Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma talks about how hard it can be to decide what to eat when there are so many options. While humans can eat almost anything, not everything is good or right to eat. This is why cultural food traditions developed—to guide people in making these choices. However, many of these traditions are not followed as strictly anymore, and people often eat whatever they want, whenever they want.
8. Pollan believes that vegetarianism has become more popular recently because more people are questioning traditional meat-eating practices. He explains that the cultural rules and rituals that once made eating meat easier to accept have fallen apart.
9. Pollan also uses the phrase “schizoid quality” to describe how people can love and care for pets like cats and dogs but ignore the lives of animals like pigs and cows. He says this happens because farm animals are kept out of sight, making it easier to tolerate the contradiction.
10. In John Berger’s essay, Pollan highlights the idea that people are losing their connection with animals. This disconnect makes it easier for people to ignore animals’ feelings. When people used to see animals up close, like looking them in the eye, it reminded them that animals, while different, share familiar emotions like pain, fear, and courage.
