Corn - Not my thing

The Omnivore’s Dilemma (pg 15-119

Wow. I have heard all this information before (from the first chapter) but it still blows me away how much corn there really is in our everyday lives. Corn is in everything and it is horrifying to find it in things you would never imagine. I have seen parts of Pollan’s movie Food Inc which is where I have heard most of this before and I assume much of what he has said in the first chapter is what was used for the movie. In the first chapter Pollan speaks of corn producing the greatest number of calories for its yield. This immediately got me thinking of North America’s obesity epidemic. I don’t think I have to say much in this sense as it’s pretty self explanatory. Is there a possible correlation between our overweight population now and our acceptable weight before corn? I also found it interesting that the corn species would not have survived if not for the human race nurturing it over many generations.

            One thing that does not surprise me however, is that farmers are struggling to bring in profit from their crops and work. Pollan talks of George Naylor, a farmer from Iowa whose crops cannot even support his own family. His crops of corn are not suitable for humans and are mostly used for cattle and other livestock.

            Pollan speaks of Naylor as some kind of farming god. The description and style of talk Pollan uses sort of bothered me. He spoke as if he found some guru of the farming community that would fix the agriculture fiasco; as if Naylor had found the solution but just no one was listening. It was a very one sided, un-open view. Although there was some interesting content and information, I felt Pollan spoke too affirmatively about George Naylor and his solution. For example: “He calls it the Naylor curve (Remember the Laffer curve? Well this one looks a little like that one, only it’s true” Sure it may have some truth to it, but this seems more like an argument rather than a story, almost like he is writing a research paper on it with no peer reviewed studies to back it up. I personally do not agree these stories because they do not offer up opinions, but rather tell you what to think based solely on empirical evidence (sometimes not even first hand). I did not like this part of the book.

            Being the curious cat that I am, I decided to see what others had to say on this matter. (And I site wikipedia) “Economist Tyler Cowen argued, "The problems with Pollan's 'self-financed' meal reflect the major shortcoming of the book: He focuses on what is before his eyes but neglects the macro perspective of the economist.” I bolded what I thought the most important part of the quote because it supports my belief also.

            Pollan goes on to talk of the feedlot and how the cattle/livestock are raised – much of which I have seen and heard before. When Pollan dropped the number 37 thousand into his story I raised an eyebrow in shock. 37 thousand animals in one feedlot? That is insane. This of course results in 50 thousand tons of corn an hour to sustain these poor farmed (not farm) animals.

            The processing plant had to be one of the most revolting parts of this read and I don’t know that I can look at corn the same way or even pick up a food without checking the label for corn products (which would probably result in me putting it down anyway). The description of the break down into a white mush of protein and starch really painted a picture in my mind that was not pleasant. The go on to use the word slurry which I do not want to hear when thinking of my food. “Putting it back together again” was equally as disturbing. I have seen most of Pollan’s movie “Food Inc” so this is not new to me, however it still disgusts me, so enough of that.

            The last section regarding the consumer did not surprise me at all. Facts such as: 3 of every 5 Americans are overweight and of those 5, 1 is obese actually seems a little low to me. However that could be a result of the publication date. It was interesting to hear about coke and pepsi switching to HFCS over sugar as a sweetener due to a reduced price. At that level though, those few cent differences can make a huge impact on the company and I think that example describes the entire food industry.

            The last chapter was also no surprise to me, especially when Pollan describes chicken nuggets from McDonalds. 13 of 38 ingredients in McNuggets are derived from corn – at this point it just becomes funny.

“So what? Why should it matter that we have become a race of corn eaters such as the world has never seen? Is this necessarily a bad thing? The answer all depends on where you stand.” Although I don’t completely agree with Pollan on all his points and his evidence, I stand against. I believe it is a factor in our obesity epidemic and our overall poor health. It is not for me.

