The Omnivore's Dilemma Summary

America has the highest number of obese people in the world, and ironically have come up with popular diets. A common, well known diet, leans towards living a plant-based diet; but on the other hand there are diets that are completely opposite and focus on being meat based. Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, wrote that Americans have a very hard time deciding what to eat because of their fear of trying new things. The lack of a national cuisine makes Americans second guess themselves and have an overall very hard time with the omnivore’s dilemma. Another argument, Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, written by Jennifer McLagan, agreed with Pollan and his argument with meat and fats being good for one’s health

when eaten in healthy portions. Forks Over Knives, a film directed by Lee Fulkerson, took another approach completely opposite from Pollan and McLagan arguing that meat in general is unhealthy and one should only eat a plant-based diet. Science is a big part of all three arguments and is used to back up all the points being made. Pollan argues that the American diet is in crisis and McLagan and Forks Over Knives agrees.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma is the thought process that goes through our minds when deciding whether or not to try something new to eat. Not only do we look to science to help us decide, but the overall look of the dish matters and Pollan writes that, “food must be ‘not only good to eat, but also good to think’”(289). If something doesn’t look good people won’t want to eat it. Scientifically humans have larger brains then animals and studies have shown that one of the reasons for this is the options we have for food. For example, Koalas have very small brains, but they only have to think about eating eucalyptus leaves; on the other hand, in comparison, their gut is very large. Scientists believe that as the brain gets bigger, the stomach gets smaller; meaning that the more one thinks about something the larger their brain will be. The time and effort that goes into deciding whether or not to eat something usually ends up in the healthiest choice, because science tells us to eat those kinds of food.
Pollan further explores America’s eating habits by concluding that we have an eating disorder. All countries suffer from having the omnivore’s dilemma, but America suffers the most. Unlike France, Italy, etc. America doesn’t have a national cuisine. Another major issue that Americans have is related to how our culture has changed over time. Family dinners are not nearly as common as they were decades ago. The reason for this is because food isn’t about joy or taste anymore, food is just used to feed our stomachs to keep us alive. We don’t enjoy it nearly as much as we should and one of the reasons for this is that the fast food industry has skyrocketed. Since eating is looked at as an inconvenient time in a working person’s day, we turn to things that allow us to eat fast and continue on with our busy schedules. After much digesting, Pollan concludes with his theory on why people from other countries are so much healthier than America. A lot of it has to do with the fact that there is no national cuisine, and because of that portions are effected. Counties outside of America eat whatever they want, but they eat with small portions and without going up for seconds.
America doesn’t have a diet that guides us all, but we do have science. Science tells us what to eat and because of our lack of a national cuisine, we have no choice but to listen. Pollan writes, “Instead of relying on the accumulated wisdom of a cuisine, or even on the wisdom of our senses, we rely on expert opinion, advertising, government food pyramids, and diet books, and we place our faith in science to sort out for us what culture once did with rather more success” (303). The ironic part of listening to science, is that Americans still have health problems, really fatal ones. Science backs up what we are eating, but it isn’t necessarily helping us. Science has us believing that we can only eat certain foods and Pollan argues this by writing, “What is striking is just how little it takes to set off one of these applecart-toppling nutritional swings in America; a scientific study, a new government guideline, a lone crackpot with a medical degree can alter this nation’s diet overnight” (299). Science affects the decision all of us make when deciding whether or not to eat something, but Pollan argues that Americans are too gullible and will believe almost anything. New diets come out all the time and Pollan argues that adding the word “science” to something will interest and most likely persuades Americans to try whatever it is that is being advertised. Looking at the omnivore’s dilemma, Pollan argues, and science backs him up, that we can basically eat whatever we want as long as we keep an eye out for our portions and control our hunger.
“Fat,” written by Jennifer McLagan similarly argues in regards to the French and their healthy lifestyle that their thin body types are because of their portion sizes.

