Michael Pollan’s immensely readable book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals”, written in a “Columboesque” investigative style, is aimed at the heart of 21st century omnivores- US!
In tracing food back to its original “inputs”, Pollan learns some fascinating, not to mention alarming, things about how food is produced. We have the benefit of coming along for the ride and learning through him.

Pollan’s four meals are the obvious ones like a McDonalds “feast” consumed while hurtling down the freeway to a supposedly organic lunch purchased from “Whole Foods”. These are the familiar and predictable, but where it gets interesting are the meals that involved a stint on a truly organic farm (Ployface) and the final meal that he “hunts and gathers” himself.

So what is a feasible, sustainable and ultimately healthy “food system” for humans going forward?

There are no easy answers, and Pollan is a skilled enough writer to not presume them, but rather to expertly frame the debate.