Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

For as long as I can remember, I have seen a copy of Silent Spring on my parent's bookshelf. Sam and I sort of use their house as a long-distance, long-term library, and during our most recent mass book collection, Silent Spring ended up in the pile.
Silent Spring was written by Rachel Carson, an established natural history writer, and published in 1962. It is widely credited with starting what we now think of as the environmental movement in the U.S. Her book also helped in the banning of dangerous agricultural chemicals, which she documented were causing negative effects on the natural world. It is listed in the top ten (#5) best non-fiction books by the Modern Library.
As you know, we live in Portland, a city that seems to be deeply caught up in the "green" movement right now. There are tons of farmer's markets, Prius', ecological NGOs, and pricey organic grocery stores. While I am fully in support of the premise in which environmentalism is based on, as of late I feel like being "green" has become a trendy, elitist status symbol. I chose to read Silent Spring, not only because it is considered a nonfiction classic, but also because I thought it might be interesting to get back to the roots of a current national craze.

Change of Schedule

Hi Friends,
Due to some technical difficulties, we will have an adjustment in the book club reading schedule. We are going to be bumping up the March book to February (Silent Spring by Rachel Carson), and moving a few other things around (Loren, can you host in March?). Please refer to the sidebar for all of the exact schedule changes. I really, really hope this doesn't mess anyone up. I will be posting more info on Silent Spring as soon as possible, hopefully in the next day or so.
Gracias,
Blair

Intro to discussing "The Omnivore's Dilemma"

Well, it doesn't appear (as yet) that this is the chattiest book club so I thought I'd lend my two cents before posting my questions. Right now I'm in graduate school and two of my classes have been online. One of the course requirements is to participate in a discussion board with the stipulations that you must give one primary response to each question and 2 secondary responses to other people's postings. It makes for a really lively and interactive learning experience. So I guess I'm suggesting that we all try to respond to all of the questions, then respond to everyone else’s postings so we get a dialogue that resembles a discussion we might have if we weren't communicating electronically. I know we all joined the book club because we like to read, and discuss the books we are reading...

And on to the questions! I hope you all enjoyed the book, I tried to limit my discussion questions but found it hard to do so...

Question 1

Having read the book, how would you define "the omnivores dilemma?" and do you consider yourself as an omnivore with a dilemma? Why/why not?

Question 2

Pollan starts and ends the book discussing America's lack of a single culinary tradition (see pages 5, 296-303). What do you think are the dangers of living in a society without a single culinary tradition? He names several... Are there any benefits?

Question 3

Unfortunately, we as humans have an "elastic appetite" with a capacity to eat well beyond what our bodies actually require to sustain life -- so "when food is abundant and cheap, people will eat more of it and get fat." p. 102 Do you buy into the conspiracy theory that our government is intentionally making its nation sick? After all "we subsidize high-fructose corn syrup...but not carrots...guaranteeing that the cheapest calories in the supermarket will continue to be the unhealthiest." p. 108

What are some other explanations for a food environment that supports “industrial eating?”

Question 4

During the chapters on industrial organic, we learned some background information on what “free range chicken” actually means and the consequences of producing organic lettuce on a national scale. What’s your take on mass-produced organic food? Is it any better than conventionally produced non-organic food? (It certainly is more expensive!) And if it is better… ‘better for what?’

Question 5

What are the pros and cons of eating locally? Pollan states that “for local food chains to succeed, people will have to relearn what it means to eat according to the seasons.” We have become “accustomed to a year-round supply of fresh meats, many of which we forget were once eaten as seasonally as tomatoes or sweet corn…” p. 253

How feasible would it be for you to eat seasonally? This ties in really nicely to D&C 89. Any thoughts?

Question 6

Throughout the book, Pollan makes a case for the importance of knowing where your food comes from (i.e. become a vegetarian, remain in a state of ignorance of how our meat is slaughtered, or take a hard look at how your food is produced- then make a decision as to whether or not you can in good conscious eat it.) The premise of his mission to hunt and gather his own food is to eat a meal “in full consciousness of what [is] involved.” p. 281. On the flip-side, Pollan claims that “our food system depends on consumers’ not knowing much about it beyond the price disclosed by the checkout scanner.” p.245 Does this make you feel morally compelled to identify where your food is coming from? Do you feel the need to clear your consciousness by knowing “what it is we’re eating. Where it came from. How it found its way to our table. And what, in a true accounting, it really cost.” p. 411

Question 7

Has this book changed the way you eat? According to Pollan, the amount of disposable income Americans spend on food is down to 1/5 suggesting “that there are many of us who could afford to spend more on food if we chose to.” He asks, “Is the unwillingness to pay more for food really a matter of affordability or priority?” p. 243

In the end, is what we put into our bodies as important to us as it should be and should we be more willing to sacrifice to change our food habits?