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The Omnivore's Dilemma

200px "A Natural History of Four Meals"
Group
Adam Martin, Etienne Regis, Michael Dickinson, Dayna Hoogendam
Book Info
Author	Michael Pollan
Publisher	The Penguin Press
Publication date	2006
Language	English

Part One: Corn

Summary

Michael Pollan seeks out to investigate the industrial food chain. He starts out at the supermarket, which apparently provides a varied supply of food. However, Pollan actually finds out that the majority of food available at the supermarket is made from processed corn, so much so that we are becoming what we eat, corn. Pollan explains how we learned to grow corn and how it became an American stable crop in the 1970s, growing rapidly as a result of technological advances and demand. Pollan also goes on to explain the agriculture policies of the Nixon administration, and the effects the corporate demand for cheap corn has on the farmers that produce the corn.

Michael Pollan decides to track corn from the farm to his plate, to do so Pollan first found George Naylor, a corn farmer from Iowa. Upon interviewing Naylor he discovers more and more how the method of producing excessive amounts of corn does not benefit the farmer, but rather hinders them. This method of mass production has lead to supply far exceeding demand, therefore making the price of corn lower than it is to produce it. Farmers are left with only one option, to produce more corn, further digging themselves into a hole. Pollan learns that farmers have to survive by selling their excess crop to the government at a very low rate, continuing to prevent the farmer from prospering.

Pollan suggest that the industrial food chains largest beneficiary is corporations like ADM and Cargill. These corporations buy the inexpensive corn and turn it into a wide variety of processed foods that they call “value added“ products. The system allows corporations to consistently buy corn at a low rate that in turn allows the supermarket prices to remain low as well, but at what cost? We end up paying for it in other ways, these corporations can produce inexpensive products, which seems good, but they need to utilize an alarming amount of fossil fuels in order to make such products. The farmers are also forced to use endless amounts of herbicides and pesticides so that they can maximize their crop. This system is incredibly problematic, with solutions that will drastically change the industrial food industry.

To show how corn has become so engrained in our daily diet, Pollan goes to the Iowa State University to see how raw corn can be produced into a wide variety or other products that are the base for the majority of processed products we eat.

Expanded Summary

Corns Conquest

Pollan begins by taking the reader to a typical grocery store. After we pass through the produce section, where we can see where we move onto what we know as the processed foods section. But have you ever read the ingredients label on these products, and really asked what some of these listed items are? This is where Pollan starts his conquest to try to find out everything he could about corn. Later in the book Pollan introduces us to corn farmer George Naylor, and how he is still able to make a living off of corn, even though for every $2 he invests, he only will receive $1. But through his persistently not upgrading machinery and sticking to his lower grade seeds (though still genetically modified for hardier roots, stronger shafts, and tolerance for density) and highly through Government subsidies, Naylor is able to make a living out of his land. However, Pollan notes at this point that even corn isn’t grown like it used to be; with the sun, soil and water. Now a days the majority of nutrients corn receives can be traced to the synthetic fertilizers derived from petroleum, therefore a considerable amount of fossil fuels are used to produce this corn. Later Pollan takes you from the farm to the grain elevators; the next stage along the corn’s life. Pollan speaks of how corn is graded and sorted into different elevators, though only since 1856 when they introduced the grading system. This in turn introduced standardization within grades, guaranteeing quality, therefore, the purchaser from here has no reason to need to know where the corn was grown, unlike the preference in the past. This is where one will find it difficult to trace back to, to really find out the original source of their food.

The Feedlot

Pollan next takes you to the feedlot, a city for cattle to eat and grow, just one of the locations that corn ends up after the elevators. These cities consist of streets and buildings that contain hockey rink sized pens that contain around 90 cattle. This is also where Pollan meets his steer that he purchased, again. Pollan decided to follow his steer from the pasture fields at birth all the way to slaughter. At the feedlot Pollan finds out how the corn is milled into feed for the cattle, along with added fat, vitamins, supplements and antibiotics. This is where we start to see how what we eat isn’t quite what we thought. Cattle have recently been bred to be able to tolerate corn meals over the natural grazing they are used to. Consequently being able to harvest meat around 14 months old rather than 5 years old previous to the feedlots.

