The Omnivore's Dilemma

What will you eat for dinner? This is the question that Michael Pollan's latest book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, sets out to answer, and the answer turns out to be quite complex. It turns out that Pollan's skills in investigative journalism are necessary to get to the bottom of it. Pollan traces three food chains - industrial, organic and hunter/gatherer - back to their sources. The result is a rivetting tale that takes us across the globe, to small farms and large farms, to fast food meals on the highway and to much more. Pollan quotes Wendell Berry, who wrote that, "Eating is an agricultural act." Pollan adds that it is an ecological and a political act as well. He does an excellent job of uncovering the many layers of the deceivingly simple-sounding question, "What will you eat for dinner?"

Michael Pollan is a New York Times bestselling author. He has been a contributing writer to New York Times Magazine since 1987 and served as executive editor for Harper's for many years. His numerous awards include the James Beard Award for best magazine series in 2003 and the Reuters-I.U.C.N. 2000 Global Award for Environmental Journalism. He is currently the Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at UC Berkeley.

Click here for a New York Times review of The Omnivore's Dilemma