Omnivore’s Dilemma: Mark 2

Pollan,M. 2006. Omnivore’s Dilemma: a Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin Group, New York, New York.

This chapter of Pollan’s reminded me a lot of the half of the 100 Mile Diet that we have read. It took me a while to get into the groove of reading it, but once I was there, I didn’t want to stop. The structure of this chapter was much more story like than much of Pollan’s writing and following a timeline helped me stay interested.  Along with the timeline, the characters in this section, including Pollan, had me intrigued.

Pollan’s description of Joel and his family gave me an immediate impression of who they are. Right off the bat, Pollan establishes that Joel’s views on farming are very different from most and sets Joel up to be the counter argument to the story of the large feedlot we saw earlier. Joel’s wacky inventions and the punny names for them sets him up as someone who is carefree but deeply passionate, something which he clearly shares with his son and the interns on the farm.

Pollan’s never fails to disappoint with his use of descriptive language, as exemplified by his description of the processing of the chickens. I never thought I would hear someone describe viscera as “unexpectedly beautiful, glistening in a whole palette of slightly electric colors” (234). Not exactly the language I would expect when talking about disembowelling chickens. This is a stark contrast to the description of the meal he shares with friends at the end of the story. The language there is one that reminds me of sharing a meal with my family. The warm setting of a loving family sharing a meal was a big juxtaposition from the earlier imagery.