eat and also talk about the science behind corn and how it is in almost everything we consume. I then inform the reader about how corn "Is the Hero of its own story." and that "Corn has succeeded in domesticating us." I reveal that the success of corn is almost predetermined and how corn has evolved to make farmers less dependent on themselves and more dependent on corporations to reproduce the corn.

Gems-"Is the Hero of its own story."  "Corn has succeeded in domesticating us."

• How Does the evolution of corn over time show the devolution of its self dependence?
• This chapter gave me a new perspective on the role that corn plays in my everyday life.

Michael Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, Chapter 2-

I address the farming aspect of corn and how that plays a role in its growth. I then discuss again the science behind corn but more so through the farming aspect which, gave it more of an agricultural perspective. I also assert that corn was a large reason for the loss of diversity in what is grown on farms today. I then talk about the economical and political side of farming and the state it has put him farmers in.

Gems- "The chickens and cattle disappeared from the farm , and with them the pastures and hayfields and fences."

• This chapter raised my awareness on the struggles of farmers today.
• Why not throw all the corn away and start to diversify what types of plants are growing on the farm.

Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma, Chapter 3-

Precis-
I discuss the grain elevator which is obviously and elevator that vertically transports George Naylor's corn. I talk about the process of the grain elevator which actually contains multiple types of corn heaped in one pile. I also talk about corn as a commodity and the history of it in america. I then discuss the ecnomic aspect of the farming of corn and the price each bushel is worth. I the state the part that large corporations such as Cargill and ADM play in the role of transporting corn and providing the resources that farmers need to grow the corn and also where the corn ends up when its done with its journey.

Gems- 
Page 58 "If they saw dry grains of maize scattered on the ground, they quickly gathered them up, saying: our sustenance suffereth, it lieth weeping. if we should not gather it up, it would accuse us before our lord. it would say. 'O, our lord, this vassal picked me not up when i lay scattered upon the ground.Punish him!' Or perhaps we should starve."

Thoughts and Questions-

• Is the grain elevator the most efficient way to transport the corn?
• Why are companies involved in corn at all?

Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma, Chapter 4-


Precis-
Cows are given corn bushels to eat instead of grass which is their natural diet. Cows go through poor medical conditions, they are forced to inhale feedlot dust and stand in there own feces.Cows also have to be given protein and large amounts of drugs because of the corn they are being forced to eat because it sickens them. On the feedlot the cows eat until they weigh enough to be eaten.

Gems-
Page 68: "The short,unhappy life of a corn-fed feedlot steer represents the ultimate triumph of industrial thinking over the logic of evolution"


Thoughts and Questions-

• When Cattle are fed corn does it affect the offspring's health, the milk it produces, or the taste of the meat?
• The way they treat the Cattle gives me a disturbed feeling. My country clearly does not have any care for the cattle who give so much to us. 
•  

Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma, Chapter 5-


Precis-
Although we produce 10 billion bushels of corn a year we eat a very little amount of it, in fact we are each only responsible for eating about a ton per year. Food processing was a blessing, we learned to salt, dry, and cure during the during the first age of food processing, and then to can, freeze, and vacuum-pack in the second which corn has been a beneficiary of. Food security a few years ago meant  something completely different than it does today, much of the work today is highly secretive. Food is becoming a technology and we are moving into the 4th age of food processing where everything will contain more of whatever science has determined to be the good stuff.

Gems-"We learned to salt, dry, and cure during the during the first age of food processing, and then to can, freeze, and vacuum-pack in the second."
"In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a late-model processed food that isn't made from corn or soybeans."

Thoughts and Questions- 

• I am feeling as if the american society is becoming more and more a victim of its own intelligence. We continue to develop new way to make food more convenient and cheap for the stereotypical american which is always on the go and constantly in a poor person mentality and takes away from the healthiness that should be part of the american culture. Instead of eating processed food why not grow some of your own fresh vegetables and fruits and/or buy fresh groceries and cook at home.