The Omnivore's Dilemma Summary
Insight: Corn When I was asked to search my kitchen and the supermarket I expected to see some healthy food, some non-healthy food, and a variety of different ingredients that were used in each product, but what I came to find was a shock to me. To my surprise, I found a common ingredient in most of my food, corn. It shocked me because of all the negative facts, experiences, and examples given in Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivores Dilemma. Never would I have ever thought I consumed as much corn as I realized I do. After reading the book, it has brought to my attention how bad corn related ingredients really effects what we consume in a more or less negative way. I started my search in my kitchen where I noticed that my family consumes
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a great amount of corn. Before I started my search, I sat down and thought about what kinds of food my family eats. My guess was that my family consumed less corn than we actually do. As I began my search looking in the refrigerator, I first picked up Heinz Ketchup, then some pudding, and my favorite brand of strawberry jelly, Smuckers to be specific. Surprisingly, they were all loaded with corn syrup, or a corn like ingredient. As I took these products out of the fridge, I without a doubt in my mind didn’t think that I would randomly choose three things out of my fridge and they would all have high levels of corn derivatives. I thought it was too good to be true, so I then decided to find items that were in the back of my fridge, like guacamole, milk, and mustard. What was no longer surprising, but expected, there was a good amount of corn derivative in these products as well. Through the process I learned that almost everything in my fridge had a certain amount of corn derivatives in it.
Now that I understand that my family consumes a great amount of corn like ingredients, I decided to expand my search. I started by exploring a local market place around my house, Palace Food Depot. At the market I decided to mainly explore junk food and drinks. As I made my way through the isles, I picked up my favorite drink and favorite bag of chips to buy first. After purchasing them, I enjoyed them before checking the nutrition labels so I didn’t feel so bad, because I now expected a corn like ingredient to be in everything I consume after my experience inside of my fridge. Of course, the Cheddar Cheese Lays chips had lots of corn derivatives, but shockingly, the bottle of water didn’t have a hint of corn ingredients. Pollan, in Part 1 stated, “Since the 1980’s almost all sodas and most of the fruit drinks sold in the supermarket are sweetened with something called high fructose corn syrup” (Pollan 11). This totally surprised me because I would think that sodas or fruit flavored drinks would be made up more of sugars or a sweetener like Splenda. One thing that didn’t surprise me was the fact that since corn syrup is fattening, it was in almost all products I explored that contained high amounts of sugar as well.
No matter what your age is you always hear, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, but what I came to realize was that a lot of what I eat in the mornings contained a large amount of high fructose corn syrup or corn derivatives. What I found in my kitchen that had corn in it or some sort of corn ingredient is usually what every American consumes on a daily basis. Most people have in their mind that breakfast is very healthy for you but what I didn’t know was what I consumed as breakfast also contained large amounts of high fructose corn syrup. For example many Americans eat cereal for breakfast with some toast and maybe some fruit or yogurt well guess what, all of that contains corn like ingredients and that’s supposed to be a healthy breakfast. Corn like ingredients is used in a lot of products that people consume in their everyday lives. There can be ways to substitute the corn intake per day per person, but it will take work. Pollan states, “There are some forty-five thousand items in the average American supermarket and more than a quarter of them now contain corn” (Pollan 11). Taking the time and effort to actually go through the supermarket and actually read the nutrition labels and buy the products that contain little to no corn syrup would be a process. The dedication and time of a person who truly cares about their intake of corn ingredients will succeed in substituting healthier products.
In doing this research it has affected my life on many different levels. First off, I never really used to pay attention to the ingredients in the food I consumed and I didn’t mind it, but now everything that I eat I find myself reading the ingredients before I buy it. Even if I wasn’t the person who bought it, before eating it, I check the label. In Reading The Omnivores Dilemma my eyes really opened to the endless amounts of different corn ingredients that we intake on a daily basis. Its changed my eating habits for the better. I now cut back on stuff like junk food and definitely soda. I eat smaller portions, which also benefits my weight and my athletic performance because I eat healthier now which makes me happy. Overall, this book has impacted my life because it has opened my eyes to much newer and healthier options other than fast food and soda, and now it can be water with a Jiff peanut butter sandwich, which is by far better choice. Not only did it affect my life, but also my family, teammates, and friends who are now aware of what kind of food they are consuming and the high amount of corn like ingredients they intake on a daily basis.
In making the decision to eat healthy by the information I read from The Omnivores Dilemma it wasn’t just the fact that corn is in our food, it’s the meat and how corn is in their body. Its mainly because of what I read about beef and how the cows are forced to eat corn because it makes the process much quicker rather than being patient and feeding them food their body can take. It sickens me every time I see a friend eating fast food or meat period, imagine how different our country would be, not just that but our world.
