[1] Discussing Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food"

In the introduction of the book In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan explains his reasons for writing the book and provides a brief overview of the contents of the book. Pollan states that his goal for writing the book is to assist the public in regaining their health and happiness as eaters. To reach this goal, he begins to reveal some unpleasant facts about food that the food industries, nutrition science, and journalists have long kept from the public. Pollan states that the things people eat today are not “foods,” but are merely edible food-like substances made by modern science. He also talks about the Age of Nutritionism, where the nutritional facts become the key factors in classifying what food is good or bad for one’s health.

From chapter one to four, Pollan explains how the American public had no choice but to turn their interest from real foods to nutrients because all the real foods on the shelves of grocery stores were replaced with nutrients during the 1980s. Afterwards, the public was introduced to various scientific terms such as proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol levels. This was just too overwhelming for the public to handle. They had no other option other than to trust the words of the scientists. If the scientists announced that meat and diary products increased the chances of a heart disease, it was that. The public did not inquire about the subject any further. They started to forget the true purpose of eating. All of a sudden, food was not about pleasure, community, and family, but “bodily health.”

Although I have only laid my hands on the first couple of chapters of Pollan’s book, the information it contained was powerful. I was shocked when Pollan declared that most of the foods I have eaten so far were not real foods, but were artificial, food-like products. When he said that the food companies and nutrition science had put much effort into preventing the government from enforcing the artificial food labeling, I felt deceived. I thank Pollan for the information he provided in his book and I support his claim concerning the need for a reform in America’s food industries.

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