HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of…
Loading...

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (original 2006; edition 2006)

by Michael Pollan

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
13,870351418 (4.21)494
What should we have for dinner? When you can eat just about anything nature (or the supermarket) has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety, especially when some of the foods might shorten your life. Today, buffeted by one food fad after another, America is suffering from a national eating disorder. As the cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast food outlet confronts us with a bewildering and treacherous landscape, what's at stake becomes not only our own and our children's health, but the health of the environment that sustains life on earth. Pollan follows each of the food chains--industrial food, organic or alternative food, and food we forage ourselves--from the source to the final meal, always emphasizing our coevolutionary relationship with the handful of plant and animal species we depend on. The surprising answers Pollan offers have profound political, economic, psychological, and even moral implications for all of us.--From publisher description.… (more)
Member:silkworm77
Title:The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Authors:Michael Pollan
Info:Penguin Press HC, The (2006), Hardcover
Collections:Your library
Rating:*****
Tags:None

Work Information

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael POLLAN (2006)

  1. 120
    In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan (marzipanz, chrisharpe)
    chrisharpe: Less of a narrative than "The Omnivore's Dilemma", "In Defense of Food" is a succinct argument for considering what we eat, and includes potted advice for consumers who prefer a set of simple rules for eating. As the title suggests, this is perhaps the better analysis of the way the food industry affects the eater and what we can do about it.… (more)
  2. 145
    Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver (heidialice, lorax)
    lorax: More thoughtful and personal than Omnivore's Dilemma, in many ways it picks up where Pollan leaves off.
  3. 60
    Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating by Jane Goodall (thebooky)
  4. 41
    In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed (Plus) by Carl Honoré (Musecologist)
  5. 20
    The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability by Lierre Keith (owen1218)
  6. 31
    Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (crazybatcow)
    crazybatcow: Very similar perspective, though Pollan focuses more on the "process" of getting "food" to the table.
  7. 20
    Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization by Andrew Lawler (AmourFou)
  8. 10
    American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields by Rowan Jacobsen (DetailMuse)
  9. 10
    The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table by Tracie McMillan (meggyweg, meggyweg)
  10. 11
    Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating by Jeffrey M. Smith (piononus)
  11. 00
    Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge by Gordon Edgar (Othemts)
  12. 00
    Altered Genes, Twisted Truth: How the Venture to Genetically Engineer Our Food Has Subverted Science, Corrupted Government, and Systematically Deceived the Public by Steven Druker (davidgn)
  13. 12
    Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals by Karen Dawn (SqueakyChu)
  14. 12
    Mercy For Animals: One Man's Quest to Inspire Compassion and Improve the Lives of Farm Animals by Nathan Runkle (renardkitsune)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 494 mentions

English (348)  Italian (1)  Spanish (1)  All languages (350)
Showing 1-5 of 348 (next | show all)
Pollan follows food from origin to table through four different chains. Industrial/organic, grass fed and hunted/gathered. There is a lot I’d probably rather not know. He gives a fairly balanced look at the philosophical underpinnings of the act of eating ( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
Good and great journalistic writing but oversimplified and missing the full range of what we can and should eat in detail. ( )
  yates9 | Feb 28, 2024 |
Once in a great while, I read a book that I am sorry to reach the end of. This is one such. The topic is so interesting; the information so rich; the telling so entertaining. Pollan opens up some both new vistas and darkened closets concerning the foods we eat. And he does it without an alarmist or judgmental tone. His approach is thoughtful and thorough. Yes, he does come down eventually on some particular positions. But he does so lightly, personally. His goal is not to convince you to join him in a particular food camp. He just wants you to approach food considerately, meaning: consider the food you eat, and what it means to you and the world.
I made an exception to my rule about giving 5 stars on a first reading. ( )
  Treebeard_404 | Jan 23, 2024 |
Verily, one of a rare kind of books that left me markedly wiser upon reading. It offers a wealth of knowledge and insights, but unlike so many other facts, trivia and numbers overloaded volumes, it manages to weave it all into a coherent narrative. A narrative that for me made more sense explaining the food chain than tens of business magazines, "theendoffoods" and other pundits put together. It took me several months to digest it, as sometime it goes a bit slowly, and I was distracted to other titles, which I needed for my research, but I always turned back to it. And never regret.
  Den85 | Jan 3, 2024 |
"Like" is a strange term for a book such as this. Learned a lot might be more appropriate.

The North American industrial food system is seriously broken, but we're too blinkered to notice. Until we're willing to open up our wallets a bit more and make the effort, we're going to be fed the sewage that we deserve. Yes, good and nutritious food is more expensive. But, when you take into account the fact that most of the world spends 20% or more of their income for food, where we spend less than 5%, you can see that there's an awful lot of wiggle room.

Find a local farmer and buy your meat and eggs from them. It will cost you a bit more than at the local supermarket, but the taste, quality and nutrition more than makes up for it. ( )
  GordCampbell | Dec 20, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 348 (next | show all)
But for Pollan, the final outcome is less important than the meal's journey from the soil to the plate. His supermeticulous reporting is the book's strength — you're not likely to get a better explanation of exactly where your food comes from.
added by carport | editNew York Times, David Kamp (Apr 23, 2006)
 

» Add other authors (5 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
POLLAN, Michaelprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Brick, ScottNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gissinger, HansCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
GODOFF, AnnEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
HAGGAR, DarrenCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
For Judith and Isaac
First words
What should we have for dinner?
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
The Omnivore's Dilemma, The Omnivore's Dilemma: Young Readers Edition, and The Omnivore's Dilemma for Kids are three separate works. Please do not combine them.
ISBN 0606087230 is for The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat, Young Readers Edition
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (6)

What should we have for dinner? When you can eat just about anything nature (or the supermarket) has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety, especially when some of the foods might shorten your life. Today, buffeted by one food fad after another, America is suffering from a national eating disorder. As the cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast food outlet confronts us with a bewildering and treacherous landscape, what's at stake becomes not only our own and our children's health, but the health of the environment that sustains life on earth. Pollan follows each of the food chains--industrial food, organic or alternative food, and food we forage ourselves--from the source to the final meal, always emphasizing our coevolutionary relationship with the handful of plant and animal species we depend on. The surprising answers Pollan offers have profound political, economic, psychological, and even moral implications for all of us.--From publisher description.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4.21)
0.5 1
1 18
1.5 4
2 69
2.5 21
3 372
3.5 99
4 1185
4.5 150
5 1244

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

Penguin Australia

An edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia.

» Publisher information page

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,187,886 books! | Top bar: Always visible