Written By Rachel Clark, Good Food Book Club Volunteer Coordinator
Join us in reading the June Co-op Good Food Book Club book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan. The Book Club will meet Sunday, June 29, from 7-8:30 p.m. at a member’s private residence to discuss The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Email bookclub@moscowfood.coop for more information and directions. Already a signature, key contribution not just to food writing, but to the now central platform of sustainable resilience, Michael Pollan’s groundbreaking The Omnivore’s Dilemma (2006) is as important today as it was almost a decade ago when it was released.
At the time it went to print, Publishers Weekly said, “Pollan examines what he calls ‘our national eating disorder’ (the Atkins craze, the precipitous rise in obesity) in this remarkably clearheaded book. It’s a fascinating journey up and down the food chain, one that might change the way you read the label on a frozen dinner, dig into a steak or decide whether to buy organic eggs. You’ll certainly never look at a Chicken McNugget the same way again. Pollan approaches his mission not as an activist but as a naturalist: ‘The way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world.’” These days, it’s easy to imagine that Pollan’s work, particularly with The Omnivore’s Dilemma, has profoundly shifted (and continues to shift) many Americans’ relationship with food. And with food justice. Because as his writings spotlighted in The Omnivore’s Dilemma and beyond, the way we grow, choose, and eat our food is profoundly, inextricably linked to human, non-human, and environmental justice across all facets of the system: from loss or growth of soil, to pollution or healing of waterways, to unspeakable animal brutalities or thriving, healthy, animals, to dire climate change or halting carbon pollution. They all hinge on our food. And each is a choice.
Come join us to discuss what’s happened since the book first came out, and how it remains relevant today. We’ll meet to talk about The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (Penguin, 2006) by Michael Pollan Sunday, June 29 from 7-8:30 p.m. Remember to email bookclub@moscowfood.coop for the meeting location and directions and/or to receive email reminders about the Good Food Book Club. GOOD NEWS! A generous donor, who knows the importance of Pollan’s book, bestowed us with free copies of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Please email bookclub@moscowfood.coop to reserve your copy. Limited copies available: first come, first served. The Omnivore’s Dilemma is also available through your local library. If you need to buy the book, check out the area’s local used bookstores or visit Book People of Moscow where Book Club members receive a discount. For more information about the Good Food Book Club, check out the Community section of the Co-op website at www.moscowfood.coop.