Redifining the Modern Diet

Michael Pollan, whose primary skill involves writing books, has a surprisingly immense knowledge of food and its components. Not only does he know about the different types of food but also the various processes going on in the food industry. This puts him in a position to critically analyze the food industry and the scientific interference in food processes. In his book “In Defense of Food”, he stresses on three major topics – Nutritionism, the Western Diet and his own estimate on how to eat.

There are various factors in today’s world which influence our way of eating such as scientific interference, media interference and mainly the food industry. These professional fields are trying to alter the way people eat by putting health labels on various food items and producing food which might not contain natural ingredients. Pollan tells us to ignore health labels and look to our cultural ties with food.

Pollan finds links which connect all these aspects to nutritionism. All these efforts are being made to preserve or enhance the health of human beings. The major stress is on macronutrients such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Initially scientists failed to recognize micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals as important constituents of food. After realizing their importance, scientists began experimenting with them to produce new food products which would supposedly enhance health. This led to the idea of nutritionism which has further led to the concept of processed foods. Processed foods are prepared by the food industry by stripping down fresh food into their constituents and forming something completely unnatural and unknown. By the time they reach the supermarket there are very few natural components remaining in the food and most of the flavors are artificial. This is an indirect way of fooling people because it only displays the food externally while hiding the manufacturing process. In fact they are processed food which Pollan argues cannot even be called food but food products.

The ideas about nutritionism propagated by the scientists are further propagated by the media through advertisements. They often display false ideas about healthy food and mainly promote the idea of processed food for their own benefit.

Right from the start Pollan talks about the effect of nutritionism on the modern diet. Nutritionism is the idea that the nutritional value of a food is the sum of all its individual nutrients, vitamins, and other components. It also supports and propagates the idea that food is to be consumed to promote good health. Pollan strongly attacks these ideas in his book. Contrary to the idea of nutritionism, Pollan argues that the whole food is more than the sum of its constituent parts. To back up this idea he presents a plethora of facts. Scientists stress the importance of studying food by breaking it up into its nutrients. This way they can isolate the harmful nutrients and keep the healthy ones. But this practice backfired. Scientists attempted to make healthy food healthier by stressing on individual nutrients. Little did they know that the nutrients only work well when they are blended together by various reactions. Consumed separately, they lose their nutritional value.

The second major topic covered by Pollan is the Western diet. As an example Pollan describes the diet of the Aborigines people of Australia. They have been surviving through their traditional methods of eating. When they were exposed to Western food they developed certain chronic diseases. Pollan strongly criticizes the Western diet which is also a reflection of nutritionism in today’s world. Western diet largely comprises processed food. As mentioned earlier, processed food lacks many of the basic nutrients required for good health due to continuous experimentation. Another aspect of Western diet is the production of food by using external chemical agents such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Not only do these deplete important micro organisms in the soil but also deprives the soil and crop of nutrients and minerals. This leads to monoculture and the production of only few types of crops such as soybean and corn which has been the case for many years now. The trend has shifted from quality of food to quantity. All these agricultural measures have led to the increase yield of one or two crops while decreasing its nutritional value.

Finally Pollan gives us his own evaluation of how to eat food and how to make the right choices while selecting food. The first steps are to escape from the Western diet and the world of nutritionism. He tells us to only eat food which our great grandmothers recognize as food because food at their time was not refined but presented it in its entire essence. Next he tells us to avoid food labels which depict ingredients which are unfamiliar to us and seem complicated. He criticizes the supermarket and tells us that the farmers market is the best place to find whole food which has not been deprived of its natural value. He links eating to ecology and culture by stating the importance of soil and the food habits of the animals we consume. He culturally criticizes the Western diet by bringing in the French way of eating. As compared to the cheap and fast way of the American diet, the French eat little food over long periods which not only helps them enjoy their food but also keeps them relatively healthy. In the end he tells us that food that is directly produced by us in farms and gardens are the best source of healthy food.

I am not completely certain about the credibility of Pollan’s arguments but as far as I am concerned, he supports his arguments with strong facts. He uses an analytical approach while criticizing the food industry, nutritionism and the Western diet. As mentioned earlier, his extensive knowledge regarding the various processes and constituents of food is astounding and forces readers to take his side and adopt his views towards a healthy diet.