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The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Audiobook
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Author of How to Change Your Mind and the #1 New York Times bestsellers In Defense of Food and Food Rules
What should we have for dinner? Ten years ago, Michael Pollan confronted us with this seemingly simple question and, with The Omnivore’s Dilemma, his brilliant and eye-opening exploration of our food choices, demonstrated that how we answer it today may determine not only our health but our survival as a species. In the years since, Pollan’s revolutionary examination has changed the way Americans think about food. Bringing wide attention to the little-known but vitally important dimensions of food and agriculture in America, Pollan launched a national conversation about what we eat and the profound consequences that even the simplest everyday food choices have on both ourselves and the natural world. Ten years later, The Omnivore’s Dilemma continues to transform the way Americans think about the politics, perils, and pleasures of eating.
A few facts and figures from The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals:
Of the 38 ingredients it takes to make a McNugget, there are at least 13 that are derived from corn. 45 different menu items at Mcdonald’s are made from corn.
One in every three American children eats fast food every day.
One in every five American meals today is eaten in the car.
The food industry burns nearly a fifth of all the petroleum consumed in the United States—more than we burn with our cars and more than any other industry consumes.
It takes ten calories of fossil fuel energy to deliver one calorie of food energy to an American plate.
A single strawberry contains about five calories. To get that strawberry from a field in California to a plate on the east coast requires 435 calories of energy.
Industrial fertilizer and industrial pesticides both owe their existence to the conversion of the World War II munitions industry to civilian uses—nerve gases became pesticides, and ammonium nitrate explosives became nitrogen fertilizers.
Because of the obesity epidemic, today’s generation of children will be the first generation of Americans whose life expectancy will actually be shorter than their parents’ life expectancy.
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"The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals is a nonfiction book by Michael Pollan. In the book, Pollan asks the seemingly straightforward question of what we should have for dinner. As omnivores, the most unselective eaters, we humans are faced with a wide variety of food choices, resulting in a "dilemma". Pollan suggests that, prior to modern food preservation and transportation technologies, this particular dilemma was largely resolved, primarily through cultural influences. These technologies have recreated the dilemma, by making available foods that were previously seasonal or regional. The relationship between food and society, once moderated by culture, now finds itself confused. To learn more about those choices, Pollan follows each of the food chains that sustain us; industrial food, organic food, and food we forage ourselves; from the source to a final meal, and in the process writes a critique of the American way of eating."
— Paul (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Award-winning narrator Scott Brick—truly one of the best in the business—takes the listener on a mesmerizing adventure to find some answers. The investigation could have bogged down in Pollan’s exhaustive details, but Brick captures each experience with a tempo and emotional coloring all its own.”
— AudioFile -
“Thoughtful, engrossing…You’re not likely to get a better explanation of exactly where your food comes from.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“An eater’s manifesto…[Pollan’s] cause is just, his thinking is clear, and his writing is compelling. Be careful of your dinner!”
— Washington Post -
“Outstanding…A wide-ranging invitation to think through the moral ramifications of our eating habits.”
— New Yorker -
“If you ever thought ‘what’s for dinner’ was a simple question, you’ll change your mind after reading Pollan’s searing indictment of today’s food industry—and his glimpse of some inspiring alternatives…I just loved this book so much I didn’t want it to end.”
— Seattle Times -
“Remarkably clearheaded…A fascinating journey up and down the food chain, one that might change the way you read the label on a frozen dinner, dig into a steak, or decide whether to buy organic eggs…Besides Stephen King, few other writers have made a corn field seem so sinister.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Although much of this subject has been treated elsewhere, Pollan’s easy writing style and unique approach freshen this contemporary debate.”
