Below you'll find the letter I sent to you on the morning of Thursday, July 21.
This note is to remind you that the second summer session will be held on Tuesday, July 25 (five days from now) at 8 am in room 2207.
Bring your passage responses for The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. (Bring the book too.)
If you will be unable to make it you must email me ahead of time to let me know. Also if you're not going to make the session you must email me your passage responses.
A couple notes that might help you with The Omnivore's Dilemma: For some of you this might be the longest, most sophisticated nonfiction book you've read. That might present certain difficulties. It's also a book that is extremely relevant to food choices that you make (or that are made for you) everyday and how those choices affect the world we live in. To help make the reading and your responses manageable you might think of the books as four mini-books; each mini-book or section leads to a meal.
(1) In the first section Pollan looks at the industrial production of food, focusing on corn and beef. This section ends with a fast food meal consumed in a car.
(2) In the second section Pollan looks at organic food production, focusing particularly on the what has happened when small organic food producers have grown into large, industrial organic food produces. (This is the kind of organic food usually available at Shaw's, Market Basket, and up-the-line at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.) This section ends with an "organic industrial meal" (173).
(3) In the third section Pollan narrates his experiences with small-scale, local, sustainable farming, focusing particularly on Polyface Farm and Joel Salatin. (This is the sort of food available at the Cape Ann Farmers' Market, open Thursdays in the summer and fall at Stage Fort Park from 3 to 6:30.) At the end of this section Pollan shares a meal of (mostly) locally grown and raised food with friends in Virginia.
(4) In the fourth section (which I'm rereading now) Pollan explores the possibilities of gathering and hunting food from our surroundings. This section ends with the meal Pollan calls somewhat in earnest, somewhat in jest "the perfect meal." Check out the menu on page 398.
It would be a good idea to respond to two passages in each section so that you're able to show an understanding of and respond to the argument in each section. Then you'll have two passages do choose as you please. I look forward to talking with you about food -- and why where it comes and how it gets to our plates matters.
A final note on All Souls: If you weren't at the first session visit the blog to see what you missed and to write a comment in response to what you missed. Go here to do that. (Also if you have yet to complete passage responses contact me.)
See you Tuesday.
all the best,
Mr. James Cook
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