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  • The Omnivore's Dilemma

  • A Natural History of Four Meals
  • Written by: Michael Pollan
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (217 ratings)

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The Omnivore's Dilemma

Written by: Michael Pollan
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Publisher's Summary

The best-selling author of The Botany of Desire explores the ecology of eating to unveil why we consume what we consume in the 21st century.

"What should we have for dinner?" To one degree or another, this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't, which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore's dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance.

The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time we're realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment. The Omnivore's Dilemma is best-selling author Michael Pollan's brilliant and eye-opening exploration of these little-known but vitally important dimensions of eating in America.

We are indeed what we eat, and what we eat remakes the world. A society of voracious and increasingly confused omnivores, we are just beginning to recognize the profound consequences of the simplest everyday food choices, both for ourselves and for the natural world. The Omnivore's Dilemma is a long-overdue book and one that will become known for bringing a completely fresh perspective to a question as ordinary and yet momentous as "What shall we have for dinner?"

©2006 Michael Pollan (P)2006 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

Gold Medal in Nonfiction for the California Book Award • Winner of the 2007 Bay Area Book Award for Nonfiction • Winner of the 2007 James Beard Book Award/Writing on Food Category • Finalist for the 2007 Orion Book Award • Finalist for the 2007 NBCC Award

"Thoughtful, engrossing . . . You're not likely to get a better explanation of exactly where your food comes from."The 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!"The Washington Post

"Outstanding . . . a wide-ranging invitation to think through the moral ramifications of our eating habits."The New Yorker

What listeners say about The Omnivore's Dilemma

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Incredibly well written and interesting

Even though this book deals with American food supply chains, it's still definitely a worthwhile read for Canadians, as many of the issues discussed in this book apply to us as well. Michael Pollan is an incredible writer, his style of investigative journalism interlaced with his own anecdotes is a delight to read, it kept me interested the whole way through. It's reshaped the way I view the food industry and what I eat, I think pretty much everyone would take away something from this book. A must read.

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Plenty of food for thought

Should be required reading/listening for anything that can read and listen and who also eats. Our food shouldn't come from boxes.

" we eat by the grace of nature not industry"

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A revelationary journey through food chain

Narration was excellent and never distracting.
Story managed to be both compelling and enlightening.
It will most likely force you to think about where your food comes from; just don't expect a guide to eating responsibly. That's left up to you to figure out.

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A thoughtful and well-rounded book.

Informative, poetic and very funny. I particularly enjoyed how the modern hype around organic industry is also examined. I learnt so much

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very educational and informative

love the book! probably will read it again just really absorb everything! these books cover information that most people will never get the chance to learn in school!

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If you eat, you should listen to this!

Informative, entertaining, captivaing! If you eat, you need to listen to this!! Michael takes you on a guided tour from farm to table, giving you the downlow on where your food really comes from! #Audible1

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Really enjoyable listen

Loved it so much, finished it quickly. I thought it was really clever to follow the food chain through the different types of meals and it revealed how dysfunctional conventional agriculture is and how deceptive "organic" labeling is. Gave me a broader perspective on food and where it comes from, will help me make better choices in the future. Narrator read well, good pacing and delivery.

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Excellent listen.

Good stuff. Recommend. Interesting. Learned things. Thought provoking. A smidge pretentious but still quite enjoyable.

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A nice book

I enjoyed it. I found parts of it very illuminating. It made me see industrialized food in a new way. I will say the author seems to have had a bit of an obsession with the word boon during the time of writing.

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Enjoyable and educational

This was a very interesting and eye opening story, I learned a lot. This will forever change how I think about and acquire my food.

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