Michael Pollan argues that this topic is potentially old or modern. In pre-modern societies, people were much more aware of the sources of their food, whether it came from farming, hunting, or collecting, and their diet was much influenced by the time of year and the location. However, a lot of that expertise and connection to food production is lost in the modern world of industrial agriculture and the global food system.
8. According to Pollan, the moral hazards of mass meat production become more troubling as food production becomes more industrialized and documented, particularly in factory farming. This is especially true since food systems are becoming less connected to nature and animals and are instead being seen as products. since a result, people are increasingly less satisfied with the conditions under which animals are fed and killed, making vegetarian and acceptable diets more appealing. Pollan states “For the most part, our culture has been telling us for millennia that animals were both good to eat and good to think” (pg. 3).
9. The culture criticized actions like dog fighting and cruel treatment of pets that were still practiced or had not yet been invented. He points out that this is the reason why so many people find the thought of hurting animals which are seen as living beings or, on a more personal level, as unique personalities horrible (dogs, cats, even farm animals). On the other hand, the majority of people are always eager to consume meat from industrial farms, where animals are frequently imprisoned, given poor living conditions, and brutally killed. As Pollan states “The disappearance of animals from our lives has opened a space in which there’s no reality check on the sentiment or the brutality” (pg. 4).
10. Berger’s focus on this realization is helpful to Pollan’s exploration of the industrial food system. According to Pollan, one of the main causes of the cultural gap between humans and animals is the animals’ lack of visibility in industrial agriculture. It is simpler to overlook the ethical and environmental costs associated with food production the further people are from the reality. When animals are kept hidden away in factory farms where the public cannot see them, the suffering that comes with consuming meat is much less apparent and much less upsetting. Pollan states that “Vivid daily reminder that animals were both crucially like and unlike us; in their eyes we glimpsed something unmistakably familiar (pain, fear, courage)” (pg. 4).
