This chapter was interesting because you get to see just how difficult it is to live like a "hunter and gatherer" in today's society. Pollan tries to make a meal that he has hunted and gathered himself. In the meal, he wants plant, animal, and fungi represented. Needless to say, it didn't turn out to be the easiest thing in the world.
I think this chapter truly showed just how stuck we Americans are in our decisions on what to eat. Our land could not support us if we tried to hunt and gather. Not to mention we would probably starve before ever getting our hunter's license. It very much reminds me of when I was in grade school and my best friends great grandfather would sit around and yell at us about how our society would be so much better if we picked up a gun and shot what we wanted to eat. He was very angry about how wasteful "the government" has forced us to be. I thought he was crazy but there might have been some truth in his words. But even if we wanted to, there is no way to return to that way of life. So what's left? McDonald's. Because in reality, the average person would rather go through a drive thru window then take the time to get a gun license, buy a gun, get a hunting license, and then attempt to hunt.
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I agree with the sentiment that we as a people are "stuck" with the type of eating style we have today in America. I think one thing that could have bee touched upon in addition to our failures as a hunting culture, is the lack of knowledge on gathering. It's clear from this chapter that Pollan, and probably most other Americans are in grave danger of eating the wrong kind of berries, and fungi, as most of us have never had to learn this gathering lifestyle.
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