Omnivore's Dilemma

Great Essays
The part of this course Language and Mass Communication will be included in this written task through the form of an editorial. The book that has been studied in class, Omnivore’s Dilemma presents multiple issues that clearly affect and concern many societies, in which by using one of the many ideas it contains, it can be embodied into an editorial. Knowing that editorials discuss issues that concern a broad audience, by using the food industry along with its social, economic and cultural impacts; which are concerns that have been discussed for centuries all over the world as shown throughout this book, is possible. The audience for this particular issue interest people who live in different societies, but in this task it will primarily target …show more content…
BY: JESSICA HERNANDEZ PUBLISHED 21 NOVEMBER 2015

“A happy animal farm”, with animals frolicking on and about, doing what their instincts tell them… pigs with their cork-like tails, chickens stretching their wings with no cage to stop them. This is what many believe a farm animal’s life to be before meeting their fates. In contrast, an animal rights advocate may argue and present to the public, videos which reveal animal cruelty. These videos, that have exposed an issue that affects a person’s morality have made many change their minds about eating meat.

The definition of a “happy chicken” can’t be fully judged by consumers, for most live miles away, however, those who choose to see their “food” in the farm can be present in its last moments of life until its life is taken away before their very eyes. They will then know the process by which they often consume without thought.

In other words, if the “food” is happy, then it’s most likely sustainable in terms that the animal has lived its life as it would in the natural world. With globalization today, the environment is in danger due to chemicals used in agriculture, affecting crops worldwide… but how does this tie back to the
…show more content…
Cows bathe in their own manure waiting for trucks to feed them grains instead of grass, in which the risk of harmful microbes can develop into diseases. Not all farms treat their animals like this, but it does put the industrial agriculture in the bad light, so one may say organic is better but is it really?

Some may argue that organic farms are better, but those that only change the living quarters of the animals are no different. An example would be as seen in Pollan’s book: chickens who are allowed out of their quarters once a day or week to stretch their wings, aren’t very different from industrial farms who leave them in cages… Yet, there are some farms that allow their animals to wander about, while also making sure the animals do not affect the environment

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Changing human diet can be a controversial topic and to change this omnivore’s mind one needs to present facts as cold as a fresh cut of meat. Marjorie Lee Garretson’s “More Pros Than Cons in a Meat-Free Life” is an essay that tries to persuade the reader to a vegan lifestyle under the guise of vegetarianism using few cited sources and trying to make the reader feel bad about the way they currently eat. “More Pros Than Cons in a Meat-Free Life” is a college level essay written by Marjorie Lee Garretson about the potential positives to vegetarian lifestyle. The essay first focuses on the health benefits of switching to vegetarianism which is done in three sentences claiming decreased cancer rates and longer life expectancy without any…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Food, Inc., a documentary by Robert Kenner, informs the American people in the food industry’s malevolent side. It uses compelling images, such as chickens being brought up in small spaces, and incorporates stories of farmers, government officials and victims of the food industry. Food, Inc. exposes the food industry and the audience realizes wealth has become more of a priority than safety. But, the end of the film invokes a sense of hope when the show reveals how the audience can make a difference. Food Inc. uses rhetorical strategies to build a warning to consumers about the somber side within the food industry.…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Omnivore’s Dilemma, written by Michael Pollan, and published in 2009 made quite an impact on the food industry and nearly everybody who so happened to read it. The book details what happens behind closed doors of supermarkets, how the food is made, how the animals soon to be meat are handled and treated, and asks the question, how do we know if what we’re eating really is healthy? Chapter 8 of the book: The Modern Omnivore, highlights this question, among others, especially what we’ve been asking ourselves… what is the omnivore’s dilemma? The omnivore’s dilemma is that modern Americans have such a large variety of food making us uncertain about what should and should not be eaten. What food is good food?…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As a society we have seen more muckrakers emerge since Upton Sinclair than ever before. The Jungle was only the beginning of an exposé on the food industry that is still relevant today. Great writers and journalists continue to try and educate the public on just where their food is coming from. Michael Pollan presents the reader with his own work of food journalism in the form of Omnivore’s Dilemma, in which he defines industrial logic and how this idea motivates industry to produce the food we receive today, then offers the alternative of local food chains to combat the distrust in supermarkets. Industrial logic is the force that persuades the agriculture market to transform into one that relies increasingly on industrial means to mass produce…

    • 1772 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    So far in sections one and two of Micheal Pollan, The Omnivores Dilemma, it seems as is all food chains have negative effects on us, the enviorment, as well as the animals we get it from. However that is not true. In this section, Micheal Pollan argues that the food chain called Local Sustainable is the best food chain there is for everyone and everything, they do not use chemical fertilizers or chemical pesticde which is harmful to everyone, they don’t pollute they enviorment because they recyle everything used in the farm and thye don’t burn fossil fuels, and before the animals live their lives as free wild animas should. One piece of the argument that Michael Pollan sides with-that the Local Sustainable food chain is the best one for us,…

