In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
10/10
by Tiffany Femiano
If you’ve ever wondered if your diet was all wrong, or if you should be doing something differently when it comes to eating nutritiously, the answer is probably yes. If you’re the type of person who peruses Wegman’s, casually tossing just about anything into your cart, you may need to reassess not only your shopping habits, but probably your eating habits as well. For many of us, mindlessly wandering through the grocery store, and going back for thirds in the dining hall could be just the reason why it’s so tough to beat the battle of the bulge.
It’s not difficult to see that something has gone fundamentally wrong with the American diet. In a nation of overeaters, food and diet can be a tricky thing. Microwavable entrees, canned goods that are edible for up to three years, and fortified foods and drinks of all kinds litter the typical American supermarket and kitchen. How in the world can anyone be expected to determine the good from the bad, decipher the average nutrition label, or even know what half of the unpronounceable ingredients are?
Well, thank goodness for Michael Pollan—at least somebody is doing their research. In his book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, Pollan digs deep to discover basic flaws in the American food system, searching for a way to eat well by investigating the origins of the many products in the typical American pantry. Pollan’s latest book is a follow-up to his previous one, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which looked into the scary world of corn-fed animals, corn-based food products, and the effects of the overwhelming presence of corn in the American diet. Now, Pollan is determined to get to the bottom of the problems that many of us didn’t even know existed.
By simply looking at the cover of the book, it’s easy to see the point that Pollan is attempting to hone in on: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Sounds easy enough, right? Unfortunately, it’s not really as easy as it seems, a sentiment that Pollan highlights throughout his work. First, and most importantly, Pollan tackles the question of food. What exactly is food, he ponders? He suggests that most Americans have no idea that there is something inherently wrong with the entire food system. In reality, though, Pollan explains exactly why not everything that we put into our mouths should or could be considered “food.”
Pollan names processed foods to be one of the major culprits. He asserts that processed foods, in fact, are not foods at all. Most are so far removed from what they claim to be imitating that many Americans end up eating fortified chemical products for all three daily meals. Pollan points out that anything our great grandparents wouldn’t recognize as food probably isn’t. This includes items like Easy Mac, Twinkies, and, as Pollan says, “anything incapable of rotting.”
Blaming the FDA for allowing laws and restrictions on labeling to become less stringent, Pollan recognizes the disadvantages of imitation foods, like margarine, with respect to health and diet. Pollan also places blame on the nationwide confusion over good and bad fats, the food pyramid, and portion size, ultimately boiling dietary misguidedness down to marketing schemes in the food industry.
Interestingly enough, though, Pollan compares the Western diet to very traditional, or non-western diets found across the world. In several studies, individuals who switched even for a brief period of time to a non-western diet, showed overall improvement in weight as well as health. Aboriginals who have been integrated into society in Australia had developed Type Two Diabetes in the first few years, and returned to their native diets consisting mostly of fruits, vegetables, and animals native to their land. After seven weeks in their traditional homeland, they showed overall improvements in all aspects of health, including an average weight loss of 17.9 pounds, a drop in blood pressure as well as an improvement of all diabetes-related metabolic abnormalities. Pollan points out, though, that it is not necessary to return to wilderness to regulate a diet. He examines the nature of food in France, showing that while their diet does, in fact, consist of fatty cheeses, dense breads, and full bodied wines, they surely know when enough is enough.
Simply “going organic” is not enough. Pollan stresses the importance of how food is grown, as well as what happens to it between the farm and your plate. One of Pollan’s most explicit warnings to his readers is to “avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number, or that include d) high fructose corn syrup.”
Pollan proposes a major shift from our monoculture, in which yielding and selling food as cheaply as possible is the top priority. The effect of such a shift is great; Pollan recommends paying close attention to the food that you buy and eat, a process that could drastically affect the way in which farmers cultivate and market their products. This could mean an increase in soil quality which, in effect, would mean less necessity for chemical fertilizers and the usage of pesticides. In the end, though, Pollan advocates getting out of the supermarket whenever possible. Go! Support your local farmer’s market. Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants!
