The Omnivore's Dilemma Chapter 4: The Feedlot

Michael Pollan discusses in this chapter of The Omnivore's Dilemma the great many things that go into feeding and raising livestock (cattle in particular) so that consumers like us can have a delicious, tender steak (or any other form of beef) for dinner. Pollan begins the chapter by briefly describing the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, or CAFO for short. For over half a century, our livestock have gradually become more densely populated. CAFOs are these areas of high livestock density. Unsurprisingly, Pollan puts the blame for this urbanization of food animals on the federally subsidized corn that has become so cheap and abundant.

To get a better and more intimate understanding of the process in which livestock are raised and fed, Pollan purchases a calf from a ranch and follows its life in the feedlot. What he finds is that people will go to the very extremes to maximize the efficiency of their meat production.

Part way through the chapter Pollan outlines the digestive system of a cow and its most important feature, the rumen, which allows cattle to digest grass into protein. Though grass is the cow's natural food, we have found that feeding them corn is much more efficient and provides a higher quality cut of meat. What goes into the feed is not only corn, however. Pollan notes that liquefied fat, protein supplements, liquid vitamins, synthetic estrogen, and antibiotics are also included in the feed to increase efficiency and allow the cattle to process this food that is abnormal to them. He then describes the problems associated with this feeding method that affect not only the cattle but the environment and even the consumers. His main arguments include increased acidity in the cow's digestive system, environmental pollution, and bacteria such as E. coli.

Discussion Questions:

1. I personally like the fat on my steak, but I know a lot of people that do not like the taste of a fatty steak. If consumers do not prefer this type of meat, why is marbling so highly sought after in the industry?

2. Pollan kept mentioning that the meat industry is taking all of these extreme measures to maximize the efficiency of production. Is there a point where efficiency can no longer be increased? and what happens when we do reach that point?