In addition to knowing what it does to the animals I also learned what the effects are by consuming high amounts of corn can be for humans as well. Diabetes, obesity rate, heart problems, and liver problems can all end in death and those are all can become problem because of corn. So just to think that you’re eating your life away is pretty sad. Now that I am informed with this new information I have strongly thought about becoming a vegetarian because of what could happen to you if you don’t stop. If Americans knew about the bad effects in consuming high levels of corn it can save lives along with changing them. Who knows what positive it could do to our society let alone our world if this information was shared among everyone not just the ones who want to listen.
A healthier way for humans and animals to consume food would be to go the organic way.
I gained different knowledge about organic food along with the benefits of it. Non-organic food contain pesticides and plenty of food additives. 100% Organic is made with none of that it’s made all naturally so for example its made with no food supplements and no pesticides. In the food and recipes feature stories section John Reganold, a professor of soil science at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, states, "If you 're talking about pesticides, the evidence is pretty conclusive. Your chances of getting pesticide residues are much less with organic food.” For example in a regular industrial farm where they plant crops they use pesticides along with food supplements for it to grow faster and for it to taste better. Now in organic farming where they grow crops or raise animals there are no pesticides or food supplements used in to make them grow faster, it was …show more content…
natural.
In conclusion, after reading the first part in The Omnivores Dilemma and exploring my kitchen and local supermarket I now have the knowledge I never once had or would ever think I would care to have.
I never once thought corn was such a common ingredient in most products. I now notice myself checking the labels and fascinating people with the insight I now have on how bad corn can truly affect one person’s lifestyle. Because of my knowledge on corn, it now affects my everyday life. I made a deal within myself to try and stay away from products that contain high level of corn ingredients. I feel like if everyone had what little knowledge I have on corn like ingredients more people’s lifestyles would be healthier. People should really consider looking into the benefits of organic farming instead of industrial farming and I think we would have a much better healthier life. There would be less diabetes and heart diseases, a common factor of our lives today. I have made it a habit to inform people around me about how corn syrup ingredients are the ingredients you want to stay away from; I remind them every time I see them eating meat or something as little as reading a magazine, hoping that it will be a domino effect that will teach them and impact other peoples lives as much as it did
mine.
Work Cited
"5 Sources of High-Fructose Corn Syrup in Your Diet." / Nutrition / Healthy Eating. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
Fucarino, Chiara. "7 Alarming Reasons to Avoid High-Fructose Corn Syrup." Lifed 7 Alarming Reasons to Avoid HighFructose Corn Syrup Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
Hyman, MD Mark. "Why You Should Never Eat High Fructose Corn Syrup." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
"List of Products with No High-Fructose Corn Syrup." The No HighFructose
Corn Syrup List. N.p., 15 Mar. 2008. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
a great amount of corn. Before I started my search, I sat down and thought about what kinds of food my family eats. My guess was that my family consumed less corn than we actually do. As I began my search looking in the refrigerator, I first picked up Heinz Ketchup, then some pudding, and my favorite brand of strawberry jelly, Smuckers to be specific. Surprisingly, they were all loaded with corn syrup, or a corn like ingredient. As I took these products out of the fridge, I without a doubt in my mind didn’t think that I would randomly choose three things out of my fridge and they would all have high levels of corn derivatives. I thought it was too good to be true, so I then decided to find items that were in the back of my fridge, like guacamole, milk, and mustard. What was no longer surprising, but expected, there was a good amount of corn derivative in these products as well. Through the process I learned that almost everything in my fridge had a certain amount of corn derivatives in it.
Now that I understand that my family consumes a great amount of corn like ingredients, I decided to expand my search. I started by exploring a local market place around my house, Palace Food Depot. At the market I decided to mainly explore junk food and drinks. As I made my way through the isles, I picked up my favorite drink and favorite bag of chips to buy first. After purchasing them, I enjoyed them before checking the nutrition labels so I didn’t feel so bad, because I now expected a corn like ingredient to be in everything I consume after my experience inside of my fridge. Of course, the Cheddar Cheese Lays chips had lots of corn derivatives, but shockingly, the bottle of water didn’t have a hint of corn ingredients. Pollan, in Part 1 stated, “Since the 1980’s almost all sodas and most of the fruit drinks sold in the supermarket are sweetened with something called high fructose corn syrup” (Pollan 11). This totally surprised me because I would think that sodas or fruit flavored drinks would be made up more of sugars or a sweetener like Splenda. One thing that didn’t surprise me was the fact that since corn syrup is fattening, it was in almost all products I explored that contained high amounts of sugar as well.
