Omnivore's Dilemma Book Research Paper : Chemicals in chicken/turkey meat - Essay Example

This is due to the health risks associated with eating processed foods. Many Americans today prefer eating processed foods as opposed to natural foods. Most Americans love eating fast foods such as humbuggers and other processed foods made in fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds. I am among the millions of Americans who love eating fast foods, such as hamburgers. However, after reading Michael Pollan’s novel the Omnivore's Dilemma, my eating habit is destined to change. The book teaches the society about where the foods we eat comes from and the dangerous ingredients that we consume in the foods we eat unknowingly.

As a result, I chose this topic because it teaches about the need for healthy eating by avoiding unhealthy foods. The aim of this paper is to explore the Omnivore's Dilemma in light of the chemical substances that people eat in processed food like chicken and turkey. The paper will also discuss the dangerous associated with the processed foods as highlighted by Pollan. Finally, the paper will conclude by a call to action as regards the eating habit. Singer and Mason note that chronic diseases have increased at an alarming rate in the world today (8).

Millions of people today suffer from chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart diseases, diabetes and kidney ailments. Obesity is also one of the major health problems in American today. These health problems are linked to the change in lifestyle in American society. Research indicates that most Americans today are obsessed with eating processed foods, such as the famous humbugger, chips, and chicken. The high demand for processed fast foods in American society is seen in the manner in which Americans flock the fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds.

However, Pollan is very much concerned about the health risks that people exposes themselves to by eating processed foods. He even appears spoilt of choice as to what he should be taking for a dinner. Pollan claims that virtually all the foods that Americans eat today have chemicals that are not good for human health (46). In his fascinating book, Omnivore's Dilemma, Pollan claims that virtually all the foods that Americans eat today have corn as the main ingredient. According to Pollan, animals such as chicken, pigs, cows, turkey and farmed fish are all fed from corn.

This implies that the meat, milk, and eggs that we eat today are all from corn. As a result, Pollan is of the view that all the ingredients in processed foods that Americans eat come from corn. Some of the ingredients in processed food that came from corn include riglycerides, lecithin, the citric acid, and the mono-, the coloring and natural raspberry flavor. However, Pollan notes that most cows that Americans eat their meat are sick. According to Pollan, most American cows eat corn (51). However, they sometimes become sick as soon as they eat corn.

Treating a sick cow normally require an injection with massive doses of antibiotics. Some American cows are injected with antibiotics to prevent bacteria from converting the corn that cows eat into a gas that may interfere with the health of a cow. As a result, Pollan is very concerned that most Americans eat meat full of massive chemical components unknowingly. He notes that people were adapted to eat meat from animals fed on grass. However, this is no longer the case as the meat that most Americans eat today come from corn-fed animals, which are harmful to human health.

This makes Pollan to conclude that the heart diseases that most Ameri