My Organic Industrial Meal in my own words

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My Organic Industrial Meal in my own words

Michael Pollan’s My Organic Industrial Meal offers a subjective viewpoint regarding present supply of organic food in contrast to past production. The timeline covered in this discussion begins with 1960s when organic foods were largely acquired from hippy-owned farms. Presently, organic foods are grown and processed by major companies specializing in the given practice, for instance Whole Foods. Pollan notes that, this form of production supersedes industrial food supply approach primarily by elements such as output level and cost effectuality noted through optimal energy utilization. Additionally, energy used in organic industries is ecologically sensitive thus befitting to the green movement in terms of ecological preservation. To overcome any form of biasness or leading information, Pollan offers a precise analysis and evaluation of organic industrial and conventional farming, offering the reader a need to accord one’s own conclusions.

Pollan clearly works with the premise that organic industrial foods are more superior to conventional ones yet noteworthy limitations in terms of product handling. It is quite interesting to note that consumers tend to rush towards purchasing food items labeled as organic without any second thoughts to the products. Largely, this is because such individuals equate the term organic to health in terms of lack of fertilizer usage, absent development enhancement hormones, lack of nitrogen, toxins or antibiotics traces in foods. In fact, such products maybe silently termed as ‘harmless’ in terms of ecology, producers, consumers and health was it not for the fact that they become contaminated long before usage. Pollan employs pragmatic and comprehensible illustrations in supporting his viewpoints and thus instituting an aspect of realism in the article. For instance, organic asparagus sourced from Argentina, blackberries conveyed from Mexico and Arizona salads that have to be transported with petroleum-charged vehicles to Whole Foods, are likely to be polluted with the automobile emissions as well as other factors like dust.

The writer also creates weighty statements by offering statistics, outlining the practice that food industries utilize much petrol in production activities; nearly equaling levels used in automobiles. To create a tangible perception in readers, Pollan further uses the statistics in a daily situation by noting that at least seven fossil oil calories are utilized in the production of a single food calorie. In other instances, largely depending on the food type, it may necessitate as much as ten calories for one food calorie. A similar energy level is also utilized in irrigation. With such information, it is quite easy to identify with Pollan’s views, yet a few gaps can be identified in the publication, thus challenging the author’s position in different matters. For instance, Pollan attributes most food pollution to manufacturing and allocation activities yet he fails to identify cooking practices in households as a notable pollutant. In actuality, cooking approaches constitute to the most prominent food contaminant translating to sixty-nine percent of hazardous handling practices.

These gaps therefore act as limitations within the discussion and thus impart a negative aspect within the publication. However, it also acts within a reader’s benefit as one is always placed in a challenging position towards the given premises and ideas. Challenging such improves the critical thinking factor in the audience thus allowing for informed decisions and conclusions. Therefore, Pollan actually uses these gaps to his aid in overcoming leading viewpoints or bias within the publication.