Paul Roberts (1) (1961–)

This is another indictment of CAPO meat assembly lines, processed food, and the unsustainability of current or "green"/"organic" methods. From reading Pollan, etc. I am used to this depressing stateof affairs. What I like about Roberts is the focus on the economic angle (people have to go from the expectation of cheap food to a historical hefty part of the house budget) and especially the cultural angle. What have we lost in the togetherness of lnegthy, communal food preparation and dining show more times? show less

This book definitely has an agenda, but was packed with interesting information about the production of food and the supply chains that keep supermarkets filled with food. And the description of a system that may be on the brink of collapse. One thing I think should have been included but was not was a discussion of how our pollinators are in danger from habitat loss, climate change, and the heavy use of pesticides. There are parts of China with such high residues of pesticides that bees are show more locally extinct and the farmers must hand-pollinate their fruit trees. In [b:Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis|3507618|Fruitless Fall The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis|Rowan Jacobsen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388522623l/3507618._SY75_.jpg|3549288], there was an interesting discussion of how colony collapse disorder may be more of a response to shipping bees around the county to pollinate huge monocultures than an actual disease. I actually think this is at least as much of a danger to our food supply as the things discussed in the book, because while our principal cereal grains are wind-pollinated, most of our vegetable, fruit, and nut producing plants require pollinators to produce at all. Of the ones that can self-pollinate, they will do so only as a last resort and will experience a severe reduction in both yield and quantity. If a reduction in meat consumption (as advocated by this book) is to be at all successful, we've got to get serious about protecting our pollinators. This issue needs a great deal more attention than it's gotten, and I think a book like this should have included it.

I also think some more of the issues surrounding organic agriculture should have been discussed, as well as the increasing loss of genetic diversity among our food crops and animals. The loss of pollinators and the continued loss of genetic diversity are at least as large of a threat to the current system as anything discussed in the book, but they weren't discussed at all. That's not to say the issues described in the book aren't serious, because they are, but simply that there are even more problems that are every bit as serious in the long run that also need to be discussed. show less

I really hated this book from the very first, when the author goes back to the amazing Paleolithic era when people ate so much meat and never died of diseases of "affluence" (except they did die of childbirth, routine infections, getting eaten by bears, starvation, and other really enjoyable things) and thus meat eating is what makes us human. Also, this guy is really into eating meat. And makes a lot of reductionist arguments. I just have a hard time taking anybody who seems to care about show more preventing the spread of preventable diseases (what? you mean taking away CAFOs and feedlots would help? but then there would be no more cheap bacon!!) who also thinks that people have no other protein source than dead cows, dead chickens, dead pigs, and other dead animals. Global warming, starvation, and pollution aren't going to end if everybody goes vegan. Not everybody will go vegan, or even vegetarian, and that's OK. But questioning if really cheap hamburgers and bacon is contributing to the problems is probably a first step in remedying the problems. But I think the author just has too much faith in the "free market" and capitalism and the mythical invisible hand to fix it first. show less

Paul Roberts hates the way Americans are. His book is a populist editorial excoriating various facets of American society, from the social to the political. Impulse Society tries to nail America for being me-centric and narcissistic, from people moving to cities where the politics suits theirs, to online gamers living their lives in cyberspace, and everything in between. This despite the fact the country was founded on those principles. It is a 260 page rant filled with rehashes of the show more financial meltdown, family breakdown, megacorporations out of control and community deficit. It feels like after dinner conversation, where everyone chimes in with a factoid or two, and agrees the state of society is poorly, not like the good ole days.

I was unable to find anything new in Impulse Society. I was also in disagreement with the approach and reasoning, a lot of which is superficial and often taken out of context. The truth is this is old hat. Humans have always been selfish, self-centered and uncaring for anything but their own. The Tragedy of the Commons is as old as humankind, and it applies to everything we come in contact with. That we ignore the environment and our own kind for quick profit is no discovery.

Earlier, we had to rely on others, to leverage the power of the tribe or village. Now we think we are wealthy enough to dispense with their support and build our little fortresses of solitude, while calling for the dismantlement of government. All for one and one for all might be fine for storytelling. In the real world, it’s grab what you can while you can, because if you don’t, someone else will and probably is, right now. Conservative historian Daniel Boorstin calls this new barbarism, a perfect summary of the overall decline. That professional conservatives actually espouse this is sad to Roberts, who blasts both right and left for their nonsense.

Roberts attacks the usual suspects: the internet, healthcare, political parties, inequality, misguided government, etc. But taken together, this is still just one small piece of the puzzle. Yes, socially things are changing, but Roberts does not make the case that this is new, different, exceptional or even lasting. Only the wealth and technology at our disposal have changed. This impulsive society is a tiny factor in the overall picture. That picture is the USA is in its declining phase, and may or may not outlast Man, busy making the ecosphere poisonous, barren and uninhabitable, all for its immediate comfort and wealth. That its politicians automatically act for their brand and block any effort by anyone else to achieve unity, is a symptom. That finance has taken over from manufacturing is a symptom. That people isolate themselves is a symptom. There are many more symptoms, beyond the scope of Impulse Society. Roberts’ prescriptions for this disease are uninspired.

As I read, I kept thinking all Roberts’ ranting must lead to a call to arms, literally. There’s nothing like a good war to bring everyone together, work for the greater good, and restore a sense of purpose, community and selflessness. He stops short of that.

I can see where someone who has never given this subject any thought might find the book a revelation, but to me it adds nothing of value to the discussion. show less