Omega-3 fatty acids have long been celebrated by doctors and dieticians as key to a healthy heart and a sharper brain, but the miracle pill is only the latest product of the reduction industry, which converts marine life into animal feed, fertilizer, margarine, and dietary supplements—but in doing so, disrupts the food chain. Taking an objective look, Paul Greenberg traces the surprising history of omega-3s—from human prehistory—when the discovery of seafood may have produced major cognitive leaps for our species—to the present, when omega-3s may point the way to a bold new direction for our food system.