Omnivore - Chapters 14, 15 and 16

Chapter 14 is a summary of the pastoral eating experience. A cavalcade of nutritional differences between industrial and pastorally grow food are presented (the ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is particularly striking). Other than that, this chapter was pretty breezy.

Chapter 15 introduces Pollan's quest to forage/grow is own meal. I don't expect this last section of the book to be as informative, but hopefully its interesting without fetishizing the slow food movement.

Chapter 16 introduces the omnivore's dilemma. Specialized eaters have specialized digestives systems and smaller brains because their appetite is hardwired genetically and thus requires no cognition. The omnivore strategy has chosen a large brain over a specialized gut; as a result, advanced systems of food recognition are required to identity nutritious foods (this also requires more energy requirements to maintain a larger brain). Some things are still hardwired however, like the desire for sweets to obtain enough energy via carbohydrates and the disgust of bitterness to avoid plant defenses. (Interestingly, the word "disgust" has its roots in eating and is the fear of incorporating something into the self)

Cooking introduces the omnivore's dilemma of being able to eat anything; cultural cuisine is the solution that encourages some eating behaviors while putting taboos on others. The practice of eating corn with lime or wasabi with raw fish in Mexican and Japanese cultures either makes the food more nutritious or helps as an antiseptic. Similarly, the taboo against cannibalism goes a long way to make sure culture don't eat everything in sight.

America's national eating disorder comes down to their lack of a national cuisine culture. Immigrants brought their own cuisines and there was little integration and cuisine discourse. As a result, food fads prevail when "scientific" findings are revered over time-tested traditions.