Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. These simple words are the heart and soul for Michael Pollan’s argument In Defense of Food of how humans have transcended from eating whole and hearty foods to eating scientifically engineered high calorie and high fat “food”, which he calls the Western Diet, moreover how the American population should go back to the original way of eating. His argument is made effective by the strategy, organization and layout of the book, which makes the reader think and question why the population no longer eats as their mothers or grandmothers did when they were children. The latter creates an intriguing argument which tends to draw the reader to read further to find the cause and a solution.
The book is layout in the manner that the first two-thirds of it is filled with scientific research and data pertaining to the ever-growing food corporation (who has a strong relationship with the government) and the consequences of the food they sell the population at such low prices. He includes the chocolate cake study, in which a group of American people were showed the word chocolate cake and the top word association was “guilt”. Moreover, he includes a study by the Harvard School of Public Health and by the Women’s Health Initiative. While all the facts and studies are overwhelming, it creates a shocking impression, either good or bad, leaving the reader hooked.
The last third of the book is Pollan’s solution to the Western Diet, which he calls “Getting Over Nutritionism”. He organizes this last portion of the book in four sections. The first one is an introduction to his solution and the last three are devoted to his food motto of Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants. He explains what each fragment means in depth and provides not a strict diet that most people tend to ignore or only perform temporarily but gives his audience a variety of options ranging from don’t eat alone to avoid food products that make health claims to cook, if you can, and plant a garden. This is an effective organization and communication technique since the audience doesn’t feel restraint on what to eat, which would only cause an enlargement in the believers of orthorexia.
One complaint that was rather unexpected from my point of view was that Pollan has no fundamental organization; there is great deal of flipping back and forth throughout the book to make it possible to make his point of view understandable. However, think back when studying for a major examination, which too involves a great deal of flipping throughout the book, yet by doing this the concept seems to become engraved into our minds. By doing this links are made, the argument flows easily and becomes memorable since it took more effort to grasp it, making his argument effective.
On page 49, Pollan introduces Mark Hegsted, the Harvard School of Public Health’s nutritionist. He includes his quote “The question to be asked is not why we should change our diet, but why not? Pollan only included the one quote that was vital to his argument instead of including Hegsted’s whole article. He does this all throughout the book, only including the gist of a study or fact instead of including the whole thing since this would certainly make the book longer and put the reader in overload. By using one piece of information from a great amount of sources, the effect of the overall piece becomes much greater. Another device he uses throughout the book is his casual, educated, confident and relatable tone. His advice is confidently put forth, and his research backs him up, making it hard to find a counterargument. Moreover, he separates himself from the scientists, one example of the latter is seen when he talks about taking a survey and admitting that it was hard for him to recall every meal he had eaten in the past three months, further admitting that he had gone over the recommended portions “If a four ounce portion of steak is considered medium was I really going to admit that the steak I enjoyed…was equivalent to two or three of these portions? He is just another human subjected to the Western Diet but trying to overcome it and teach others along the way.
One of the most important relationships the whole world has with nature is eating its products. However, the government and the food corporation are deviously replacing the whole foods with processed foods in supermarkets. Michael Pollan’s argument presents itself as a great alternative or rather an escape for the Western Diet. He breaks up his book into small readable mind-healthy portions. While shocking us with an abundance of facts, he does get his point across by making the reader make an effort to understand it and by providing bits of comic relief now and then. His tone is nowhere near accusatory to America since he sees the big picture, also including France, Italy, Japan and Greece. And instead of providing direct and harsh orders he provides friendly advice to the wider public. His book was memorable in my point of view, making me as well as many others aware of the dangers of the Western Diet and how by breaking habit, one of the most difficult tasks for humankind, the American population can once again be a healthy and powerful nation.
The last third of the book is Pollan’s solution to the Western Diet, which he calls “Getting Over Nutritionism”. He organizes this last portion of the book in four sections. The first one is an introduction to his solution and the last three are devoted to his food motto of Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants. He explains what each fragment means in depth and provides not a strict diet that most people tend to ignore or only perform temporarily but gives his audience a variety of options ranging from don’t eat alone to avoid food products that make health claims to cook, if you can, and plant a garden. This is an effective organization and communication technique since the audience doesn’t feel restraint on what to eat, which would only cause an enlargement in the believers of orthorexia.
One complaint that was rather unexpected from my point of view was that Pollan has no fundamental organization; there is great deal of flipping back and forth throughout the book to make it possible to make his point of view understandable. However, think back when studying for a major examination, which too involves a great deal of flipping throughout the book, yet by doing this the concept seems to become engraved into our minds. By doing this links are made, the argument flows easily and becomes memorable since it took more effort to grasp it, making his argument effective.
On page 49, Pollan introduces Mark Hegsted, the Harvard School of Public Health’s nutritionist. He includes his quote “The question to be asked is not why we should change our diet, but why not? Pollan only included the one quote that was vital to his argument instead of including Hegsted’s whole article. He does this all throughout the book, only including the gist of a study or fact instead of including the whole thing since this would certainly make the book longer and put the reader in overload. By using one piece of information from a great amount of sources, the effect of the overall piece becomes much greater. Another device he uses throughout the book is his casual, educated, confident and relatable tone. His advice is confidently put forth, and his research backs him up, making it hard to find a counterargument. Moreover, he separates himself from the scientists, one example of the latter is seen when he talks about taking a survey and admitting that it was hard for him to recall every meal he had eaten in the past three months, further admitting that he had gone over the recommended portions “If a four ounce portion of steak is considered medium was I really going to admit that the steak I enjoyed…was equivalent to two or three of these portions? He is just another human subjected to the Western Diet but trying to overcome it and teach others along the way.
One of the most important relationships the whole world has with nature is eating its products. However, the government and the food corporation are deviously replacing the whole foods with processed foods in supermarkets. Michael Pollan’s argument presents itself as a great alternative or rather an escape for the Western Diet. He breaks up his book into small readable mind-healthy portions. While shocking us with an abundance of facts, he does get his point across by making the reader make an effort to understand it and by providing bits of comic relief now and then. His tone is nowhere near accusatory to America since he sees the big picture, also including France, Italy, Japan and Greece. And instead of providing direct and harsh orders he provides friendly advice to the wider public. His book was memorable in my point of view, making me as well as many others aware of the dangers of the Western Diet and how by breaking habit, one of the most difficult tasks for humankind, the American population can once again be a healthy and powerful nation.
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