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Part A: The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan is how our food choices affect our health greatly. Pollan’s purpose for writing the book was simple- if nothing else, inform readers about what they are putting into their bodies and possibly change their eating habits entirely. The book was published in April of 2006 and healthy eating has been a debate for many many years. People have questioned if they should be vegan, vegetarian, etc.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A. In Michael Pollan’s informative novel, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, the author encourages the idea that food has a greater role than just filling our stomachs. He does this by informing the readers about each of the aspects in which food contributes to, such as environmental and even political roles. In doing so, Pollan separates his novel into sections; each diving deeper into an idea that some may glance over. The author, using these sections consisting of the industrial, organic, and hunting-gathering food chains, discuss the dilemma humans must face when picking their meals.…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In fact, the widespread belief that farming conditions should change or that humans should avoid meat would negatively impact the economy. In the article, “Is there a moral case for meat?”, Nathanael Johnson splits his essay into two parts. In the first part of the article, Johnson tries to find a logical counter…

    • 1085 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The final book that really spiked with my interest and stayed with me was Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.” In this book, we followed Mr. Pollan as he explained the food that we eat in three parts, two of which we read. In Part 1 of the book I realized that our government has set us up to buy processed food in order to feed into the large companies that continue to control this nation’s economy. Consequently, as it does not care about our citizen individual health, it is my perception that if more people knew this, and if they understood that by buying more organic products, it would cause the demand to go up and the prices down, then they would.…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Omnivore's Dilemma is a book which modified the way people looked at their food and also what they ate. In Chapter 8 “The Omnivore's Dilemma”, Michael Pollan explains that omnivores like the modern day American can eat just about anything, but the problem is that they are uncertain of what should be eaten. Americans obtain a variety of choices when in a supermarket, but do they recognize what is good for them? Michael Pollan also argues that the reason we experience so many diet fads is that Americans have no food culture to fall back on. So, according to Pollan, the omnivore's dilemma is that the modern-day American doesn't know what to eat because we have no food culture to fall back on.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Omnivore’s Dilemma is written by the famous food writer Michael Pollan who explains that humans are notably omnivores—eats both meats and plants—and that our biggest dilemma is that we have too many options regarding the foods that we eat. Pollan uncovers the truth about the food industry that most people do not know about. He explains that if people were more aware of how their food is processed, where it comes from, or the impact that it has on your health, environment, and ethics you would definitely consider a major change in your eating habits. It’s no secret that within the last century the way we eat and how we eat our foods has drastically changed. Before, whatever your grandparents had cooked for dinner was considered healthy…

    • 1259 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1990, author Wendell Berry released an essay titled “The Pleasures of Eating”. The essay focused on the responsibilities of eating, which includes self-awareness regarding what one’s consuming. Berry discusses how to eat responsibly throughout his piece, often citing the hidden dangers of the food industry, which includes the unjustifiable treatment of animals. Berry uses the rhetorical appeals in relation to these matters which allows him to connect and convey his message more strongly toward Americans, especially those living more rural lifestyles.…

    • 1360 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Stain of Sustainability Sustainability is discussed in “Attention Whole Food Shoppers” by Robert Paarlberg and “Sustainability by Christian R Weisser. Christian R Weisser speaks more about the idea of what sustainability is and how is important for society to be aware of it. Robert Paarlberg explains in his article the way the Earth is more and less sustainable because of everyone 's actions around the world. Both articles touch on the ideas that there are people out there helping change Earth for the better, and want to make earth sustainable for the future. The authors both explain how there are also harmful situations happening that hardly balance out the help from others trying to make a difference.…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Factory farming has affected our environment because of the massive amounts of animal waste. The massive amounts of animal waste has affected the environment through pollution. For instance, in the book it states, “So much shit, so poorly managed, that it seeps into rivers, lakes, and oceans, killing wildlife and polluting the air, water, and land in ways that are devastating to human health”(Foer 174). Author Jonathan Safran Foer explains in this quote how animal waste from factory farms has led to pollution that affects the environment and humans. He supports his first quote by also stating, “The polluting strength of this shit is 160 times greater than raw municipal sewage waste”(Foer 174).…

    • 1283 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    However, its been proven that animals have been injected with drugs and also have been living in cruelty. The article titled Farm Animals Need Our Help states, “Animals are not the only ones suffering because of these unnatural, inhumane condition.” Animals have to put up with these unnatural conditions which makes the animals to suffer. Take Factory Farming and Human Health for an example, “The unnatural feeds, hormones, and excessive quantities of antibiotics used on factory farms put the human population at risk for chronic disease, obesity, and drug-resistant bacteria, and pose the threat of major zoonotic disease outbreaks”. Therefore, this is very bad for consumers for all ages.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics