Daily Food Experiences, Essay Example

My trip to the supermarket this Friday afternoon reminded me of some of the passages from Michael Pollan’s “Omnivore’s Dilemma.” Actually, the book influenced my way of looking at the supermarket space, and created a shift in perspective as to how I perceive the mundane shopping experience. In accordance with Pollan’s thesis, there is an enormous amount of food that is available for consumption in the supermarket. I noticed, however, that the economic factor was perhaps the largest influence in my purchasing selections. Some more high-end items that I would be interested in trying, such as caviar, are immediately eliminated from any prospective shopping list because of price concerns. I usually buy food products that I have tried before and fit within my budget. This can run from anything to a particular brand of canned tuna to a specific type of soda.

One significant part of Pollan’s work is the thesis that since humans are omnivores it means that we do not have to be so demanding as to what it is exactly that what we eat, thus creating a problem. I would argue, however, that the economic factors have really minimized this dilemma. While the industrialization of food and the global market brings a vast number of products to the consumer, many of these so-called choices are false choices, available only to those of a certain economic class and status. Accordingly, this omnivore’s dilemma could be thought of as a certain mystification of capitalism: all these products appear readily available in the market, but when it comes down to considering budgets, a large portion of these products are simply out of reach for the everyday person.

Today in many countries around the world it is May Day, a holiday for the workers. Of course, this holiday isn’t celebrated in America, which makes me reflect on some of the thoughts I had about capitalism in my last post: isn’t it interesting that in the most capitalistic society they deliberately don’t celebrate May Day? Other people might suggest this is a conspiracy, and I think this basic idea, which at first glance may sound off-topic, nevertheless relates to some of my thoughts about the industrialization of food. In the “Omnivore’s Dilemma”, Pollan specifies the four major ways in which food is produced: industrial, organic, local, and personal. The phenomenon of the supermarket certainly seems to reflect the centrality of the industrial type of food production in our lives. While more and more supermarkets are moving towards specifying that some products are organically produced or are provided by local distributors, the dominant sector continues to be the industrial sector.

While I have discussed in previous entries the negatives related to this industrial dominance, what about some of the solutions? Pollan’s book makes me think about some alternatives, such as personal food production, which could entail having a garden, going fishing, etc., But for a lot of people there is no time for having a garden. And many others don’t have the living space to have such a garden. In addition, because of industrial pollution, depending on where you live, you can’t simply go out and catch a fish for dinner and eat it. Once again, this reflects some of my ideas about the restriction of choice in the current age. Modern day relations to food are not really an  “Omnivore’s Dilemma”, but suggest something like a working man or woman’s dilemma: once again economics controls food habits, from how much money one has in their pocket to the industrial devastation of the environment.

Last night was Saturday and I went out with some friends for some drinks. We had a nice time at a local club and bar, and had some interesting discussions. I mentioned some of the thoughts I have talked about in previous entries concerning food, but my companions weren’t in the mood for any political debates. There is a certain apathy that I note these days, and I think a lot of this apathy is reflected in things like food practices. It is not only because of economics that people in American tend to eat less healthy, but a lot of people simply do not care what they consume, preferring the instant gratification of a sugar rush or a fast food hamburger to taking care of their bodies for the future.

This is certainly reflected in Pollan’s book when he talks about the industrialization of food. While the science behind this industrialization allows for massive production, preventing hunger, etc., the quality of food suffers as a result. This is another type of dilemma that exists in today’s food habits: is it possible to continue having high quality produced natural or organic food and simultaneously meet the supply demands dictated by the market? In other words, if industrial production was cut back, would the market still be able to meet consumer needs?

Certainly, one problem related to this theme is that in supermarkets many times the organic or locally produced food is more expensive than the industrially produced food. One would think this should be reversed: What is the reason for this? When economics begins to become the guiding principle in life, I think the consequences are widespread. This is reflected in food and nutrition, to the extent that we can say food and nutrition are not only health issues but also are political issues. Food practices essentially relate to how we live our everyday lives and what kind of possibilities we have in our existential choices.