I've never blogged before, so this experience is entirely new for me. I felt really energized by class discussion today, and decided to post an entry just to kick things off.
Just a few things to start with: already I feel as though I'm looking at things differently through the "sociological eye." I really enjoy the idea of a "sociological imagination," or a tool that connects individual biographies with societal history, and how easily it can be connected to what we've learned in class so far. As Pollan explains in "The Omnivore's Dilemma," our country truly is suffering from a national eating disorder. With all the food choices available and the constant bombardment of advertisements about restaurants, diet plans, and fitness, we have become obsessed with - and even plagued by - food. It has gotten to the point where even the simple question of, what should we eat for dinner tonight, is a great challenge. Individual choices and mindsets about what to eat, why and how reflects a larger picture of how our nation approaches such issues. It is ironic that, despite large media focus on health and fitness, our country is the most obese in the world.
I would also like to say a few words on the beginning few chapters of "The Omnivore's Dilemma." It is no wonder that it was ranked one of the ten best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review. Michael Pollan takes a seemingly simple question - what should I eat for dinner tonight - and creates a novel out of it, describing the processes by which we make and choose items from the three principal food chains - the industrial, the organic, and the hunter gatherer. First, he focuses on the industrial, and specifically, on corn.
Who knew that an author could write an entire chapter on corn that is actually captivating! Of the forty-five thousand items in an average grocery store, more than a quarter of them contain corn. This staple food is able to survive and flourish in just about every climate, and creates more organic matter than most other crops on the same amount of sunlight and water. Furthermore, corn is easy to transport and difficult to destroy. It is no wonder that this crop is so important.
Come to think of it, when I read the ingredients on the foods I consume, I ALWAYS see corn as one of the key components. Peanut butter, ketchup, fruit snacks - you name it, corn's in it. So I guess that leaves me wondering, what do people with allergies to corn even do for their diet? As the saying goes, if we truly are what we eat, is it safe to call ourselves "corn walking?"
