The Omnivore’s Dilemma for Kids: The Secrets Behind What You Eat

Description

Do you know where your meal comes from? No, not the supermarket, not the fast food joint down the street. Where does it REALLY come from? Michael Pollan was determined to find out and found some disgusting and alarming secrets about processed and fast food. Corn is in almost all processed foods, whether in the form of the ever-pervasive high fructose corn syrup or some other semi-pronounceable shape. Cattle are fed corn they can’t digest, pumped full of medication and growth hormones, and then slaughtered. Potatoes are sprayed with so many pesticides they have to be left in storage for months until the poison levels are low enough for human consumption. On the other end of food production is Polyface, a miracle of sustainability, land regeneration, and science.

Pollan plays food detective to four meals: the Industrial, the Industrial Organic, the Local Sustainable, and the Do-It-Yourself. Included in the back is a nice reference card with the basics of Michael Pollan’s food rules, some of which are “Eat real food. Buy real food. Eat real meals.” This book is incredibly engaging and informative. It is powerfully written and should be required reading for every student.