Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

Literally Can't Put this Book Down

Customer Rating:

This is an amazing book. It may sound extreme, but the information in this is mindblowing. Not only is it extremely well written, but it explores the different sides of the same topic, giving you multiple perspectives. I had started reading my friend's copy on a visit, and had to order the book immediately so that I could continue reading it...and have struggled to put the book down every day since.

Zeitgeist for Food!

Customer Rating:

Probably the most important book about the state of food in this country, and maybe the world. Michael Pollan's calm voice is the call to tune in, wake up and choose the food you consume rather than give in to corporate and government default as we have been conditioned to do for the last 5 decades. We don't have many ways to "vote" these days except with our money. Buy and eat locally. Its a more important choice than we know. Thanks, Mr. Pollan for your informative look at how we can regain our food autonomy.

The price of modern agriculture: devastating to the environment and our health

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Healing the Rift: Merging Science and Spirituality As a scientist and biotechnology executive I was intimately involved in the food industry for over a decade and visited agricultural sites in over a dozen countries on four continents. I applaud Pollan's expose' of of modern agriculture's cost. Michael Pollan exposes the high price we pay for industrialization of food production. The fact that the majority of deaths are caused by the Western diet and many of the major diseases are a result of how and what we eat is incalculable in economic terms. The damage to the environment from industrialized farming is staggering. The sacrifice to food quality and nutritional benefits are explained by Pollan. A must read! Then get Pollan's In Defense of Food.

Brilliant and never dull

Customer Rating:

Pollan is an extraordinary writer: here he takes a subject that could easily be dry as dirt and turns it into a completely absorbing, thought-provoking tour de force. Though very occasionally overwritten, this book is never boring. It will teach every reader to think twice about both the source and the true cost of the food they eat. Recommended reading for absolutely everyone; even more particularly for anyone with a real interest in food or simply in developing their social conscience.

Changing the way we answer the question: "What's for dinner?"

Customer Rating:

This is educational/advocating writing at its finest. It is written in an engaging style that makes it easy to read. Yet, at the same time, it manages to fill the pages with facts that are, in themselves, challenging. The book has changed the way I think about food, largely just by making me think about food. This is something we do rarely, but it is becoming more and more necessary as food has become a concoction of chemicals and corn and has drifted away from being truly based on plants and whole grains. Just the mere information about how the food gets from the factory to you will make you want to reevaluate the way you eat and think about food. I have recently turned to a diet based on plants, fruits, and whole grains. As someone who loves good cooking and gourmet restaurants, I was a little worried at first. But, the truth is that this kind of cooking can yield some fantastic flavors and awaken taste buds that seem to have been dormant for too long. Though this decision was not a direct result of this book alone, this book helped me figure out the best ways to go about a fundamental change in diet. For further reading on diet and its relationship to health, I also recommend "The China Study."