A Dilemma & A Giveaway

Hiya blog buds.

How's it goin?

 The temperature reached 100 here today.
First time this summer.
It was hot.
So we went to Target.
They keep it pretty cool in there.  ;)

I recently finished reading this book and wanted to tell ya'll about it.

 In my opinion it is a must read for everyone who eats.
So, yeah, that pretty much means everyone.
Now before you get turned off by it let me just say, it is not a diet book.
It is not a book about what not to eat. 
It is a book about where the food that you eat comes from.

"To eat with a fuller consciousness of all that is at stake might sound like a burden, but in practice few things in life can afford quite as much satisfaction.  By comparison, the pleasures of eating industrially, which is to say eating in ignorance, are fleeting.  Many people today seem perfectly content eating at the end of an industrial food chain, without a thought in the world; this book is probably not for them.  There are things in it that will ruin their appetites.  But in the end, this is a book about the pleasures of eating, the kinds of pleasure that are only deepened by knowing."
-Michael Pollan

Have you ever head of a CAFO?
It stands for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.
I could not believe what I learned about cafo's.
You might want to know about them too.

I like how Michael Pollan does not ever seem pushy about what you should do or how you should eat, but he very honestly tells you the facts that his research has taught him. 

"Cows raised on grass simply take longer to reach slaughter weight than cows raised on a richer diet, and for half a century now the industry has devoted itself to shortening a beef animal's alloted span on earth."
-Michael Pollan

"Of the 38 ingredients it takes to make a chicken mcnugget I counted thirteen that can be derived from corn..."
"Mcnuggets also contain several completely synthetic ingredients, quasi-edible substances that ultimately  come not from corn or soybean field but from a petroleum refinery or chemical plant.
Dimethylpholysiloxene is added to the cooking oil to keep the starches from binding to air molecules. 
Dimethylpholysiloxene is a suspected carcinogen and an established mutagen, tumorigen, and reproductive effector; it's also flammable.  But perhaps the most alarming ingredient in a chicken mcnugget is tertiary butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, an antioxidant derived from petroleum that is either sprayed directly on the nugget or the inside of the box it comes in to "help preserve freshness".  TBHQ is a form of butane (ie lighter fluid) the FDA allows processors to use sparingly in our food."
-Michael Pollan

"For as brief as it is, the life expectancy of a farm animal would be considerably briefer in the world beyond the pasture fence or chicken coop."
-Michael Pollan

"In biblical times the rules governing ritual slaughter stipulated a rotation, so that no individual would have to kill animals every day, lest he become dulled to the gravity of the act."
-Michael Pollan

"Pollan wants us at least to know what it is we are eating, where it came from and how it got to our table.  He also wants us to be aware of the choices we make and to take responsibility for them.  It's an admirable goal, well met in The Omnivore's Dilemma."
-The Wall Street Journal

I learned so very much from this book.
And I will forever be more thoughtful about where my food comes from.
If you read this (which I think you should!) hang in there during the chapter about corn.  I know that part can get a little long and intense, but power through and I promise you will LEARN. 
I read it with a highlighter by my side and highlighted anything that shocked or stood out to me.
If you read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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And now for a giveaway!!!!

Since I am on the subject of books...
I was cleaning out my books and discovered that I own TWO copies of my favorite book EVER.
One of the copies is brand new, never been read, and that, my friends, is the one I want to giveaway to one of you.

 Outlander.
Oh Outlander.
It is the best love story you will ever read.
I'm not kidding.
Just asky Holly.  Or Jenny.  Or Janna.  Or my Mom.
Yup, they will all tell you it's true.
Outlander is the first book in a series of 7 and the 8th is due out next year. 
It is a historical fiction that you will not want to put down.
So if you would like a chance to win this copy...

Just leave me a comment telling me what your favorite book that you have ever read is!

I will announce the winner on Monday evening.
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I hope you have a safe and happy 4th of July.
May you smile...

 laugh a lot...

go for a swim...

 and make a splash!