She related this to her childhood and explained that her family “ate fat with pleasure,” meaning they didn’t think twice about a meal because of what was being discussed outside of their home. She later explained that no one in her family actually had a weight problem and if they did it was because their lifestyle, i.e. exercise habits, portion control, etc., had changed. Just as Pollan notes, French people make time in their day to exercise which helps control their weight and overall health; also they do not eat processed foods, eat between meals, or eat too much during meals. In regards to health problems in America, McLagan made a shocking discovery, “science failed to prove conclusively that there was any direct connection between eating saturated fats and developing heart disease”(4). McLagan here makes it clear that there is no direct link between animal fat and heart disease. Further into the article McLagan explained that the improvement of medical care over time had more of an impact on reducing heart disease than dieting

did.
McLagan also writes about comparing how we looked at fat in the past and how we look at it now. In the past, one who was fat was also looked at as being very wealthy because they could afford all types of food. Now if someone is on the heavier side, it is looked at as being a negative thing, because it seems as though they can’t afford healthy foods. Americans now associate being thin with being wealthy; but wealth and health are two completely different concepts. McLagan writes that, “after more than 30 years of reducing our intake of animal fats, we are not healthier, but only heavier” (8). There are numerous diets out there and a lot of them encourage a plant-based diet which eliminates the intake of animal fats. McLagan argues that there is a lot more to a diet than just eliminating animal fats, which in her opinion isn’t the right thing to do. Though heart diseases have been argued as being linked to animal fat, there are so many different reasons that these diseases occur like the improvement of medical care.
Linking animal fats to disease, Forks Over Knives, brings up the Norway “diet” that occurred from 1939 to 1945. During these years, the people of Norway were without meat because all their livestock was taken from them. During that time period the amount of cardiovascular diseases had gone down dramatically. In 1945 when their livestock was returned, the number of cardiovascular diseases went back to around the number it was previously. Forks Over Knives, showed an experiment that was conducted involving rats and casein. When their milk had 20% casein (protein) in it, the cancer cells present in the rats were dramatically high. However, when their milk had only 5% of casein, there was a drastic difference in numbers. When the rats had the lower amount of casein, the cancer was not present nearly as much as the higher amount of casein. What is most interesting though is that when a rat was diagnosed with cancer with the 20% of casein, if they were switched to the 5% casein their cancer would either go away or become much less fatal. This study shows that too much protein is very unhealthy for anyone and it could lead to diseases or cancer that could otherwise not even exist. Forks Over Knives, explains in great detail and with using examples that a whole foods protein-based diet is the only kind of diet that should exist. We would all be healthier people if we didn’t eat meat or didn’t consume dairy.
Forks Over Knives, a documentary made by Lee Fulkerson, was made in order to inform the public on a whole food plant-based diet.

Americans generally look to take the easy way out of things whether it is medically related, work related, etc. For example, one of the characters in the film had a lot of problems with his health, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. so doctors suggested he stopped taking pills and start eating a whole food plant-based diet. Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn are the doctors that came up with this theory. They argue that by removing meat and dairy from one’s diet, it can solve all problems, or at least the medically related ones. A common theme that we have been seeing is the agreement that processed foods are very bad for our health. This film takes a different approach then the two previous arguments, because it focuses on not eating meat. The arguments made before focus on portion control and leaving processed foods out of our diets, but removing meat and dairy from our diets is what Forks Over Knives focus

on.
I agree with Pollan and McLagan because their arguments are very similar. They believe that with portion control, exercise, etc. one can live a healthy life. In extreme cases where someone is eating solely unhealthy foods and no vegetables whatsoever, then there is a problem. In my personal opinion meat is necessary to obtain vital nutrients that include proteins, fats, and vitamins that come from animal fats.
I was shocked when Dr. T Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn took on such extreme cases. Some of their cases had to do with people whose illnesses were fatal and this diet surprisingly worked for them. I am a person who needs statistics and reasoning to back up arguments, and though this documentary had those, I wanted to know about more cases. Diets in general never work 100% of the time especially when it comes to fatally ill people. Sure it worked five times and the stories of the lives that those people were living were inspiring, but they only showed five successes which makes me think that there may be something not presented in the film. I feel like with one failure in this diet experiment it would ruin the whole study, because the way that the doctors describe it makes it seem like it could never fail. Meat, in my opinion, is essential for humans and animals to live. It provides a lot of protein and overall helps our health when eaten occasionally. Real meat, not McDonald’s or any other fast food restaurant, is important for people to live and be healthy when eaten in healthy portions.
In conclusion, science was a very important part of every source that was given. Pollan and McLagan used science to prove that animal meat and cardiovascular disease could be related but at the same time most likely is not. Lee Fulkerson used science in the opposite way and attempted to prove that meat is bad for people. The experiment with the rats was very convincing but looking at all the evidence and the big picture it all didn’t fully add up. Animal meat and fat is not bad as long as it is eaten in small portions.