Dialectical Notebook: Pollan

Summary:

In Pollan's letter, he directs the issue of the food industry towards Obama. Pollan believes that the whole food industry needs to be reconstructed. Pollan says that we should look at food for quality instead of just a way for companies to make money. Pollan then expresses ways in which the industry can be changed.

Synthesis:

When reading this article I immediately thought of the article I just read, "Constructing, Consumables and Consent: A Critical Analysis of Factory Farm Industry Discourse" by Glenn because they both talk about the food industry and its problems.

Response	Quotation
I liked this quote because in one aspect, it is true. Whenever we eat from the industrial food system we technically eating what supplied the making of that food.	“When we eat from the industrial food system, we are eating oil and spewing greenhouse gases” (Pollan 187).
I found this quote interesting because we should realize the possible potential of what could happen if we do not reform the food industry. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.	“In the past several months, more than 30 nations have experienced food riots, and so far one government has fallen” (Pollan 188).
This quote was very insightful, because Pollan gives us a very different view of the industry. This is why we need change in the industry.	“What our food system does well is precisely what it was designed to do, which is to produce cheap calories in great abundance” (Pollan 189).
Pollan shows us that everything we do in the process of farming affects the steps of the food chain.	“What happens in the field influences every other link of the food chain on up to our meals” (Pollan 191).
I thought this was very humorous because it shows that even a simple reform in the white house can be an impact to society.	“The White House should appoint, in addition to a White House chef, a White House farmer” (Pollan 201).

Thoughts: 

I thought this was a very informational article. Pollan argument helped me realize how important the issue is. Many of us don't realize how our food is made and processed, yet we put it into our bodies everyday. This is an issue that everyone should be educated about.