The Omnivore's Dilemma

As omnivores, we humans are capable of eating many different plants and animals. This leads to what psychologist Paul Rozin calls the “omnivore’s dilemma”: with a world of possibilities, how do we know what we should eat?

For early hunter-gatherers, solving this dilemma was very straightforward: they ate the seasonal foods that could be harvested near their homes, such as mushrooms in the fall or strawberries in the summer, and hunted game that was available in the wild. This made for a pretty uniform menu, which made choosing what to eat very easy.

Today, advancements in our ability to preserve and transport food have completely changed the way different foods are available to us. Think back to the last time you were in a supermarket. How many aisles were there? How many shelves? How many items on each shelf? Coconuts, leeks, Oreos, bacon, eggs, rice, broccoli, strawberries – the selection of food available today is mind-boggling, and you can basically have whatever you want, whenever you want it, wherever you are.

This development has exacerbated the omnivore’s dilemma, as we must now choose among countless options for each meal. Some are healthy, some are tasty, some are cheap and some are good for the environment. So exactly what should we eat?