In a comment (not a new post), respond to one of the three questions below. Include the number of the question to which you're responding. Then, comment on at least one other classmate's post.
1. Pollen contends that everyone who eats meat should hunt it and prepare it to learn where it comes from. Do you agree or disagree with this perspective? How would hunting improve our understanding or appreciation of the meat we eat? What are the challenges in accomplishing this goal? How can we better connect to the food we eat without physically hunting?
2. Pollen suggests that the truest connection to our hunter/gatherer roots is found in barbecue cooking. Does your family barbecue? What are some important traditions around BBQ in your family? Have you ever been part of the whole process of slaughtering, cooking (over a fire/pit) and eating the food fresh off the spit? How does it make you feel?
3. The Martu people of Australia were forcibly removed from their land and introduce to "Western" influences. Only recently have they had the opportunity to return their ancestral lands. Pollen describes how many pre-diabetic individuals were prescribed a return to their traditional diet and within 6 weeks they had improved health (weight loss, cardiovascular improvement). Have you or a family member ever made changes to your diet (eg. eliminating processed sugar, etc) that have made immediate improvements? What are some of the challenges to maintaining this type of "non-Western" diet? What are some of the advantages?
4. Pollen states "Most sustainable agriculture involves plants and animals...If the whole world were to go vegetarian, I don't think it would be a good thing." What are some of the reasons that he makes that assertion? What are some of the benefits of being vegetarian? What are some of the benefits of eating meat? Are you a vegetarian, meat-eater, vegan, pescatarian, etc and why have you made that choice?
For question number one, i completely agree with this. If you eat meat you should go hunting at least once because it helps make you realize how grateful we are for these great meals provided by restaurants. Today everyone is completely unaware of how difficult good food is to come by because everything is done for us, hunting would open our eyes to how things used to be and would help us appreciate good food.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with question one because people may not enjoy how unsanitary it is to hunt, or the sight of a dead animal. Hunting would improve our understanding and appreciation of the meat that we eat because it would be us doing the dirty work instead of others. It would also give us the satisfaction of completing a goal, which people enjoy. The challenges in accomplishing this goal is all the techniques in hunting, skinning the animal and all of the other events that occur before we eat the meat. We can better connect with the food we eat without hunting by visiting farms.
ReplyDeleteFor question one I do agree with how hunting and cooking your meals gives you a better appreciation for the food. I feel like people today do not really appreciate food, especially livestock. People will never appreciate food to their fullest extent, until they realize where the food came from. Thats why I think that people would appreciate food more if they realized where the food came from.
ReplyDeleteYour focus on how people do not understand food enough to a point where it diminishes the importance of it is truly touching. In order to respect our surrounds, we have to learn them.
Delete1. I disagree with Pollens idea that meat eating people should go hunt and prepare food for themselves to experience the full effect of where the food comes from. I think that this wouldn't be beneficial because chances are the meat that we eat is from farms and not wild animals like the ones we'd be hunting. It would be easier and more realistic to take a meat eating person to a farm which mass produces meat to fully understand where the meat we are eating truly comes from.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the statement made in the first question. It's easy to forget that you are eating a dead animal when it is disguised by a deep-fried breading. To be able to justify eating meat, one has to be able to justify killing an animal, which is not possible to do without witnessing what that really entails. One cannot say that they support eating meat when the only meat they have ever had any experience with has already been butchered and cooked for them. Obviously, not everyone can physically go hunting because of accessibility, but one can accomplish the same understanding that comes with this experience by informing themselves on where their meat comes from.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with this statement. It is indeed easy to forget where your food comes from, as we are so accustomed to solely seeing the final result of cooking. Therefore, it is very important for everyone to experience the preparation of food to truly appreciate it.
DeleteI agree with Michael Pollens statement that everyone should go hunting once and learn to prepare it. Experiencing the process of hunting to the specifics of butchering makes you incredibly appreciative of the easy access we have to meat and to the animal itself. Hunting can also help shed light on the benefits and advantages of fresher caught meat than the factory run slaughterhouses taking over. If you know/understand the process by reading/learning/watchign and not physically taking part in hunting you can still get a sense of understanding to the whole process.
ReplyDelete1. I agree with his perspective that we should hunt one day in our lives so that we appreciate where our food comes from. This would make us have more respect for the food on our plate and the story behind how it got there. Some challenges would be coping with the fact that you just ended some innocent creatures life to benefit yourself. To connect more with the food we eat, we could visit farms where they raise the animals to see how they live and make sure they're happy in the end.
ReplyDelete2. My family does barbecue. We don't have traditions but usually the men cook the meat and the women prepare the sides. I have never been a part of the entire process of where the food came from, but I feel as though if I did I would feel very primal.
3. I cut out processed sugar at the start of the year after gaining weight over the summer and I immediately lost 15 pounds over the course of 2 weeks. The biggest problem was saying no to all of the good looking desserts.
