Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

Michael Pollan came to town as part of our libraries' "Author! Author!" series this spring, and our book group also decided to read this book. Pollan was funny and fascinating. The book is both sickening and encouraging. Pollan traces some of the foods we commonly eat to their sources and follows them until they reach our table--at least when he was not prevented from actually viewing some steps in the process as happens with most of our meat production. His is a very scientific as well as subjective approach; he provides facts and figures, but also spends a lot of time ruminating about the title. We are capable of eating anything, so how do we go about choosing the best things for us to eat?
Probably the most horrifying aspect of the book was his expose of the industrial ramp-up of corn production, which has led to countless problems with the environment, our food chain, and ultimately our health.  He also talks about the industrialization of the "organic" food trend, which basically uses the same environmentally unsustainable farming practices, minus the poison of chemical fertilizers and insecticides. On the bright side he describes some small efforts of farmers to hew back to nature in how they produce food, using the animals themselves to keep a healthy balance. He spends a week at Polyface Farms, which is incredibly inspiring. I went right out and joined our local farmers' cooperative.
His statistics about the nutritional value of corn-finished beef will make you realize we are basically killing ourselves with this kind of food production & consumption. If you must eat beef, eat only grass-fed and finished animals. Start looking for and avoiding the ubiquitous addition of high fructose corn syrup in processed foods you buy. Read this book and change the way you think about your food forever.