Michael Pollan, _The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals_

After languishing three weeks on the Hawaii State Public Library request list, I finally obtained a copy of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals It was well worth the wait, as this is an excellent read: easily the most provocative, well-written book I've read in a long spell: informative, investigative journalism, written with panache and wit. The four meals referenced in the title represent four different pathways by which food reaches our tables: industrial-conventional, industrial organic, small-scale farming, and the old-fashioned hunter-gatherer foraging method. I savored every page, from Pollan's wry detailing of his family's McDonalds meal, consumed in typical American-millenial style--in the car, to his experience decapitating chickens, to his stalking of chanterelle mushrooms in the urban environs of Berkeley. Pollan helps us traverse the complex minefield of modern food by asking thoughtful, critical questions about what we choose to consume and the costs of those choices.

Those desiring to read even more of Michael Pollan's work can find a wonderful cache of on-line essays at http://www.michaelpollan.com/.