Reading both Omnivores Dilemma and Botany of Desire you realize how Pollan can adapt his voice to the message he is trying to convey to his audience. In Botany of Desire he is trying to paint the world of botany using his literary paint brush. This is a stark contrast to his voice in The Omnivores Dilemma where his writing technique feels much more grounded and relatable. Throughout this book and his shared experiences, he brings you along for the journey with him and you don’t even notice. When Pollan is describing “the Salatins brick colonial” his description makes me feel as though I could blow the dust off the neatly framed needlepoints. But much more than his writing style I find his messaging and principles throughout the book are presented in a much more manageable and relatable fashion. When Pollan describes the “killing zone” and how “the most morally troubling thing about killing chickens is that after a while it is no longer morally troubling” makes me think of the lack of intimacy we have with our livestock. The fact that I eat meat everyday yet have troubles thinking of Pollan slaughtering those animals indicates to me I should have no right to eat meat. Joel a character in Pollans book does not sell his chickens to large supermarket, but rather local venues “within a few dozen miles or half a day’s drive”. As Pollen explains he does this to save “his kind of agriculture and community) while this is admirable is it practical? While for his small town it probably suffices but if this model were used in large scale it would not work. Could you imagine if beef producers refused to ship/transport their meat; Vancouver would be vegetarian within a week. I find it difficult while reading Pollan’s chapter to understand the future of agriculture, how do we make it more sustainable while feeding a growing population? Well I guess that’s the true omnivores dilemma.
Michael Pollan (2007). Omnivores & Dilemma: A natural history of four meals. London, United Kingdom: Penguin Books.
Jared, I can absolutley empathise with your feelings of guilt eating meat after learning the devastating effects of the industrial meat complex. I reached a similar conclusion and I now try to stick to a vegetarian diet as much as I can.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think we should be more aware of possible solutions such as lab-grown meat and meat substitutes.
The future is very uncertain, especially as more and more people can afford to eat meat, but I believe that innovation might be able to paleate some of the nastier effects.