Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma offers a detailed insight into our society’s eating habits. So far, the section on corn has been thought-provoking and easy to read and understand. The accessibility of Pollan’s writing is one aspect of the book that, I think, has enabled it to be so successful. This is clearly not the only reason that it has done so well. It is certainly a significant achievement in and of itself; but the fact that Pollan has chosen to write in such a way that a general audience can understand is very important because it calls for the American society as a whole to change the way it functions.
As I am writing this blog post, I happened to look down at the Tootsie roll I am eating and notice the second ingredient in my delicious little candy roll is, believe it or not, corn syrup! Yes, Mr. Pollan, you have made your point. I am a walking cob of corn. The thing is, I am not really bothered by this so far. From the foreboding of the introduction, I’m assuming I haven’t gotten far enough in the chapter yet to find this to be really appalling. I certainly agree that we as a society need to be more aware of what we are eating and how our selection of food has a significant impact on the world around us. Again, I probably haven’t read far enough yet, but it does not really bother me that my Tootsie roll is made out of corn or that the chicken I had for dinner was fed on corn products. To a certain extent, I am a little skeptical of this argument because it seems to be moving towards a petition for organic/natural food, which is probably the most successful marketing ploy of the decade. I guess what I’m saying is at this point in the chapter I’m waiting for Pollan to show how this cultural dependence on corn is a really terrible thing. From reading some of his other works, I’m sure Pollan won’t disappoint.
