In Defense of Food

In Defense of Food. Michael Pollan. Penguin Press. 2008

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and a professor of journalism at University of California Berkeley, has written what he calls an eater's manifesto. The first part of the book is a critique...no, an attack on what he calls nutritionism: that foods are essentially the sum of their nutrient parts. To explain this you need a cadre of experts: nutritionists. One assumption is that the whole point of eating to promote body health. And yet, in the case of the thirty year campaign against dietary fat as a cause of chronic disease, the priesthood has (almost) been proven wrong.  Pollan is careful to qualify some of his statements, and he cites many articles to bolster his own ideas.

One of the main problem with the study of nutrients "is that it takes the nutrient out of the context of the food, the food out of the context of the diet, and the diet out of the context of the lifestyle." In other words, as Ted Nelson said, everything is deeply intertwingled. Pollan sees food as more of a relationship. His holistic approach is far-reaching and includes how food is raised (organic is good but not essential), the culture that shapes the way the food is prepared and consumed. He is critical of the way we overweight Americans gobble our food rapidly and mentions the superior eating habits of the French as well as other nationalities and indigenous groups who have not succumbed to the Western Diet and with it western diseases: diabetes, obesity, heart problems, and cancer.

He cites studies that show that corporate sponsored nutrition research is more likely to produce findings favorable to industry, and this results not only in corruption but diverse ads and claims that baffle us, the consumers. As Pollan mention the foods without packaging (and printed claims) sit quietly in the produce section, but these are the ones we should be consuming. On the cover is a head of lettuce with Pollan's mantra: "eat food, not too much, mostly plants." He advocates paying more and eating less. Americans spend less of their income on food than any other country, and he believes this should change. By eating real food and not some concoction of food science, and by eating diversely you will get the nutrients and other ingredients whose benefits nobody has yet isolated.

The last part of the book are his suggestions for eating food and avoiding non-food. Here are a few:
•avoid food products that make health claims.
•get out of the supermarket whenever possible.
•eat mostly plants, especially leaves.
•eat well-grown food from healthy soils.
•have a glass of wine with dinner.
•eat meals. (not snacks)
•try not to eat alone.
•cook if you can, and plant a garden.

He has good things to say about food from community supported agriculture (CSA) where you prepay for a box of produce each week during the growing season. It's local and supports small farmers. The variety of produce I have seen in my son's CSA box in Boston was not that impressive and provided very little choice for the customer. Perhaps it varies by region and supplier.

While I think the book has some good criticisms and excellent ideas for eating better, it's not a book for low income Americans. It does not really apply to the billions in other countries who are just getting by. His audience is not the Natomo family in Mali who spend $26 a week to feed fifteen people.  Pollan seems to hang out at high end restaurants like Chez Panisse in Berkeley, so he's not averse to spending more on good and great food. However, with rising fuel costs that affect farm production, distribution, and retail costs,  Americans will be spending more on their food, even if the quality does not change. It's not a good time for a food revolution if you consider costs, but many of his suggestions are about life style and attitude, and for that change there is a different price to pay. --Steve Cisler