“So that's us: processed corn, walking.”
Explore This Quote Further
Analysis of Quote by Michael Pollan
In this quote, Michael Pollan is highlighting the prevalence of processed corn in the modern human diet. By referring to ourselves as "processed corn, walking," Pollan is drawing attention to how much of our food products are derived from corn and how dependent we have become on this single crop. This statement serves as a commentary on the industrialization of food production and the consequences it has on our health and environment. Pollan's words prompt us to consider the impact of our food choices and the need for greater diversity and sustainability in our diets.
The Effects of Processed Foods on Our Health
In his quote, Michael Pollan highlights the prevalence of processed foods in our society and the impact it has on our health. This statement remains relevant in today's modern world, where convenience often takes precedence over nutrition. As more and more people rely on processed foods for their meals, it is important to consider the long-term consequences on our health and well-being.
Michael Pollan on Processed Corn
“So that's us: processed corn, walking.” - Michael Pollan
This quote highlights Pollan's view on the prevalence of corn and corn-derived products in our modern diet.
Reflection Questions:
Reflecting on the quote by Michael Pollan, consider how our modern diets are heavily reliant on processed foods made from corn. How does this impact our food system, our health, and our environment? In what ways can we strive to move away from being "processed corn, walking" and towards a more sustainable and healthy diet? What changes can we make in our own lives to promote better food choices for ourselves and the planet?
Similar quotes
“But carbon 13 [the carbon from corn] doesn't lie, and researchers who have compared the isotopes in the flesh or hair of Americans to those in the same tissues of Mexicans report that it is now we in the North who are the true people of corn.... Compared to us, Mexicans today consume a far more varied carbon diet: the animals they eat still eat grass (until recently, Mexicans regarded feeding corn to livestock as a sacrilege); much of their protein comes from legumes; and they still sweeten their beverages with cane sugar. So that's us: processed corn, walking.”
“Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn into food, has in no small measure become a process of converting fossil fuels into food.”
“There is every reason to believe that corn has succeeded in domesticating us.”
“Corn is the hero of its own story, and though we humans played a crucial supporting role in its rise to world domination, it would be wrong to suggest we have been calling the shots, or acting always in our own best interests. Indeed there is every reason to believe that corn has succeeded in domesticating us.”
“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.”
“So this is what commodity corn can do to a cow: industrialize the miracle of nature that is a ruminant, taking this sunlight- and prairie grass-powered organism and turning it into the last thing we need: another fossil fuel machine. This one, however, is able to suffer. ”