The Omnivore's Dilemma: Introduction–Part I

by Michael Pollan
Adapted for young readers, this important work is an investigation into the ways food production is shaped by politics and the effects of our food choices.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction–Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV–Afterword
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. genetically modified
    having DNA altered to produce a certain trait
    I was working on an article about genetically modified food — food created by changing plant DNA in the laboratory.
  2. omnivore
    an animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances
    Human beings are omnivores. That means we eat plants, meat, mushrooms — just about anything.
  3. dilemma
    state of uncertainty in a choice between unfavorable options
    The omnivore’s dilemma has been around a long time. But today we have a very modern form of this dilemma. We have a thousand choices of food in our supermarkets, but we don’t really know where our food comes from.
  4. corporation
    a business firm recognized by law as a single body
    The industrial food chain that supplies our supermarkets stretches thousands of miles and has dozens of different links. It’s a chain that’s powered by oil and gasoline and controlled by giant corporations.
  5. hybrid
    a composite of mixed origin
    For example, you might take a type of corn that resists disease and cross it with another type of corn that produces a lot of ears. The result is a hybrid — a disease-resistant plant that produces a lot of corn.
  6. quadruple
    increase fourfold
    Hybrid corn quadrupled the yields of farmers, from about twenty bushels per acre to about eighty bushels per acre.
  7. bonanza
    a sudden happening that brings good fortune
    These new GMO seeds could be a bonanza for the seed companies.
  8. patent
    a document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention
    No one can own the species called “corn.” It is part of the natural world, the common property of all humanity. But with GMOs, a company can own a patent on a living organism.
  9. subsidy
    a grant of financial assistance, especially by a government
    The family only gets by because of the paycheck George’s wife, Peggy, brings home from her job — and because of a subsidy check from the U.S. government.
  10. commodity
    any good that can be bought and sold
    But the businesses that run the grain elevators and the industrial food chain do not look at corn as food. They look at it as a commodity, something to be bought and sold.
  11. ecological
    characterized by the interdependence of living organisms
    It was a natural, solar-powered loop. The plants used the sun’s energy to make food. The bison (with the help of bacteria) ate the grass and in return planted it, fertilized it, and defended its territory. It was a successful ecological system.
  12. wean
    gradually deprive of mother's milk
    In October, two weeks before I made his acquaintance, steer number 534 was weaned from his mother. Weaning is the hardest time on a ranch for animals and ranchers alike. Cows separated from their calves will mope and bellow for days.
  13. wholesome
    characteristic of physical or moral well-being
    Compared to all the other things we feed cattle these days, corn seems positively wholesome.
  14. glutton
    a person who is devoted to eating and drinking to excess
    Wallerstein explained that McDonald’s customers wanted more but didn’t want to buy a second bag. “They don’t want to look like gluttons.”
  15. refinery
    an industrial plant for purifying a crude substance
    According to the handout, McNuggets also contain several completely synthetic ingredients, items that come not from a corn or soybean field but from a petroleum refinery or chemical plant.
Created on Wed Apr 02 21:09:37 EDT 2014 (updated Wed Jun 25 16:04:12 EDT 2025)

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