The Omnivore's Dilemma

Pollan transitions from corn production to one of the sources of its many contributions: meat production. The lens shifts to Kansas rather than Iowa, where cows cover the landscape as far as the eye can see. Pollan visits Poky Feeders, a cattle farm boasting 137,000 head of cattle. The property is divided into lots, each with approximately 100 animals milling around in their own fecal matter and devouring milled corn. The relationship between cattle and corn is co-dependent: As cows leave family farms to enter highly industrialized processing systems, more land is freed for corn production. This increase in corn means more food for the cattle, thereby increasing cattle production—a direct contrast to the no-waste process of family farms, in which excess crops feed animals. Industrialized farming via corn production, conversely, forces cattle to eat something other than their natural food—grass—and instead eat corn, negatively affecting the health of the animal, as well as humans.

Pollan follows the life of a steer he purchased and then paid for the Poky Feeders farm to care for. Born on March 13, 2001, the steer was released to pasture and ate native grasses. Cows have special relationships with grass that are mutually beneficial.