Michael Pollan encourages Americans to reconsider the way in which they approach food. With scientific research, he shows us how ridiculous Americans truly are when it comes to eating; and in turn convinces us to change our ways to be healthier and more cultural.
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants"(Pollan 1). Pollan starts off In Defense of Food with these seven words that sum up his argument. He displays that Americans constantly worry about nutrition, but are ironically a society consisting of obesity and other diseases that are results of malnourishment. As part of Pollan’s solution, he recommends that we go back to eating food for food’s sake. By this, he means to eat so that we may sustain our health while being environmentally friendly at the same time.
Here is the basic breakdown to Pollan’s opening statement: “Eat Food” simply means not to eat anything your great-grandmother would not recognize as food. He exclaims that we should avoid foods with unfamiliar ingredients, as they are often not healthy. “Mostly plants” refers to his advise on consuming plants in our diets as often as possible. Pollan believes that humans eat the wrong amount of certain parts in their meal. Such as, he advises to think of meat as a condiment and to think of vegetables as a main course rather than the other way around. “Not too much” points out that we do not have to eat until we are completely full. Humans often eat too quickly and eat too much as a result. So Pollan counsels that we “Eat slowly; enjoy food, and preferable with good company.”
As simple as this advice seems, it is quite complicated. Yes, we should eat food, but is what we’re eating really food? Most of what we eat today has either been soaking in fat or drenched with preservatives. This food is not food at all. It has been processed and stripped of all its nutrients, which is the whole reason it was food in the first place. Pollan enlightens his readers that our food has been loaded with various non-food items such as high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and lots of non-pronounceable unknown ingredients. As just one example, Pollan writes, "Yet as a general rule it's a whole lot easier to slap a health claim on a box of sugary cereal than on a raw potato or a carrot, with the perverse result that the most healthful foods in the supermarket sit there quietly in the produce section, while a few isles over in Cereal the Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms are screaming their newfound ‘whole-grain goodness’ to the rafters" (Pollan 39-40). Another way to put it, food today is advertised as being low in trans fat, having no cholesterol, and consisting of all the measures of goodness, but be labeled a candy bar. Marketers persuade customers into eating unhealthy food and in most cases they succeed.
Pollan conveys out that, even though humans are the most intelligent species on earth; we require food charts, diagrams, pyramids and nutritionists to advise us about eating. He points out times in history when experts have made recommendations that will be completely contradicted the next year. An example, he points out that scientist said margarine would save us all from heart disease; then later it turns out that margarine actually significantly increases our chances of getting heart disease. Another misconception was the all-carbohydrate diet. At first, low fat food supposedly aided in weight loss. Then studies show that the carbohydrates actually make you fat. These studies come and go all the time but people still obey newfound health claims. Pollan informs his readers that scientic research cannot be trusted.
Pollan’s response to this conflicting information is simply to “Eat food, not too much though, and to eat mostly plants, as said before. A diet that consists of fruits, vegetables, meat without preservatives; will likely be a healthy one. As a guide, he recommends avoiding anything that has more than a handful of ingredients. And when shopping for food, always imagine your grandmother is at your side. This way if you pick something up and she says, “What the hell is that?” you know to put it back on the shelf. Because after all, these foods often contain preservatives, which mean they have long shelf lives, so they could stay there for years without going bad anyways. Pollan’s journalistic writing captures his audience through persuasive scientific facts and in turn compels a very convincing argument.
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