Processing Plant

Pollan arrives at Iowa State University to get a first hand look at how corn can be processed into its smaller components. This process involves physical machinery to separate corn into its smaller physical components, and then through the use of enzymes and other chemicals to produce products such as high-fructose corn syrup. In turn these products reach food producers where ‘value added products’ are created; the pre fabricated products that we find in the grocery store. Later Pollan discusses trends in the consumers’ diet. Through history these trends have changed from the over consumption of Whisky to how much food we consume now. The average North American should be consuming around 2000 calories a day, however the food industry has found a way to make us consume way over that. Through larger portions for little more money, or by adding more ingredients to products that they don’t actually need, the food industry has found a way to make us eat more. This is all to be able to use more of the overwhelming supply of cheap corn that we have. Lastly Pollan finishes his conquest at McDonalds, where he enjoys a burger and fries, that are the product of corn. He takes these products to a lab where he actually finds out the percentage of corn found in his meal. Not surprisingly he finds out that a cheeseburger contains 52% corn, and soda 100%, these findings prove Pollan’s theory that we don’t actually realize what we are eating. Corn is the basis of these ‘value added products’ that we consume so much of in today’s world.

Our Chef/Restaurant

One example of Pollan’s teachings in Toronto is Grindhouse Burger Pub. The chefs at the restaurant strive to serve fresh products with no preservatives. Ways of guaranteeing this includes use of organic produce, use of local meats and creating all sauces in house. The use of organic produce ensures that there is no use of dangerous pesticides. The chefs also try to use local produce. All the meats purchased come from Collingwood, Ontario. The meats are Canadian, hormone free and certified organic. The sauces used in the restaurant are made in house to eliminate the preservatives and to increase the quality of the food. On top of this, the pulled pork, bacon, pickled beets, hot peppers and pickles are all made in house as well. The restaurant uses fair trade coffees and teas, which is a more environmentally friendly way of growing and harvesting the product. The sodas used are Boylan Brand which uses pure sugar cane instead of refined sugars. This makes for a more healthy and sustainable drink. All beers come from local and environmentally sustainable breweries as well.

Types of Corn

There are many types of corn grown today around the world and they can be broken down into two major sub sections of field corn and sweet corn. Most of the world's corn yields are produced in the USA, accounting for over 40% of the worlds corn production. The type of corn that accounts for over 90% of the USA's corn production is field corn. Field corn can be processed into practically anything that corn is able to be turned into but most of it is processed into livestock feed or ethanol fuel. The reasons for field corns high production rate is for its versatility and high yields. Sweet corn on the other hand is the type of corn used for food production and cooking, the sweetness of the corn makes it better tasting and more desirable than field corn for consumption yet it only accounts for less than 10% of the USA's corn production.

Corn's Many Uses

There are many uses for corn with todays advanced technology, most of the corn grown today is produced into various "value added" products. The uses of corn range from toothpaste to instant coffee. The reason why corn is used in so many products today is because it is ability to be broken down into its most basic elements. From these basic elements the corn can be produced into thousands and thousands of different items. Corn is usually broken down into its most basic elements of fructose and glucose (sugars) and then used as HFCS(High fructose corn syrup) from there it can be used as a sweetener for many different products. one example of corn being turned into HFCS is in the production of coca-cola where HFCS is blended with an equal amount of sucrose and then used as a sweetener.

Our Thoughts

As it stands now this book hasn't changed the way we buy or prepare food but it has made us think a lot about our futures and how we are going to use our knowledge to change the culinary industry. We think as the next generation of chefs it is our duty to revolutionize the way we think about buying food. We can set the future standards high for food production and use the smallest amount of corn as possible. This will not only give us a better tasting product it will be healthier as well. The only way we can ensure the lowest amount of corn used on our menu is to make as much food in house as possible, which will also increase the quality and taste. We can also network with other chefs to try and get them on the same page as us resulting in an overall high quality standard for the future culinary industry. Corn is not only affecting the culinary world it also has a immense effect on the environment, Genetically engineered corn creates toxins which are leaking off the corn fields and into the local lakes and rivers which is slowly destroying the local ecosystem. Not only is corn affecting the ecosystem it is also effecting the biological components of the animals we feed it too, for example fish should never naturally eat corn but now multinational corporations are feeding the fish corn which affects the biology of the fish (less omega-3 fatty acids). In conclusion we think the best way to solve this problem is to only use the best ingredients we can get as well as non-corn fed meats to set a trend in the culinary industry and try and get as many chefs as possible to follow suit.