Summary Of Hey Mom What's For Dinner

“Hey Mom, what’s for dinner?” “Such a simple question with such a complicated answer” quotes Michael Pollan in the opening of the omnivore’s dilemma. Thinking about this simple question with a complicated answer, leads me to thinking about what I had for dinner. Did I live up to today’s ever changing standards of healthy eating? Was what I just ate organic, or local? Or was what I ate just another “food fad”? Pollen opened my eyes into how eating unhealthy can affect us in the long run, and how the question isn’t “what’s for dinner?” The real question is “What Should I have for dinner?” What is the “right” choice? Pollan argues that we have access to all kinds of different foods, we just don’t know what we should have. Is what we are eating organic? Is it just another fad? is it healthy? Do we know what we’re eating at all?

As important as it is to eat healthy food, it is equally as important to be educated about what we are eating and where our food is coming from.

The more we are educated about what we are eating, the better food choices we will make, therefore, the healthier we will be. Pollan introduces the 4 food chains to us, industrial, industrial organic, locally grown, and hunter gatherer. Throughout the book, Pollan educates us about these food chains, and references them, Helping us to make the correct choices. For example, the industrial food chain is quick, easy to get access to, and efficient, but is it healthy? When talking about the effects of the industrial food chain, Pollan says, “When food is abundant and cheap, people will eat more of it” (77). This is a direct answer to today’s problem- America’s epidemic of obesity. That doesn’t mean we can’t have Mcdonald’s ever again, Pollan just is telling us we need to be more conscious and educated about what we are eating from each food

chain.

Granted that American’s are eating healthier, and more organic, we are still falling into the same routine and bad habits of America’s obesity epidemic and what Pollan refers to as “America’s eating disorder”. Everywhere we turn, there’s a new “miracle food” with statements like “eat this, and never diet again!” These “food fads” lead us into thinking that by taking just one bite of this “miracle food” You’ll be happy and healthy the rest of your life. Often, months later, we’ll find out that this food was in fact “poison” and that the cycle worked in reverse, and caused us to gain 20 lbs. Pollan tells us that “Americans have been such easy marks for food fads and diets of every description” (29) In this quotation, Pollan is referring to us as “easy targets”, rushing into America’s supermarkets every time a new magic food comes out. We are obsessed with the idea of dieting, catching up with the latest fads, and being healthy, but we are still one of the most obese countries in the world.

On that note, Americans need to start eating healthier now so we can continue to make progress in generations to come. We can start eating healthier by eating more organic foods, eat less fast food, and most importantly, be educated about what we are eating. We have countless options we can eat, we just need to know what we should eat to lead a healthier lifestyle. Pollan tells us that “When you can eat about anything nature has to offer, it’s a matter of what we should eat” (3). This is why being an “educated eater” is so important. The more we know, the better choices we will make, and the more knowledge we are able to pass on to our children , and their children.

In conclusion, we need to become the people who are going to start eating healthier, and set good examples for the generations yet to come. We can do this by being “educated eaters”. The sad fact is that most people don’t know where their corn has been, and where the rest of it is going. This book had opened my eyes to all the choices that are out there, and how we can make the right ones. It made me think about what I was eating, and how it can take it toll on me in the long run. If we make the right choices today, we’ll be healthier tomorrow.