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The Omnivore's Dilemma
- A Natural History of Four Meals
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins
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The Omnivore's Dilemma
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Summary
The best-selling author of The Botany of Desire explores the ecology of eating to unveil why we consume what we consume in the 21st century.
"What should we have for dinner?" To one degree or another, this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't, which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore's dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance.
The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time we're realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment. The Omnivore's Dilemma is best-selling author Michael Pollan's brilliant and eye-opening exploration of these little-known but vitally important dimensions of eating in America.
We are indeed what we eat, and what we eat remakes the world. A society of voracious and increasingly confused omnivores, we are just beginning to recognize the profound consequences of the simplest everyday food choices, both for ourselves and for the natural world. The Omnivore's Dilemma is a long-overdue book and one that will become known for bringing a completely fresh perspective to a question as ordinary and yet momentous as "What shall we have for dinner?"
Critic reviews
Gold Medal in Nonfiction for the California Book Award • Winner of the 2007 Bay Area Book Award for Nonfiction • Winner of the 2007 James Beard Book Award/Writing on Food Category • Finalist for the 2007 Orion Book Award • Finalist for the 2007 NBCC Award
"Thoughtful, engrossing . . . You're not likely to get a better explanation of exactly where your food comes from."—The New York Times Book Review
"An eater's manifesto . . . [Pollan's] cause is just, his thinking is clear, and his writing is compelling. Be careful of your dinner!"—The Washington Post
"Outstanding . . . a wide-ranging invitation to think through the moral ramifications of our eating habits."—The New Yorker
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What listeners say about The Omnivore's Dilemma
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- Caitlin
- 14-02-22
Don't Wait to Read This!
It was on my 'to read' list for years, I don't wish I'd got to it sooner!
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- ThatPersonOverThere
- 23-07-19
Addictive
More than any book I've come across in years I couldn't put this one down. It goes much more into the ethics and politics of food than I expected and it's all the better for it. An absolutely fascinating book which is in parts horrifying but is stuff we should all know.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Alex Gay
- 13-07-21
A story of four meals
What is the cost of the food we eat? This interesting and absorbing book will take you through the impact that these meals have on the producers, the animals, the consumer and, ultimately, society.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Andy
- 10-01-22
This really fes my brain
I love a book like this that not only tells a story but also teaches you and gets you to think about a thing.
I think I will definitely revisit this book in the years to come, and if you're a meat eater, you own it to your food to give this a read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- D Reyburn
- 17-11-20
Incredible
I really enjoyed this book and found it fascinating. I think that Michael Pollan should write a book on how exactly to prepare his perfect meal and give instructions in detail on how to hunt and gather the ingredients .Very good book
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- Oli
- 28-03-21
We Are What We Eat?
A fantastic dive into the world of food and our relationship with it. loved the description of Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm. Diving into the ethics of MC Donald's with Peter Singer, the description of the Hunt....a brilliant mix of science and story by an outstanding journalist. Rightly influential and thought provoking.
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- Lee Clark
- 06-03-21
fantastic!
Absolutely brilliant in everyway.
I'd go as far as to say it's a must read, brings up alot of real problems with food and sustainability that I admit felt at first distanced from but I've learned so much and it really did hook you being so interesting and informative!
brilliantly written and read too!
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- S. A. Sayers
- 02-06-23
Interesting look at our food
Written for a American audience - I’m in uk but still found this interesting. Made me pleased I don’t live in North America !! If you eat meat you should read this book!
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- Fataneh Hamisi
- 30-04-20
A must read
Intelligently written, well researched and well read. An important book full of essential information and thinking about today’s industrial food manufacture, it’s destruction of nature, disregard and cruelty to animals and it’s primary motivation to make more profit. Everyone should read this book and we should all try to educate ourselves about where our food comes from and what the cost of it’s production is to the planet.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- peter staley
- 25-10-23
Very worth a read
I loved the main body of this book, but felt the end was a bit drawn out and a bit of a vanity piece.
I didn't particularly like the narrators tonality, however, that would be me being very picky hecread beautiful.
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