Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Pollan's quest for good, responsible food leads him to learn about the food production industry and an alternative. He divides the answer to the question "what's for dinner" into three possibilities; industrial, organic and hunter gatherer.
As an engineer I was fascinated to learn about our industrial farms. Unintended consequences of U.S. agricultural policy encourage massive monoculture farms. Huge machines and large amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers are used to coax more and more bushels of corn out of an acre of land. The corn gets shipped to a central processing plant which creates so many things from corn that it is hard to imagine. Meanwhile cows get herded into crowds and fed stuff, like corn, they don't normally eat. With loads of food and little exercise they get large quickly while milling around in their own poop.
In the old days a farmer would keep cows and grow a variety of crops. He would use the cow manure to fertilize the crops. Pigs would eat leftovers. Chickens would provide eggs and meat. It was a much more diverse and self sufficient system. However this was not the system the U.S. Government subsidized.
The Organic food industry also suffers from industrialization. Mostly the people involved seem to mean well. I'm not sure if it is better for our planet or our selves to ship organic fruit from Chile or to buy fruit grown 30 miles away in the Salinas Valley even if they do use a moderate amount of chemicals.
We are introduced to a "grass farmer." This is a system of farming that is very satisfying to an engineer like me. Everything is organized, everything used. Timing, planning, hard work and knowledge are required to make this system productive. The grass farmer raises various crops that support each other and the land. Cows are led from field to field to eat fresh grass at its peak. Chickens are moved through after them after the appropriate amount of time has passed. They peck at the bugs and mostly feed themselves. All relationships between all stages of crops, animals and their inputs and outputs are organized to mutual benefit. The particular grass farmer described in the book turns down certified organic inputs because they need to be trucked in from far away. Instead he uses something from a neighbor down the road. This disqualifies his farm from earning and official "organic" label but his farm is better for the environment and the food better for you than some commercial organic food. It is certainly better for the local economy. He started with land that was considered ruined and he turned it into a rich, productive family farm.
Finally Pollan explores what it was like to hunt and gather. He hunts for pig. He gathers mushrooms. He gathers greens and veggies from his semi-urban neighborhood (hope the neighbors don't mind a stranger picking their weeds and fruit!) Clearly the world is not big enough to support a return to the hunting and gathering life for the almost 7 billion people that live on it. Nor do we have time, we are too busy driving around and trying to make a buck. This is an interesting fantasy of his that helps round out the history of our food. It also helped me develop a greater appreciation for mushrooms.
Omnivore's Dilemma read summer '08; above written 3/6/09. CW - Highly Recommended
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