This Chef's Dilemma

Michael Pollan did a number on me.

I just recently finished reading the terribly interesting (and terrifying to boot) Omnivore's Dilemma, and this hard line meat eater and sometime vegetarian abuser is a little softer and more sensitive because of it.

I won't get in to the details of the book for those of you who have yet to devour Pollan's work, but I will say this, I finally understand the vegetarian argument. I've seen the 'kill floor' videos, I've witnessed the slaughter of various species for consumption, and I've even done my own share of dirty work, but "It tastes damn good" was always enough of a reason to me. I now find myself actually considering limiting my consumption of meat, unless I can attest to it's origins and sustainability. It won't be an easy feat, but as a chef and a lover of food, I really identified with a quote from Pollan, "You are what you eat eats, too." I just find it hard, knowing full well the impact and cost of our current industrial agricultural system, to ignore the facts and continue to eat the way I have in the past. While I can't see myself going the way of the herbivore, I do foresee a difference in the way I view what I put into my body.