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.
I agree with you that Pollan's way of writing is a major strength of the book. I appreciate that he writes/presents information in a way that isn't intimidating or aloof. It's an important subject and the more receptive people can feel towards it, the better. Like you, however, I'm wary of his argument becoming a publicity stunt for organic/natural food as I'm turned off by those marketing ploys as much as I am by those of McDonald's. As surprising as it is to read that corn pervades almost everything we eat, I'm not necessarily feeling guilty or ashamed either - just curious as to what this means not only for me as a consumer but for our society. What we've read so far definitely has me thinking but I'm waiting for his exploration of our culture's skewed relationship with food to go deeper before I start to really kick myself.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Pollan is demonizing corn in general, but rather about how it is being chemically altered to grow in abundance which has affected the lives of farmers. One part that I think is really interesting is when he says that the subsidy for corn does not help the farmers or the consumers, but it is actually designed to help Pepsi and other major corporations, so they will purchase their corn from the U.S. instead of a different country. Corn is just politics as usual.
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