I’ve finally worked up the moral fortitude to read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. As I’ve said before, I admire Mr. Pollan and think he may be one of galvanizing forces in shaping a new awareness of environmental issues in our nation. That’s pretty grandiose: I also think he’s a great writer, able to be engaging when writing about really technical (read: boooorrring) matters.

But, boy, is he depressing. I am so depressed reading Ominovore’s Dilemma, I have to parse it out in little bits so I don’t sink into a catatonic state.

Here’s what’s got me depressed: when you read OD, it becomes clear that there’s practically nothing that you can eat that’s not compromised in some way. I consider myself a relatively savvy consumer of food stuffs: I buy as much local produce as I can at a locally-owned market. I buy organic as often as I can. I rarely eat meat but when I do, I try to eat only “good” meat (farm-raised, grass-fed, etc.). I never eat fast food unless I’m travelling and stuck in the middle of nowhere or in a crummy airport terminal, which is to say: rarely. So, while I am not lucky enough to have my own vegetable garden (how I envy Redneck Mother’s Victory Garden!), I do what I can to stay out of the evil, corporate food chain.

Or, at least I though I was doing so. But, what Pollan has revealed to me is how much I remain absolutely stuck inside of it. Pollan’s account of how Big Corn has infiltrated every aspect of our lives — basically, how almost every food product on our shelves is somehow composed of genetically modified corn (in sometimes frightening franken-corn forms) — is chilling to me. Even my favorite cereal, purported to be whole grain and organic, is made (in part) out of corn. Oh, and the unremitting pervasiveness of High Fructose Corn Syrup!

If you need to know why Big Corn is so evil, you’ll have to read the book. To summarize: bad for environment, bad for animals, bad for humans. Very, very bad.

So, what’s an ethical eater to do? I’m considering an all oatmeal, salad, and water diet.

To hell with Big Corn.