Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pallon

Introduction:

Summary- The introduction gives insight into what the rest of the book is going to be about.The introduction also touches upon the ideas that go through someone's head when deciding to eat. It refers to an experience towards the end of the chapter about the difference between hunting for food and being able to get food from some place like a fast food restaurant or a supermarket. Slowly giving ideas of the view point of the rest of the book.
Gems- "Our cultures codifies the rules of wise eating in an elaborate structure of taboos, rituals, recipes, manners, and culinary traditions that keep us from having to reenact the omnivore's dilemma at every meal.(Pallon 3)"
Thoughts- From reading the Introduction I felt like the book was going to be a lot about science and the way that food is made oppose to addressing a major topic like obesity in America or things of that sort. I also thought from the cover that this book was going to be some kind of dietary book that talks about things such as fruits and vegetables from the cover of the book but it is more about the thinking of people when deciding on food. However the opener was good because it asks a simple question, "what's for dinner tonight?" and that is something I am asked all the time however I never know the answer.

Chapter 1

Summary- In average supermarkets when you first walk in there is usually a produce section. After that you continue to walk into aisles off ketchup and an abundance of cereal many of these foods eaten are associated with corn. There is high fructose corn syrup, corn oil, corn starch and more. It seems like everything we eat either has a little bit of corn in some form or a lot of it. Native Americans used corn and taught the settlers how to use corn. Every part of the corn was used for many different kinds of things. Corn is one of the most vital parts of food to people all over the world.
Gems- "Valuable as corn is as a means of subsistence, the kernel's qualities make is an excellent means of accumulation as well. (Pallon 26)"
Thoughts- I think that this chapter was something very interesting because I've never thought about how much we depend on corn. Usually when you ask someone about the ingredient to the food that they eat they either don't know or won't know that corn is in most of these foods. Seeing that Native Americans used corn a lot also shows how much the human race depends on it and when walking through the supermarket now it will be a bit different because knowing how much of something is in what i eat when I usually take the food I have for granted.

Chapter 2

Summary- The second chapter goes a little deeper into talks about hybrid corn. The hybrid corn is a kind of corn that is more effective because it has corn that is stronger then other corns and there can be a larger supply of this kind of corn. The chapter also talks about farming and it also becomes clear how important the farmers who grow corn are because without them there would be a lot less corn but  as talked about in the previous chapter corn is needed.

Gems- "For as long as people have been farming, fat years posed almost as stiff a challenge as lean, since crop surpluses collapse prices and bankrupt farmers who will be needed again when the inevitable lean year return (Pallon 49)".

Thoughts- I personally thought this chapter was more interesting then the others because I was wondering what makes people think about easy ways to get more of a product. It seems this kind of idea of having food on steroids is something that people are either all for or they are afraid of because to them it is something that could potentially harm them. However farmers do have to produce the foods.

Chapter 3

Summary- There wasn't as much of a need for corn as now making tracking corn easier. Now it is more difficult and conveyor belts and rail trains have been used to make transporting corn easier. The corn travels through many different places and most of the corn grown ends up with animals at factory farms to be eaten.

Gems- The Place where most of those kernels wind up -- about three of every five -- is on the American factory farm, a place that could not exist without them (Pallon 64)

Thoughts- I think that this chapter shows the statistical value of how much we depend on corn today and the amount that is made for us to use in everyday life.

Chapter 4

Summary- Cows have to go eat corn bushels that are given to the American Farm Factories. Cows go through poor medical conditions, such as feedlot dust making them blood shot and standing in pools of their own feces. On the feedlot the cows eat until they weigh enough to be big so they can be eaten. Cows also have to be given protein and large amounts of drugs.

Gems- "The speed at which these animals will be slaughtered and processed---four hundred an hour at the plant where 534 will go -- means that sooner or later some of the manure caked on these hides gets into the meat we eat.

Thoughts- I feel like this really shows how much we depend on corn however the meat that we get can be very contaminated. The animals also eat this corn to get better however the living conditions of these animals are not always the best and we are eating these animals after they have be around this unsanitary environment.

Chapter 5

Summary- There are not thousands or millions but billions of bushels of corn grown and processed a year. However humans don't eat all of this corn as corn in its actual form. Corn is used in every possible way to make cereal, sugar, and even meat. The corn is milked for all it has. The nutrients of the corn are used for other foods ingredient and its even used to put protein in the feed for animals which make up the meat we eat.

Gems- "Remember the sixties dream of an entire meal served in a pill, like the Jetsons? We've apparently moved from the meal-in-a-pill to the pill-in-a-meal, which is to say, not very far at all. (Pallon 97)"

Thoughts- Is it possible to go a week without eating something that has corn in it in some kind of way?
-After reading the first 100 pages of this book I feel like the answer to the first question at the beginning of the book "Whats for dinner?" would simply be corn and now i also see it as redundant whenever my mom asks me if I want corn with my food.