Omnivore's Dilemma

I just finished reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (website). This book is an exploration of the food industry that feeds America - from industrial corn farming, to the fully commercialized organic movement, to rediscovered hunter / gather techniques. Rather then prescribe a plan of action or a specific diet to follow, Pollan details each food chain and leaves it up to the reader to make their own decisions. Pollan does an excellent job of making you question where your food is coming from and how it got from the farm to your table.
Society places a high value on convenience, prices and speed, however this is often to the detriment of flavor, sustainability, and nutrition. Unfortunately, for most of "middle America" it would be near impossible to move away from the cheap, subsidized food that we have grown so accustomed to. To do so would require a complete shift in what we value - the mentality would have to change from "all food is created equally" to a value system that takes into consideration all of the factors in the food's creation. Factors including environmental impact, nutrition, sustainability, long term health impact, balance of trade, biological diversity and flavor, should all be included in this new value system. After considering these, the $.99 ground chuck would no longer be the best value. However, to most people such talk is heresy - better to live in ignorance then to face the reality of our current industrialized food chain.