Omnivore’s Dilemma Discussion Questions
Opening Question:
1. Is eating a moral act?
Specifics:
1. What did Pollan hope to learn by buying his own steer? (66)
2. What is a CAFO? How did corn contribute to their growth? (67)
3. What does Pollan mean when he says that “corn itself profi ted from the urbanization of livestock twice”? (67)
4. How have CAFOs enabled Americans to eat more meat? What are some of their more negative consequences? (67)
5. Why does Pollan say that “when animals live on farms the very idea of waste ceases to exist”? (68)
6. What “two new problems” are created by animal feedlots? (68)
7. Why did Pollan decide to follow a cow instead of a chicken or a pig?
8. What is a “cow-calf operation”? (68)
9. Why does Pollan think that his steer might look back on its time at the Blair Ranch as “the good old days”? (69)
10. How do cows convert grass into protein? Why aren’t we able to do this? (70)
11. If cows evolved to survive on grass, why are we feeding them corn?
12. How have humans managed to raise steers that can grow from 80 to 1,100 pounds in 14 months? (71)
General Questions:
1. Michael Pollan approaches eating as an activity filled with ethical issues. Do you agree that the act of eating is as
morally weighty as he says it is? What questions concern you most about the way you eat or the way your food is
created?
2. What impact does history have on our present? How is the era of cowboys and our present day treatment of cattle an
example of this?
3. As omnivores, how do you decide what to eat?
4. Pollan also shows a number of instances in which government policies have apparently worsened the crisis in our food
culture. What do you think should be the proper role of government in deciding how we grow, process, and eat our food?
11. What, in the course of his writing, does Michael Pollan reveal about his own personality? What do you like about him?
What, if anything, rubs you the wrong way?
12. If Michael Pollan were coming to your place for dinner, what would you serve him and why?
Farmers and the Populist Movement Notesheet
 Farmers’ Problems
 Economic Distress (__________________________)
 During the Civil War, farmers were given ___________________ from the government.
 When greenbacks were removed from circulation after the war, their value _____________.
 SO…farmers who paid back loans with greenbacks ____________ money.
 Also, farmers started receiving _______________ money for crops.
 Troubles with the Railroads
 Lack of ________________________ among companies and secret agreements meant high
_______________ to transport grain
 Cycle of Debt
 Due to high __________________ rates for items bought on credit
 Solution: ___________________________________
 Farmers _________________________ to push for reforms.
 Oliver Hudson Kelley started an organization called the __________________.
 Provided a ______________ and __________________ outlet for isolated farm families.
 Later, many Grange members spent time fighting railroads.
 Farmers’ Alliances
 The Grange inspired other groups, like _______________________________.
 Alliances sent lecturers to towns to educate farmers on ___________ rates and
_____________________.
 Populism
 Leaders of the alliance movement began organizing ______________ to make far-reaching changes.
 Populism- _______________________________________________________________
 Populist Party Platform
 Political Goals:__________________________________________________________________
 Social Goals: ___________________________________________________________________
 Economic Goals:________________________________________________________________
 Success of Populists
 Presidential candidate won ____________ of vote in 1892.
 Populist goals became platform of _______________________________
 Kept alive the idea that government is responsible for reforming social ________________.
 Panic of 1893
 Farmers’ __________ became too great, many railroad companies went _______________, and the
government’s gold ___________________ wore thin.
 Because of this, people __________________ and ________________ paper money for gold, causing
the stock market to crash.
 Investments declined, wages fell, and 3 million lost jobs
 Silver or Gold?
 Republicans and Democrats debated which _______________ should be used to back currency.
 Democrats favored ___________________- govt. would exchange silver and gold for paper money
 Republicans favored _________________ standard.
 1896 Presidential Election
 William ____________________ ran as Republican, William _________________________ as
Democrat.
 Populists favored ________________________, but couldn’t decide if they wanted to support a major
party, or run their own candidate.
 Eventually supported ________________________.
 At the Democratic Convention, Bryan gave a speech and famously stated, “…you shall not crucify mankind upon
a _______________________.”
 Argued that gold standard would hurt workers and farmers.
 The End of Populism
 Facing a lack of funding and widespread support, Bryan ____________________ the 1896 presidential
campaign and Populism as a movement ______________________.
 2 legacies of Populism:
 ____________________ can organize and have political impact
 Agenda of reforms to be enacted in _____________________.
Wizard of Oz and American Populism
Symbols:
a. Yellow Brick Road---Gold Standard in the country
b. Scarecrow---Farmers (no brains by society's standards, but smarter than given credit for)
c. Cowardly Lion---William Jennings Bryan (not a coward, but a leader, as lions are usually dominant)
d. Tin Man---Industrialization (doesn’t have a heart, but doesn’t hate either)
e. Dorothy’s Slippers---Silver exchange (YES they are red in the movie; this was done to make them stand out. In the
original book the slippers were silver. Remember the slippers hold the power until the end, because silver was the
exchange. Once back in Kansas they were gone, just as silver was overtaken by the Gold standard.)
f. Dorothy---Level-headed, innocent humans
g. Wizard---Politicians (trying to be all things to all people)
h. Winged Monkeys---Plains Indians (Remember the mid-western view of farming, and having to deal with the Indians;
they were not bad people but could be swayed by good and evil.)
i. Wicked Witch of the East---Bankers who have nothing for farmers
j. Wicked Witch of the West---Nature (water kills and the farmers need water)
k. Good Witch of the North---Northern businesses that could seemingly do everything well, and were educated
l. Munchkins---Little people of society (middle class and below)
m. Emerald City---Washington, D.C.
n. Tornado---The idea of “change”
Your Prompt:
What effects did Populism in the 1890's have on American society and politics?
Use the following as a guideline:
-Give background information of Populism in the 1890's (how farmers fit into the overall political picture).
-Give the views of the Agricultural society vs. the Industrial society as it dealt with the economy of the 1890's.
-Explain how the movie was a political statement and include symbols.