The Omnivore’s Dilemma (2006) by Michael Pollan attracted wide attention as one in a series of his popular books focusing on food and the environment. Fascinated by the American “national eating disorder,” Pollan delves into the observation that, although increasingly preoccupied with being thin and fit, many Americans struggle with a healthy diet. His approach dissects what (agricultural/gathering aspect) and how (cultural aspect) we eat in a series of stories, The narrative is heavily spiced with surprising facts that easily engage the reader with his lively style and numerous references to familiar popular experiences. Like in his other works, the main message is embodied in the premise that eating what is “natural” and “within a particular cultural tradition” provides the best way to obtain nutrition. In this book, the author meticulously follows four different meals from their origin to the table. Not surprisingly, he strongly condemns modern industrially produced food in favor of organic and self-acquired (hunter-gatherer) alternatives on this journey. However, such strong views invite some critics to point out that he uses some facts selectively in order to make a particular point.

The chosen chapter (with the same title as the book itself) goes beyond the basic theme of the book and, with some interesting references to thinkers from the past, proposes that the fact that humans are omnivorous shaped our very nature. An omnivore has to develop a variety of strategies to survive in the world where new foods could be poisonous. A creature that is a food specialist has no need for such adaptations. In order to survive, our ancestors had to adapt to a variety of environmental conditions. This, particularly as related to foods, facilitated the development of the human brain in a way that supported our creative, searching, innovative nature. For example, figuring out how to be able to eat a number of foods that are poisonous when raw (such as potatoes or cassava) required developing a whole new technology. Thus, our omnivorous nature is partly to credit (or blame) for some of our human-specific faculties. The author points out, however, that the pace of technological innovations, particularly in agriculture, has been pushed beyond the adaptive capacities of people and may have therefore become perilous to our well-being.