Decline of Hunter/Gatherer and Increase of Food Production – Diamond 4,5,6,8

Most certainly an interesting read. Although I have not read the introduction to the book (making some things a bit hazy), I dove right into chapter 4 as I did 7 last week. It was not your typical textbook readings, which I have come to like in Diamond’s writings. Even though it was a bit drawn out, I enjoyed chapter 4 and seeing how the domestication of animals and plants have directly and indirectly affected and assisted human culture and growth. I especially found it neat when Diamond described how the British finally overcame the Maori tribes of New Zealand.

            Chapter 5 was a little more textbook style and I found rather dull. Carbon 14 dating is neat, however I do not think it can be illustrated in the same fun and enlightening way that chapter 4 was portrayed. I do not really have much else to say on this chapter…

            I felt the next section (chapter 6) sort of picks up where chapter 4 left off – almost as if chapter 5 was a brief interlude to explain a side topic. I thought it neat that certain areas of the globe still live by the hunter/gatherer way of life. I like the idea of the simplicity behind it. It is unfortunate however that the decline of hunter/gatherer way of life is due to such things as decreasing game populations and cultural attitudes. I also found it interesting how a male hunter would often work on prestige. That is, bringing home 1 giraffe a month than twice the weight in food by gathering nuts and berries. This chapter also describes 5 reasons for the decline in the hunter/gatherer way of life, all of which one would not think of until presented with it, ie. the decrease in wild game and plants; something I did not even think of until I read it.

            Chapter 8 was a lot to think about and difficult to summarize for my own understanding though there were a few things I took from it and most certainly was an interesting read. Diamond pulls out a statistic on the second page of this chapter that sort of shocked me: of the 200,000 wild plant species on this planet, only a few thousand are edible. I would have guessed far more than a few thousand, not to mention that he goes on to say that only a few hundred of these have been domesticated. Really? Of the few thousand we do eat, we have only domesticated a few hundred? The next section of this chapter was neat, though a little drawn out. Diamond explains well how the fertile crescent was instrumental and quicker in developing food production, though he could have slimmed it down a little.

Overall a fun read for the week though.

Yep, these were supposed to be last weeks readings.

Pollan - Intro
Diamond - Chapter 7

So taking a step back, I looked at Jared Diamond’s book (chapter 7) as well as the intro to The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan, though let’s start with Diamond: how to make an almond. The chapter discusses the mutation and intergenerational development of the plants we know today, most notably the almond. At Christmas time, when I eat an almond I do not stop to think of how this nut came to be before I eat it. I assume it grows as every nut does; then I crack the shell and pop it into my mouth to devour. Diamond describes the progression of the nut from its previous poisonous state when it contained an element which broke down into its more common form cyanide. I am baffled by this nut, how once it was extremely deadly to humans, but from a few mutant genes, it flourished into a staple in our regular diets.

I was also interested in the domestication of fruits by means of unintentional selection and how they prospered through farming. I thought Diamond did an excellent job of presenting intentional and unintentional selection which led nicely into artificial and natural selection. Diamond referenced Darwin nicely to complete this chapter and hammer home his point.

Botany of desire was taking a step back for me as I had already read chapter nine on the GM potato. The intro, however tied up some loose ends and gave me more of an understanding of the book itself as well as the chapter I had already looked at. Pollan also incorporates Darwin into his intro much like Diamond did. Considering the topic it is suiting after all, however Pollan introduces Darwin much earlier than Diamond did. Instead of referencing Darwin for solidifying the idea of the story, Pollan uses Darwin as more of a resource to explain and provide some history on the subject. Both books provide a different look at it, though Pollan was just an intro. I look forward to reading more from both authors. I seem to enjoy these more than I would a regular text book. These provide information as well as a story and feeling to go with it, making it much easier and more pleasant to read.

