The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (original 2006; edition 2007)

A book that changed my opinion on what I should be eating but also made me depressed that corporations and the government control so much of what we eat, even if it is to the detriment of the animals, the environment, and our health. Pollan demonstrated how every bite we take is a political statement. In this election year where so many voters feel disillusioned and doubt the merits of either candidate, it is powerful to know that we can likely cause more political change simply by our eating choices. Although I appreciated this novel's critical scope, I found Pollan's writing to be self-indulgent at times. In particular, the final section on hunting and gathering was too focused on Pollan's personal struggles in shooting a boar or finding mushrooms or cooking a meal. I was tempted to skim at times because it was just so uninteresting and irrelevant to the purpose of the novel. ( )

Suggested by Alexis Nelson

This book gave me a lot to think about, even though it took me a while to finish. At this point, I don't remember all the finer points, but I finished the book tonight thinking more about sources of food, and how food gets to my kitchen. ( )

Informative and entertaining. His last section - about preparing a full self-harvested wild meal - was a bit tedious.

I think Pollan was going for a new world record: Most frequent use of "boon" in a nonfiction book. ( )