The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

The Omnivore's Dilemma

by

Michael Pollan

Every April I try to commemorate Earth Day in some small way.  For example, one year I added a goal to have no trash generated by the lunch that I carried to work and so I purchased reusable baggies and containers.  Another year,  shortly after a move,  my goal was to get my recycling habits set up in the new location.  This year I had planned on walking a 5k in support of a local nature center.  Just prior to my paying my entry fee and signing up though I joined a local state park on their mid winter hike.  The hike was beautiful but in one instant my foot slipped in the mud and my ankle rolled and my fat self fell right on top of it and I broke both my tibia and my fibula down near my ankle.   Five weeks,  one surgery and weeks of physical therapy later, I am still on non weight bearing status.  Undoubtedly,  my activities have to happen from  my recliner.  One of the things I did was obtain my state library card and investigate their website.  They have many ebooks available to check out on my kindle and they had several copies of a book I have been meaning to read for the last several years - The Omnivore's Dilemma.   The adult versions of the book were all checked out so I checked out the young adult version and reading it  became my first observance of Earth Day for this year.  This afternoon I finished the book and I enjoyed it very much.  The first portion of the book explains our industrial food chain,  while the second chapter reviews industrial organic alternative.  The third chapter explains local sustainable eating.  The fourth part of the book I found the most enjoyable.  In this section the author attempts to hunt and gather ingredients for a meal.  He goes into the forest to shoot a wild pig.  He goes mushroom hunting and he tries to obtain salt from the sea.  Vegetables are gathered from his garden and he grows yeast for the bread.  The entire book is very entertaining but this part four was the most enjoyable for me.  The book ends with solutions including many websites and other resources for the reader to learn more or act on any interests that the book generated.  While I am not a great fan of non fiction,  I highly recommend this book.  Please click on the author's name and book title at the beginning of this blog,  and the highlighted links through out the body to follow links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.