What is an omnivore? An omnivore is a creature that consumes both plants and animals for food. In The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, he explains, as the title suggests, the omnivore's dilemma. He describes how omnivores, like us, came to eat the way we do today. After discussing the basics of this, he talks about Americans and how they eat. Pollan divides his writing into four main areas: presenting the omnivore's dilemma, explaining how we decide what to eat, presenting our anxieties about food, and the problem of how Americans decide what to eat. Pollan draws on the expertise of Paul Rozin and other specialists to support his claims. Omnivores are very interesting creatures. We are able to digest most plants and animals and therefore have a wide range of foods available. However, when faced with potential new foods, we are “torn between two contradictory emotions” (Pollan 288). These two emotions are neophilia and neophobia. Pollan defines neophilia as “a risky but necessary openness to new tastes” (288) and neophobia as “a reasonable fear of ingesting something new” (288). Both of these emotions are easily seen in humans, especially myself. Every time I discover a new food, I immediately experience these two elements. I am very tempted to try the new food because it may taste good, but on the other hand, it may not taste good and may even give me an upset stomach or food poisoning. The final decision when trying a new food usually depends on its appearance. In Rozin's studies, he observed both of these emotions in rats. The rats nibbled on the new food and waited to see if it affected them negatively, learning not to eat it if it harmed them. Pollan thought that Rozi... middle of article... quote from Daniel Bell that "the tendency of capitalism, in its single-minded pursuit of profit, to erode the various cultural foundations that support a society but often hinder its progress of marketing” (302). He means that if he can stop the flow of money, the capitalist government will do whatever it takes to eliminate it. If we want to change the way Americans eat and think, we need to return to enjoyable eating and diets not governed by capitalist attempts to make more money. The only way to achieve this is for the government to care less about money and more about the health of the population. This will control the markets and what is sold, but the problem will persist unless people also change the way they eat. If we follow the French example of longer dinners and smaller dishes, we may be able to solve this omnivore's dilemma..