Generally Moronic Objective

GMOs (Genetically modified organisms)… huh. Pollan’s chapter on his genetically modified potatoes only solidified my opinion on GMOs. This is artificial selection at its finest. If we were to look at this idea in a broad perspective, it may look productive and even beneficial to the human race. But as we focus in on what is actually being done it just does not seem right; a potato that produces its own pesticide, corn that can withstand drought and cotton that grows all sorts of colours. The immediate risks of these cannot be that bad for us as humans seeing as how they are deemed worthy to eat or use, however what about long term affects? I am currently reading a book titled “Wheat Belly” in which the author claims the wheat we eat now is not the same wheat that was eaten 50 years ago. It has been so genetically modified and thus is harder for our body to process. It is this, the author believes, that is causing obesity problems.

Pollan describes the Incas and how they were able to produce year round potatoes without any source of genetic modification. So why is it that our culture now values this new ideology that genetic modification of foods and plants is the best thing for us? Is it a way of claiming advancement of technology/science?

One sentence that stood out for me in these readings was when the author spoke of Darwin and quoted him as saying “Man does not actually produce variability” to which the author responds “Now he does.” It really kind of a shock when you think about it: Human kind has taken control of every aspect of this planet and nothing grows or comes to be naturally anymore.

I found the background history of the potato and its integration into the European culture interesting in and amongst Pollan’s description of his own potato farming, especially its battle with wheat.

When describing his potato farming, Pollan mentions Bt toxins and provides a brief history. He later mentions that it seems to “build up in the soil.” It’s quotes like these that start me questioning the effects GMOs have on the environment. The author does go on, however, to mention that this may be insignificant, but no one knows for sure. Though further in the chapter it is mentioned that the increased amounts of Bt toxin may increase the likelihood that pests may become resistant to their poison.

Nearing the end of the chapter, Pollan meets with Danny Forsyth, a potato farmer from Idaho; this is where I became curious. Forsyth uses traditional tactics to produce his crops: pesticides and chemicals. So Pollan asks the question, where is the real risk? I still believe there is an alternative: Organic. Sure it may be more expensive, and harder to come by, but to me it’s worth every cent. I know exactly what I am putting into my body and I know exactly what it does for me.

Not even Pollan could bring himself to eat these potatoes, the potatoes he himself had grown.   

Blog Entry 1

When I started reading chapter two, I immediately dove right into it and was interested in the comparison between obtaining food between plants and animals. The analogy of an exterior of a leaf to the interior of the digestive tract being flipped inside out worked well for me.

The next section however, I found to be a bit mundane. What started out as a simple physics lesson dragged on and became somewhat monotonous. This could be due to my primary understanding of physics already, but I think it could be also the writing. Although I did not completely understand the principles of vertical and horizontal as well as tri polarity objects and how they come to be, close to 10 pages of description and diagrams I found to be a little overwhelming and excessive. This all lead to three conclusions, the last being (I thought) the strongest: “Plants have radial symmetry with one polarity and animals have bilateral symmetry with two polarities. These differences affect everything about them.”

            I continued to enjoy the comparisons between animals and plants that Halle used. This made the topic more relatable for myself as well as spiced up what would otherwise be routine textbook literature. The comparisons used when discussing hormones were helpful for me, as I understand the human body more than I do plants – currently.

            Page 99-100 I found tough to get through. I did not enjoy the poem(s) nor the idea of using it as a source of information or understanding.

            My favourite section of this whole reading would have been on movement and growth. I was fascinated by the movement of plants. I thought Halle did a good job of explaining it by discussing the speed of time in relation to the plants. Again though, Halle uses poetry in his explanation which I found did not suit my learning style.

            The section on individuals and colonies was pretty straight forward, though the part that caught my attention and got me thinking was the discussion and pictures of our toes (if they could be colonies). This both fascinated me and disgusted me at the same time.

            Chapter five was also pretty straight forward, though I struggled a bit with the heading “Soma and Germ.” I had to reread portions of it, though still am not completely content with what I know from it.

            Until next time,

Aleksander