Discussion 7.1: Week 7: The Omnivore’s Dilemma (85-133)
Answer ONE of the following questions that has not been answered by a previous poster, unless they have all been answered once already. It should help you to do the reading assigned before answering these questions. Also post a paragraph response to one of the other postings by your classmates. Make clear which comment you are responding to. You may agree, disagree, ask a question, or try to come up with a transition connecting two of the ideas in different postings. Please post by Thurs. 3/14 at midnight.
Choice 1: Write a brief summary of Chapter one, “The Plant” (you can use the subheadings below to help you). Why does Pollan go into such detail on the biology and history of the corn plant?
Chapter one: The Plant
- A Naturalist in the Supermarket (15-)
- Corn Walking (19-)
- The Rise of Zea Mays (23-)
- Married to Man (26-)
- Corn Sex (28-)
Choice 2: Write a brief summary of chapter two “The Farm,” sections 1-4 (you can use the subheadings below to help you). What are some of the negative impacts of artificial fertilizer?
Chapter two: The Farm
- One Farmer, 129 Eaters (32-)
- Planting the City of Corn (35-)
- Vanishing Species (38-)
- There Goes the Sun (41-)
Choice 3: Write a brief summary of chapter two “The Farm,” sections 5-7 (you can use the subheadings below to help you). What were the effects of Earl Butz’s policy of paying direct subsidies for corn?
Chapter two: The Farm
- A Plague of Cheap Corn (47-)
- The Sage of Purdue (51-)
- The Naylor Curve (53-)
Choice 4: Write a brief summary of chapter three “The Elevator” (57-). How does this chapter fit into Pollan’s larger argument so far?
Choice 5: Write a brief summary of chapter four “The Feedlot” (you can use the subheadings below to help you) (65-). Describe the life of steer number 534.
Chapter 4 The Feedlot
- Cattle Metropolis 65-
- Pastoral :Vale (68-)
- Industrial: Garden City, Kansas (72-)
Choice 6: Write a brief summary of chapter five “The Processing Plant” (you can use the subheadings below to help you). How is corn processed into components? What kinds of foods is it reassembled into? How do companies benefit from doing this? Why is processed food unhealthy?
Choice 7: Write a brief summary of chapter six “The Consumer: A Republic of Fat” (100-). What factors contribute to our obesity problem?
Choice 8: Write a brief summary of chapter seven, “The Meal: Fast Food” (109-). What does Pollan find out in his investigation and participation in the fast food meal?
Choice 9: Write a brief summary of chapter eight “All Flesh is Grass” (123-). We are moving on to a new section, Section Two: Pastoral/Grass. How does Polyface Farm differ from the Industrial/Corn system?