No matter what your age is you always hear, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, but what I came to realize was that a lot of what I eat in the mornings contained a large amount of high fructose corn syrup or corn derivatives. What I found in my kitchen that had corn in it or some sort of corn ingredient is usually what every American consumes on a daily basis. Most people have in their mind that breakfast is very healthy for you but what I didn’t know was what I consumed as breakfast also contained large amounts of high fructose corn syrup. For example many Americans eat cereal for breakfast with some toast and maybe some fruit or yogurt well guess what, all of that contains corn like ingredients and that’s supposed to be a healthy breakfast. Corn like ingredients is used in a lot of products that people consume in their everyday lives. There can be ways to substitute the corn intake per day per person, but it will take work. Pollan states, “There are some forty-five thousand items in the average American supermarket and more than a quarter of them now contain corn” (Pollan 11). Taking the time and effort to actually go through the supermarket and actually read the nutrition labels and buy the products that contain little to no corn syrup would be a process. The dedication and time of a person who truly cares about their intake of corn ingredients will succeed in substituting healthier products.
In doing this research it has affected my life on many different levels. First off, I never really used to pay attention to the ingredients in the food I consumed and I didn’t mind it, but now everything that I eat I find myself reading the ingredients before I buy it. Even if I wasn’t the person who bought it, before eating it, I check the label. In Reading The Omnivores Dilemma my eyes really opened to the endless amounts of different corn ingredients that we intake on a daily basis. Its changed my eating habits for the better. I now cut back on stuff like junk food and definitely soda. I eat smaller portions, which also benefits my weight and my athletic performance because I eat healthier now which makes me happy. Overall, this book has impacted my life because it has opened my eyes to much newer and healthier options other than fast food and soda, and now it can be water with a Jiff peanut butter sandwich, which is by far better choice. Not only did it affect my life, but also my family, teammates, and friends who are now aware of what kind of food they are consuming and the high amount of corn like ingredients they intake on a daily basis.
In making the decision to eat healthy by the information I read from The Omnivores Dilemma it wasn’t just the fact that corn is in our food, it’s the meat and how corn is in their body. Its mainly because of what I read about beef and how the cows are forced to eat corn because it makes the process much quicker rather than being patient and feeding them food their body can take. It sickens me every time I see a friend eating fast food or meat period, imagine how different our country would be, not just that but our world.
In addition to knowing what it does to the animals I also learned what the effects are by consuming high amounts of corn can be for humans as well. Diabetes, obesity rate, heart problems, and liver problems can all end in death and those are all can become problem because of corn. So just to think that you’re eating your life away is pretty sad. Now that I am informed with this new information I have strongly thought about becoming a vegetarian because of what could happen to you if you don’t stop. If Americans knew about the bad effects in consuming high levels of corn it can save lives along with changing them. Who knows what positive it could do to our society let alone our world if this information was shared among everyone not just the ones who want to listen.
A healthier way for humans and animals to consume food would be to go the organic way.
I gained different knowledge about organic food along with the benefits of it. Non-organic food contain pesticides and plenty of food additives. 100% Organic is made with none of that it’s made all naturally so for example its made with no food supplements and no pesticides. In the food and recipes feature stories section John Reganold, a professor of soil science at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, states, "If you 're talking about pesticides, the evidence is pretty conclusive. Your chances of getting pesticide residues are much less with organic food.” For example in a regular industrial farm where they plant crops they use pesticides along with food supplements for it to grow faster and for it to taste better. Now in organic farming where they grow crops or raise animals there are no pesticides or food supplements used in to make them grow faster, it was …show more content…
natural.
In conclusion, after reading the first part in The Omnivores Dilemma and exploring my kitchen and local supermarket I now have the knowledge I never once had or would ever think I would care to have.
I never once thought corn was such a common ingredient in most products. I now notice myself checking the labels and fascinating people with the insight I now have on how bad corn can truly affect one person’s lifestyle. Because of my knowledge on corn, it now affects my everyday life. I made a deal within myself to try and stay away from products that contain high level of corn ingredients. I feel like if everyone had what little knowledge I have on corn like ingredients more people’s lifestyles would be healthier. People should really consider looking into the benefits of organic farming instead of industrial farming and I think we would have a much better healthier life. There would be less diabetes and heart diseases, a common factor of our lives today. I have made it a habit to inform people around me about how corn syrup ingredients are the ingredients you want to stay away from; I remind them every time I see them eating meat or something as little as reading a magazine, hoping that it will be a domino effect that will teach them and impact other peoples lives as much as it did
mine.
Work Cited
"5 Sources of High-Fructose Corn Syrup in Your Diet." / Nutrition / Healthy Eating. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
Fucarino, Chiara. "7 Alarming Reasons to Avoid High-Fructose Corn Syrup." Lifed 7 Alarming Reasons to Avoid HighFructose Corn Syrup Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
Hyman, MD Mark. "Why You Should Never Eat High Fructose Corn Syrup." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
"List of Products with No High-Fructose Corn Syrup." The No HighFructose
Corn Syrup List. N.p., 15 Mar. 2008. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.