Do you think any differently about eating fast food after reading the first part of The Omnivore's Dilemma?

It would be hard for anyone who has eaten fast food to not give it some  thought after reading the first section of this book. Pollan calls this section "Industrial Corn" and describes the structure and scope of the farming industry in America. In particular he explores how large amounts of corn are grown to provide animal feed for cattle, and the use of processed corn as a sweetener in the form of high-fructose corn...

It would be hard for anyone who has eaten fast food to not give it some  thought after reading the first section of this book. Pollan calls this section "Industrial Corn" and describes the structure and scope of the farming industry in America. In particular he explores how large amounts of corn are grown to provide animal feed for cattle, and the use of processed corn as a sweetener in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is an ingredient commonly used in many processed foods and Pollan describes its impact on the human body in stark terms, based upon various scientific studies. This alone might make someone think twice about eating fast food, which uses large amounts of this ingredient. But Pollan also discusses the economic impact of corn subsidies and how these crops are dominant in farming because there is profitability in their by-products, even though those by-products are devoid of nutritional value.

"Very simply, we subsidize high-fructose corn syrup in this country, but not carrots. While the surgeon general is raising alarms over the epidemic of obesity, the president is signing farm bills designed to keep the river of cheap corn flowing, guaranteeing that the cheapest calories in the supermarket will continue to be the unhealthiest."

Quotes like this underscore the damage that Americans are doing to their health by indulging in frequent consumption of fast food; and he makes a convincing argument within this chapter that over-consumption of processed corn is linked to obesity. But Pollan also makes it clear that our economy is being negatively impacted and this has far-reaching implications for the future of food in America. I know I always choose to not eat fast food whenever I have a choice, because it is devoid of nutritional value.