I recently finished Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Since then, I have completely changed the way I view the food system here in the U.S.
This book basically traces different meals available to Americans, from the most basic ingredients to our table.
The first section, Industrial Corn, goes into detail (maybe more than I wanted to know) about how much corn is a part of our diet today. The whole industrial food system is forcing corn derivatives into everything we eat, changing a cow’s diet, etc. Government policies have basically turned farming into “MAKING MEAT AT THE FEEDLOT”. Think for a second about the cow’s that we eat…they could not survive without all the hormones and antibiotics that they are pumped with. By themselves they are just not healthy enough to survive. Think about that next time…you are eating something that is not healthy enough to survive on its own.
Besides exposing more unpleasant and unsavory things about our modern food system, Pollard makes a great case for eating locally, whether or not that means organic. Eating locally allows you to know exactly where your food came from, what went into making it, etc. Being closer to the food you choose to put into your body can only be a positive thing.
There have only been two times in my life when I’ve thought about becoming a vegetarian. The first was after watching a video on mad cow disease (absolutely awful), and the second was after reading this book. And as most of you don’t know me, I’ll just tell you that I used to be the biggest carnivore in the world. My diet consisted mostly of carbs and proteins, and not much else. Now I am making an active effort to eat less in general, and to eat more fruits and vegetables obtained locally. There are several farmers markets where I live, and I try to buy most of my fresh food from there. I can talk to the farmers and meet them face to face. In my opinion the slightly higher cost (sometimes it is actually the same or cheaper), is definitely worth being able to follow my food from its beginning to my plate.
I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the food system, or just eating healthier in general. It really did change the way I look at what I am putting in my body.
Joe Book Review Omnivores Dilemma
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Part One: Paradigms and Principles
Inside/Out
The first chapter of this book focuses on perception and how it affects our understanding. Covey writes that our perception is filtered through idiosyncratic lenses. These lenses are conditioned by our experiences. If we’ve been raised to value sporting success, we will be dissappointed if our child is not good at sports. We will subconsciously patronize him and make him feel inferior. If that child has good musical talent, we may be unable to see it because our “lens” is not focused on that area. Covey says we must adjust our lens in order to understand other ideas. In order to do this, we must become aware of our lens. It is kind of like curing alcoholism. The first step in recovery is becoming aware that you’re an alcoholic.
Once we become aware of our conditioned perceptions, we can change our paradigm. A paradigm is a type of map we impose on the world we experience. For instance, we all have different paradigms of attractive women or men. You can say beauty is in the paradigm of the beholder. Covey cites the historical paradigm shift sparked by Copernicus. Before Copernicus, the human race imagined the universe centered around the earth. After Copernicus, our paradigm, or map, of the universe shifted. From then on, all areas of science used the new map (paradigm) to analyze physical phenomena. Covey calls these paradigm shifts “aha” moments. These are moments when we adjust our lens in order to understand the truth more fully. These “aha” moments happen all the time. When we experience the loss of a loved one, we suddenly realize the fragility of life and more fully understand our mortality. Our lens is adjusted.
A lot of our problems are caused by blaming outside factors. “I’m upset because I can’t teach my son to hit a baseball.” Covey says we should look within (or at our lens) to locate the real problem. We aren’t upset because our son can’t hit a baseball. We’re upset because we value sporting excellence so greatly. If we realized this, we would be able to accept that fact and move on a lot more quickly to what our son is good at. We must look at our value system (lens) every time we become upset. Ask yourself why you’re upset. The answer should be your value system. Our value system changes with experience. It changes quicker if we become aware that it is the cause of our frustrations.
Here’s a quote by Cecil B. deMille that Covey uses that illuminates this chapter:
“It is impossible for us to break the law. We can only break ourselves against the law.”
The truth is out there and we must change our perception in order to see it. Changing others won’t help us get closer to reality, changing ourselves will.
Joe Book Review The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
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