— Booklist
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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Winner of the 2007 James Beard Foundation Award
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A 2006 New York Times Book Review Top 10 Book of the Year
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A 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
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A 2006 New York Times Book Review Notable Book
The Omnivore's Dilemma Listener Reviews
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" Absolutely LOVED this book. It is well written and clear. And it was an eye-opening read. It totally changed the way I look at food and our system of producing food here in the U.S. A must read. "
— Debra, 2/18/2014 -
" Maybe I read this book a few years too late - familiar information. Written in a very accessible way. "
— Lakho, 2/10/2014 -
" alright, i knew McDonald's was bad, but i didn't know it was that bad. i've never been so disgusted in my life. sorry, just had to put that out there. anyways, Pollan taught me many new things in this book. it was very interesting, intriguing, and demographic. overall, not as bad as i thought it'd be. "
— ForeverKale, 2/8/2014 -
" how much better would this book be without the macho descriptions of hunting mr pollan himself claims to detest? well, not that much better because the rest of the book is pretty fine but still. that part was dumb. "
— Matthew, 2/6/2014 -
" SCARY. Read this book "
— Benjamin, 2/5/2014 -
" Interesting, but couldn't shake the overall feeling of superiority. "
— Jac, 1/31/2014 -
" Anything by Pollan is thought provoking if you are conscious about what you put in your mouth...but this one I think is the best because of the history. "
— Cheryl, 1/8/2014 -
" Incredibly s=dense book, but such a wonderful read, truly explains how the food system in America works. "
— Danielle, 12/26/2013 -
" Sobering but fascinating. Section 2 was inspiring - if I hadn't already experienced farm life, I would be tempted to try it. "
— Stefanieq, 11/28/2013 -
" An incredible book...an absolutely fascinating read. "
— Josek, 11/13/2013 -
" This book opened my eyes to what we eat and why. Horrible and fascinating and inspiring - reads almost like fiction. "
— Laurie, 5/27/2013 -
" Eye-opening, to say the least. "
— Kendra, 3/30/2013 -
" This was probably one of my favorite non-fiction reads of the summer. The way Pollan spins a story within the complicated network of farming and how foods get onto our plate is fascinating and thought provoking. I loved every word. "
— Karena, 12/19/2012 -
" This book will really make one criticize the way they eat! Pollan does a beautiful job of relaying "the omnivores dilemma" from a non-biased and varied perspective! "
— Lissa, 11/14/2012 -
" If you eat food you should read this book. It's that simple. "
— Cade, 4/24/2012 -
" Definitely a provocative and informative book. Its limited in its scope and obviously seen through Pollan's lens. However, the book is open about this and well researched. Manages to make something so depressing and complicated (the state of food in our culture) entertaining and engaging. "
— Claire, 10/4/2011 -
" Not quite as good as The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World, Pollan does a significantly good balancing act between industrial food production, sustainable farming and foraging to be thought provoking as I munch on some processed food. "
— Kent, 7/25/2011 -
" Started out slow and a bit depressing, but ramped up near the middle with some very interesting information. Lots of things to take away from the book. "
— Erin, 5/19/2011 -
" Very good read--though I do find myself thinking about food in a more paranoid kind of way! "
— Stephanie, 5/19/2011 -
" made me think -- 'nuff said. "
— Lina, 5/18/2011 -
" After reading the book, i thought twice about what to buy and where it came from. This is a fantastic book and highly educating. "
— Ina, 5/18/2011 -
" I read this years ago, but it's on my shelf of favorites. In its own small way, it helped kick-start the locavore movement, of which I am a passionate member. "
— Kay, 5/17/2011 -
" Amazing book. I learned things about food that I never knew before. Worth reading. "
— Lisa, 5/15/2011 -
" I enjoyed this book. Topics like this make me feel hopeless at times, how did our relationship to food get so distorted? "
— Ashley, 5/14/2011 -
" All his books are great. "
— Jessica, 5/14/2011 -
" Really tedious read about some very interesting material. "
— Eriyna, 5/11/2011 -
" This is at the top of my favourites list. "
— Heather, 5/11/2011 -
" Fascinating. Made me aware for the first time of how the responsibility for the effect of the food we eat rests primarily with the final consumer (us)... "
— Jb, 5/8/2011 -
" A very well-written, informative book on our country's food habits. I commend the author for such dedicated, thorough research, but I suggest you NOT read this if you enjoy eating meat and don't want it ruined for weeks in your mind. "
— Jessi, 5/7/2011 -
" A broader more detailed version of his FOOD RULES. Interesting science and data behind our history of food and the problem of fat and poor nutrition in this country. "
— Katie, 5/6/2011
About Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan is the author of twelve books, several of which were New York Times bestsellers. In Defense of Food and How to Change Your Mind made the #1 spot on the New York Times bestsellers list. A long-time contributor to the New York Times Magazine, he teaches writing at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2010, Time magazine named him one of the one hundred most influential people in the world
About Scott Brick
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.