The day after I finished reading Michael Pollan’s book, "The Omnivore’s Dilemma," a package arrived for me at the Daily Globe. Another book … a rather thick book.

A week or so earlier, I’d received an e-mail from a publishing company touting David Kirby’s new book, "Animal Factory," and requested a review copy. I’m trying this new concept … reading to learn something rather than reading for enjoyment. I don’t think the concept is working real well for me … this latest book is downright depressing (as was Pollan’s). I really don’t care for depressing books, especially when the sun is shining outside!

As you can imagine, Animal Factory is not at all favorable to industrial agriculture. In just the first nine chapters (a little less than half-way through the book), I’ve read about more manure spills, breached lagoons, fish kills, algal blooms, unresponsive government officials and fighting between farmers than I think I have ever read in my life.

Kirby, a journalist from Brooklyn, N.Y. tells the story of CAFO’s in three distinct areas of the country – from Yakima Valley, Wash., to Elmwood, Ill., and New Bern, N.C. – mostly set in the 1990s, from what I’ve read thus far.

As can be expected with a book called, "Animal Factory," the story of agriculture is predominantly one-sided. Kirby spends chapter after chapter getting his reader to relate to the vineyard owners, the river keepers and the hobby farmers, but I have yet to read so much as a paragraph of an actual conversation he had with one of these "industrial" farmers. Maybe that will come later in the book. Then again, maybe not.

Personally, I can’t wait to finish reading the book. As soon as I do, I’m going to rent a stack of comedies on DVD to rid myself of this depressing feeling.

Over the course of the past four weeks, I’ve been reading a book called, “Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat.”

Ordinarily, it doesn’t take me that long to read any book, but this one was different. At times it angered me so much I had to put it down and walk away, at times it put me to sleep (probably not the fault of the author, Michael Pollan, but because I was too tired to read), and at times it also made me smile and appreciate the life I experienced on a small, family farm.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma was first published in 2006, and was on the New York Times “10 Best Books” that year. The book is about one man’s experience in exploring the food chain – industrialized agriculture, industrial organic, local and sustainable agriculture, and the hunter-gatherer method.

Several months ago, via Facebook, I had been encouraged to read the book by a couple of my friends. The only insight they offered with their recommendation was that the book was “interesting.”

The book came into conversation again while attending the International Poultry Expo with the Minnesota Soybean Growers See For Yourself participants in late January. One of the speakers at the Expo encouraged everyone to read the book to “see what American agriculture is up against.” A well-informed farmer is one that is ready to respond when his or her industry is under attack.

Well, I finally went to our local library in February to read it for myself. It wasn’t available there, but a copy came within a week or so on an inter-library loan. I had to giggle to myself when it came, only because it was the “Young Reader’s Edition.”

Oh well, it was free for me to read and the librarian even let me renew the book for an extra couple of weeks, which I greatly appreciated. (I haven’t purchased a brand new book in years – I prefer recycling from the library book sale, rummage sales or the library loan program.)

Perhaps the reason it took me so long to get through the book was because the first 100 pages or so presents Pollan’s viewpoints on the problems with industrialized agriculture. (This was the section that made me put the book down and vent more than any other section in the book.) It was certainly eye-opening for me to read his broad generalizations, and I felt like the agriculture industry I work to defend was being ripped to shreds.

Though I felt like taking the book back to the library’s book drop after the first few chapters, I had this nagging feeling that I needed to read on.

And I did. In fact, by the time you are reading this blog, I will have finished the book and returned it to the library.

I won’t give you a book report on it though … you’re going to have to read it for yourself if you’re interested. All I will say here is that it was “interesting.”

If you’ve read the book and care to comment, please post one here – I would like to hear what others have to say about “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.”