ILA Final

Upon the query of the above question, many things come to mind. This class is about the investigation of ideas, the process of thinking and the improvement of the mind in a legitimate search for knowledge. The entire class consists of a variety of literature from completely different sources that relate in ways that are unorthodox at times. Most recently we have evaluated the permeance of Genetically Modified Organisms into our food culture; for this we have deeply evaluated Pollan’s claims about the potato and the desire it satisfies (our desire to control).

In Pollan’s text we had a look on his views about monoculture, which he believes is “the single most powerful simplification of modern agriculture” and yet he also says that “nothing else in agriculture is so poorly fitted to the way nature seems to work” (225). Michael Pollan also mentions that he does not want to make potato salad with his NewLeaf potatoes because if people knew they were GMOs they would not eat them. In the Fast Food Nation Reading about French Fries, it is said that “The Food and Drug Administration does not require food companies to disclose the ingredients of their additives so long as the chemicals are considered by the agency to be generally regarded as safe” (125). It would seem that in this aspect Pollan is making a smart decision, and this is one of the few points where I agree with him. However, the general negative stigma toward GMOs is mostly unwarranted in my opinion; there are many benefits to genetic modification that allow us to bypass the hardships that Pollan’s beloved nature imposes upon us.

Occasionally readings that were meant to be related were not written to an appropriate audience. In the text about Potatoes in the Imperialist Imagination, the author states that “the literal body of Christ and the autochthonous body of the potato would occupy opposite extremes on the