The Omnivore's Dillema: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

Just as the drought hits the rest of the nation and sends corn prices skyhigh, I put this audiobook into the player. I mainly picked it up because it is read by Scott Brick, and he totally rocks (sorry for the 80s vocabulary, but he's an amazing narrator). While listening, though, I started to think about things. When I was a kid, we ate mostly farm food because my grandparents had a farm with produce, orchards, and livestock. Just about everything I ate, excluding Ding Dongs and Dr Pepper, was raised by them. So I always knew where my food came from. However, I had no idea where the food my friends ate came from.

This book answers the question that many people ask: what are we eating anyway?

I am excited about Polyface Farms in Virginia and have been exploring options available locally because they do NOT ship their food. It would defeat the purpose of a local farm. I find myself looking at just about everything I purchase now to find out where it is from and what is in it. If there are more corn products than anything else, I pass. Except for Dr Pepper because I am seriously addicted to the stuff.

I'll never forget when my grandparents gave me and my brother a calf, Harry, for Christmas one year. He was a beautiful calf, and he would eat grass from our hands and let us pet him on the head while he licked his nostrils with his nose. A gentleman, he was not. But he was a gosh-darned great calf. He stayed at their farm, and we visited him when we visited the grandparents. I knew where meat came from, but I didn't realize that Harry had a purpose in life greater than cleaning out his own nostrils. One day, my dad piled us into the car and said we were going to pick up Harry. I had no idea where he would ride in the car, but I had faith that he could sit in my lap. Yes, I was young and naive. Harry came out of a building, but he came out in little white packages stuffed into boxes. Not the future I had envisioned for my beloved calf. I didn't eat meat for a year.

I later learned to appreciate the flavor of grass-fed beef, pastured chickens, and fresh produce. When I got married and began buying everything at the grocery store, I quickly realized there was no flavor to anything I ate. I have rediscovered grass-fed beef and eat it when I can afford it. And I love the Farmer's Market that shows up on Saturdays in a parking lot down the road. One day, I hope to find a place like Polyface Farms where I can get to know the farmer and have complete confidence in the food I am eating.

So if you're interested in what is on your plate and in your stomach, read this excellent book. I recommend the audio version because Scott Brick is a very talented narrator. I know people who listen to all his audio books no matter the author or subject. Michael Pollan, the author, is also great. He definitely gets you to think about what you eat and why. I enjoyed getting to know him as an author through reading this book.