Even before taking this class, the issue of diet and what I chose to consume has been big in my life. In high school, my mom and I started eating healthier, buying more organic and fresh foods, and discussing health and nutrition articles that we happened to find. Reading 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' deepend my interest in closely examining what I eat and where it comes from. I found this text, along with the overall themes of the class, frustrating (in a good way) because it challenges me, and forces me to question what is real and what is 'right'. I have been a vegetarian for the last four years, I try really hard to eat healthy and I admit to being drawn to local/ organic foods and places like the seward co*op. After reading Pollan's book and his views on the "stories" that places like whole foods feed you, factory Vs.family farm practices and corn, I had to ask myself what I believed in, what is real.Do I abstain from eating meat because it is gross or because I dislike the idea of eating the flesh of another living thing? Is it for health reasons? Is it because I disagree with the idea of growing animals as fast as you can and by any means necessary (pollution, sickness, disease, antibiotics, large swamps of toxic manure)? And if that is the case, would it be okay for me to eat a chicken or cow that was happily raised on Salatin's farm? I am also into not wasting things, so is it more wasteful than good to decline something containg meat when it would be thrown away anyway? I don't want to contribute to/support pollution or unethical practices, but I'm not really sure what the best solution is.I guess this course taught me to question everythingand allowed me to look at many different viewpoints surrounding heavy subjects. It also made me uncomfortable in some ways, as there are many possible ways of percieving, but it is debatable as to which one is "right". There are a number of different ways of seeing, and nothing is concrete.