4. Most animals would quickly reach over population and would eat too many plants and everything would throw the world out of balance as less animals are controlling the population of the animals
1. I mostly agree with Pollen's statement that all meat eaters should go hunting once in their life. However, I more agree with the idea that we should learn where our food comes from. I think we, as a society, tend to neglect the true origin of our food and simply eat it how it is served. I feel as if we should understand where our food comes from in order to have a greater appreciation for it. I don't know if hunting is necessarily the best way to experience our food, but is still a beneficial part of how we get our food. Instead of hunting, I think finding locally-sourced food from farms nearby that humanely raise their animals would be more reasonable for most people to try.
ReplyDeleteWow! Your solution to better connect to the food we eat, without physically hunting, is well-thought-out, especially in regard to the more humane aspect! I too primarily agree with Pollan's statement, for society does indeed have a tendency to neglect the true origin of our food, and we must find a way to acknowledge it.
Delete2. Pollan’s suggestion that the truest connection to our hunter/gatherer roots is found in barbecue cooking is derived from his first theory that cooking is comprised of the four main elements: fire, water, air, and earth. His, along with others', intuitive thought that civilization began with fire, as it is the median between the cosmos and animals, illustrates cooking's primal origin, and thus, its subsequent transformation into the modern tradition of a family barbecue. Frequently, especially in the summertime, my family barbecues; the gathering of family and friends and the combination of the multitude of delicious foods is a tradition that I cherish! However, I have not ever been part of the slaughtering process of the animal.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of your points and believe that barbecue is important to families and our traditions.
Delete1. I agree with Pollan's statement in that everyone who eats meat should experience the process through which it is prepared. Michael Pollan emphasizes the importance of understanding the roots of cooking. He states that cooking distinguishes humans from other species. Furthermore, fire and the use of it is the mark of human civilization. Fire brings people together and creates communities. It is the thread that connects the people of a certain society. Like the people of Western Australia, families and communities frequently gather to prepare and share meals. Therefore, it is important that everyone understands this fact and experiences it for themselves, whether it is through hunting, gathering, preparing food, etc. If one cooks at least one dish oneself, one will come to appreciate the art of cooking.
ReplyDeleteI thought your point about understanding the roots of our cooking was very relatable to the video. I also liked how you included how humans are different than all other species. I agree with your statement that food and fire bring communities and civilizations together. Overall a very cohesive response!
DeleteI am a meat-eater. I believe he makes this assertion, for the reliance of meat in our agriculture is too strong to break without serious consequences. Meat has not only become a commodity in todays world, but it gives valuable nutrients and scientifically proven benefits to members who easily enjoy and thrive to eat more of. Not only are there physical attributes to being a carnivore, however the spiritual connection to many groups of people is part of who they are. Some of the benefits of being vegetarian, however; plants have been linked to lowering the risk of cardiovascular risk factors. Also, it has been proven that people who eat more meat have a greater risk of type 2 Diabetes. On the other side, meat contains protein, B vitamins, E, zinc, iron, and magnesium.
ReplyDeleteFrom the first sparks of fire to the step next to the galaxy, this is civilization, human civilization. It's the milestone that curved the steps we took to this day, it's the almighty miracle that worth to celebrate beyond nations and races, across the limit of boundaries. Technologies changed the way we lived, we are improving step by step every day. That's why we are human, that's why we are able to stand on the top of the food chain, that's why we are the "rulers" of
ReplyDeletethe nature. Heading back to the days we hunt might be fun and entertaining for like maybe a day? But we are far adapted to the life we have now, it's impossible to go back and our civilization won't allow us to go back. We can only go forward to adapt, innovate and advance.
My family and I enjoy barbecuing and sharing it with close friends and family. We enjoy sharing stories and traditions with one another, as well as different barbecuing methods. I have never been apart of the full process but My family always goes to the same butcher and have enjoyed making friends with them. I enjoy the memories that my family and friends make while barbecuing.
ReplyDelete1. While I do agree that every that every person should hunt their food at some point in order to understand he true process of how it truly gets to their plate, it is impractical that all people would have the opportunity to do this. By hunting the meat you would eat later, you would have a greater appreciation for the food because you would have the understanding that you had killed what you are eating as well as a better understanding of the process of bringing food to a plate as opposed to having food prepared for you without the slightest bit of thought to how it was prepared. It would be challenging to hunt your own food as it is not always successful. We could better appreciate food without fu ting but reflecting on the potential process of how to the food was made.
ReplyDelete2. My family does not barbecue nor do we have traditions around it, but is good stuff. I truly appreciate the smokey yet sweet flavor of ribs.
3. My family has never made changes to our diets, as we have always tried to eat healthy.
4. He probably makes this assertion because it seems to be the natural order of things. If there was no top predator there would be no threat to animals like rural cows and pigs and almost all animals on farms. (as in animals within a farm, not that animals typically associated with farms in the wild would not have predators) I think there is really no advantage to being a meat eater or vegetarian, but that it is a choice of which both are equally beneficial to the human person. I choose to be a meat eater because I always have been and never really thought about why, but I suppose its because I feel as though it is the natural order of the ecosystem, that we are naturally the top predator.