Excellent, easy-to-read book on the state of the North American food system, the disengagement of most from how food winds up on our plates, and encouragement on how it is possible to eat healthfully and ethically! I really enjoyed this book, and found the dissection of the industrial and organic food systems quite interesting. Also, as a vegetarian, I found the discussion of moral conflicts on eating animals, whether farmed or wild very relevant. Highly recommend this book.

Great insight into the food industry from the beginning to the end of the food chain. It's amazing that the author Micheal Pollan personally experienced every moment of the book. He provided great history (sometimes overly elaborate), but interesting nonetheless. Shocking revelations about the meat industry and the business of organics.

Let's get one thing straight right from the get-go --- this is not a work of fiction --- it is true --- factual --- although there are some who might think that Omnivore reads like shrill fiction. Pollan has written a number of books --- not all of them have been as "crusading" as this one. The omnivore, the animal that can eat anything, is us. Our dilema is what to eat --- there are so many choices. Ironically for omnivores who have such a wide range of choices, we in North America have chosen to focus much of our food intake on corn. The focus isn't obvious --- how much niblets, pop-corn and Mazola can we eat? It's the corn-based sweeteners (read your Coca Cola label and you'll see what Pollan means); the feed lots; the fuel-from-corn the ethanol plants that are churning out corn-based ethanol to pump into our gas tanks; and the industrialized food chain with its fast food, pop-tarts and instantly nuked dinner-snacks that have snuck up on us. And that's causing porblems: the mistreatment of farm animals; the need to mega-dose livestock with antibiotics; monoculture farming with its dependence on pesticides and herbicides. By contrast, Pollen woops --- I'm sure his name couldn't possibly be a pun) visits a farm that still uses the farming practices all farmers once used. This farm is small; it uses no chemical pesticides, anti-biotics; milk-production enhancers, no petro-chemically produced fertilizers; it is (gasp) organic but also sustainable. On top of that, according to the testimony of those who buy its chickens and eggs, it produces a product that rivals the chicken and the eggs produced by the mega farms for taste and quality. If you read this book and take it seriously you're going to find yourself re-examining your food and where it comes from. And you, my dear omnivore, will be faced with your own dilemma: to keep on eating your corn-fed beef hamburgers washed down with your corn-sweetener soft-drink or whether to mend your ways and eat like a true omnivore --- and not send halfway around the world for your grapes --- how sustainable is that? Well worth reading --- consciousness-raising --- in places even a page turner.

Definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone! This book has made me see food in an entirely different light. I learned a lot and changed my diet quite a bit after reading this book. If you're looking for a good non-fiction read, this is it. Brilliantly written :)

this book follows the life cycle of food, particularly that of corn. it explains how farmers are exploited and then goes on to show how their exploitation serves to corrupt our meat industry practices, as well as affecting many other food markets. this book will definitely educate you about the omnipresence of corn in the average american's diet and what you can do about it.

Thought provoking and well written. Why haven't you read this yet? Seriously - you will never look at corn the same way again.

Excellent read. Now I'm scared of corn.

I will never look at my food the same way.

This book made me examine my eating habits and taught me to think about what I eat, what foods I choose to buy, and where I buy them from. It made a strong impact on me. I love Michael Pollan's writing style - well researched, open-minded, and humorous at times. Anyone who enjoyed the movie Food,Inc. ought to read this.

Michael Pollan explores what we should be eating in this confusing world of food choices. He takes a journey from where our food starts all the way to dinner table. For this book he travels to a farm were ethical food production has been made possible and actively engages in the work that takes place there. Then he searches for mushrooms to gain the experience of our ancestral gathers. Lastly he takes a hunting trip to find and kill his own wild boar. All of this is to create a meal that was completely of his own doing. Very interesting take on our modern day relationship with food and the impacts it has on our selves and society.