Who has read the omnivores delimna?

[bkreugar]

I am now halfway thru it and the one thing I have come away with so far is WOW I eat too much corn, and in what ways can I reduce the amount of corn I eat?

It would seem that most of the processed foods have some kind of corn in it and oh boy I have to think that is a large part of why we have so many overweight people now.

I am going to really cut down on processed foods (didn;t eat tons anyway) and I think this has given me the extra push to finally try our hand at our own chickens for meat.

So what did you come aay with after reading it and what if any way did it change how you eat?

 

[PineappleMama]

Got a copy from MIL for Christmas, along with Food, Inc. Pollan is a great writer. All the facts there of course, but I also like HOW he writes it. I finished those and passed them on to a dear friend of mine.

I've since also read In Defense of Food and Food Rules... Definitely worth a read, as it outlines food choices way more than in OD. Food Rules is actually a pocket/purse sized book you can take with you to the store. I've passed that one on to MIL. For those who don't have the time or inclination to read through IDoF Food Rules is the short and sweet version.

The above, and a few others, inspired my New Years Resolution.... BYC topic shortcut.... https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=434518

We're buying more local, more organics, and preparing more meals at home. We didn't eat out much, but that's getting trimmed. Saves money, gas and our health. Also looking into more traditional foods. Not straight on bulgar, but more old school. Last week I found a Greek cookbook at Half Price Books and made Youvarlakia (a meatball soup), Spanakotiropita (spinach and feta cheese in phyllo) and Baklava... absolutely delish and I think a lot healthier than if we'd gone to McD's. Need to learn to make the phyllo from scratch, instead of store bought frozen, but other than that it was all handmade... and well worth it. Dang now I'm craving Spankies (way easier to pronounce than Spanakotiropita and a little silly too)... may have to make some more.

Already made my own sauce for pasta, but need to start making my own pasta/buy WW pasta more. Have the tools, just need to buff up my skills.

The idea is to go more Great Great Grand... but being me I can't handle Italian 7 days a week, or Greek 7 days a week, or American 7 days a week. So, I'm going to alternate traditional, old school recipes. Good eats, variety, and the bonus of a bit of cultural info for us as well.

 

[chickenshagg]

Never read it but sounds like the movie King Corn. The movie was a documentry where these two fellows followed the production of corn and how corn has become incorporated into all of the food chain. From feed for livstock to the cereals we eat to the sweetners in our food and drinks. I would say now that there is no more important crop than corn. The government just approved a higher amount of Ethanol to be incorperated into our auto fuel.

 

[PineappleMama]

Seen that one too. It was very good IMO.

But it doesn't begin to cover the same info as OD. It's more personal, Pollan spoke with a commercial corn farmer but he didn't do actually planting/raising etc like these guys did. Pollan was likewise shut out of much of the industrial corn stuff. But in OD he does get personal while at Polyface Farms. And personal in the hunting/foraging section. King Corn ONLY covers the industrial corn bit, OD covers that, plus industrial organic, plus beyond organic plus hunting/foraging.

 

[bkreugar]

Quote:
Well again I am only halfway thru but yes it DOES sound like that. It put me off on the idea of processed foods but I think that was the idea!

 

[FrizzleFreak]

I think the thing we changed the most in our lives after that book passed through our household (everyone read it) was that corn was nearly eliminated from our animals' diets (the chickens still get their scratch though

). That wasn't a huge deal, just buying separate types of grains and mixing them together for the dairy goats, and different pre-mixed feeds for everybody else. The goat recipe was one that had already been tried and tested for years by our herd mentor, whose goats share the same lineage, so we were really confident with that.
What really was really driven home to me by Michael Pollan was that the farmers are forced to preserve the monoculture, and yet are struggling to survive while other companies thrive on the processed product.

We also cut down on processed foods, which was astonishingly easy. If you need a snack, grab some fruit. It all depends on what you keep in the house, because that's what you're going to eat. It was easier for us becuase we live a half hour from any grocery store, so we don't have the temptation to run to the store and grab some snack food.

If you liked Omnivore's Dilemma, I would really recommend Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It emphasizes the need to eat locally, which our family also works on. She may provide moral support for eating your own birds as well (she has some hilarious stories!)
I'm really glad that Omnivore's Dilemma changed your life; I think that more people should read it, and that it should be required reading in schools.

 

[bkreugar]

I am in the middle of polyface farms part right now, and I got to say it sure makes sense. I saw FOOD INC on pbs and so I wondered if it was the same thing. O now food inc did a part on polyface farms. Is it the documentary version of OD?

 

[PineappleMama]

No, but covers similar ground, including Polyface in a different way. For those folks who aren't big readers Food Inc is a great way to learn. Also includes more info about E coli, ala Kevin's Law, than was mentioned in OD.

Thanks for that tip about Barbara Kingsolver Frizzle, I do love authors who can add some humor while still getting the point across.

 

[FrizzleFreak]

Happy to help.
She also has written several fictions with the same sort of message. The Poisonwood Bible, the Lacuna, and the Prodigal Summer are a couple of others.