Your "No Way!" Moment

So as we wrap up the first set of reading for In Defense of Food, we've learned quite a bit I'd say. Pollan's got all sorts of great facts and theories scattered throughout this book thus far.

For me, I'd say hearing about the McGovern panel report was pretty stunning, but this little nugget blew my mind: The father of the lipid hypothesis was saying that hydrogenated veggie oil (trans fats) might be responsible for the rise in coronary heart disease way back in 1956. 1956! We trusted him enough for upend our entire way of eating once, but then it took us like 50 years to heed him again. Wild.

What tidbit has surprised you the most in the first 53 pages?
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Leaping Lipids

As Mike noted yesterday, there are lots of powerful forces at work in shaping the food system - I just never imagined that large-scale experimentation would be one of them. 

But look at Pollan’s chapter on the “lipid hypothesis” where he writes, “What the Soviet Union was to the ideology of Marxism, the Low-Fat Campaign is to the ideology of nutritionism - its supreme test and...its most abject failure.” Ooof.

So we changed our food supply upside down on a hunch? Should we trust public health officials or the FDA after this one? I’m sure many of us won’t (or never did), but unfortch we do need some kind of regulating body.  How do we build one that’s responsible then to its most important constituents - us?

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I'm definitely a cynic when it comes to government, but really I feel like political forces pulling from all sides will never allow a governmental body to remain truly independent.

The only way it would work is if there was some large panel that was made up of enough folks to represent all those forces, so all those differing viewpoints would have to somehow come to an agreement. And then there'd have to be some sort of ombudsman or Director of Common Sense to double-check it with a skeptical eye.

But even then, I dunno. I'd personally rather just assume that if I eat whole foods, cut down on processed stuff, and get some exercise, that's about as good as I can do.

I'm wondering if campaign finance reform would have an impact on that. We also have an inability to define "expert" anymore in a way that's meaningful or useful. So which "experts" do we put on the panel? I'm afraid the only folks I'd consider listening to would be people like Pollan or the Organic Consumers Association. And Paige's Faerie Fridays sound wonderfully "pleasure principle" motivated.

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Culture Club

I'm gonna sort of piggyback on Alison's Q from yesterday regarding food and Culture to ask: Do we have one here in America? (Before you answer, I'm not sure Fast Food counts.)

Pollan notes the "political dustup" in 1977 regarding Senator George McGovern's Dietary Goals of the United States paper as the beginning of the nutritionism in government. I mean, it's not surprising that the beef lobby got peeved when the government was prepared to say "eat less meat," and sadly, it's not so surprising that the panel backed off and essentially caved to political pressure.

Given those kinds of powerful forces holding sway over the food we eat, how do we go about creating one? Where do we begin?

*Sidenote related to McGovern: If you've never read Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, you should check it out...it's a surprisingly (for the topic, not for HST) exciting look at the machinations of getting elected in the United States.
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Relating to the take over of food by government, industry etc. http://www.thechinastudy.com/
I think we do have a food culture, but it's an amalgam of many different ones, in light of the melting pot we are. Maybe that's another reason we've been so vulnerable to the shifting nutritional winds: when people immigrate to the U.S., they or their children usually choose to assimilate - and that means foodways (the social and economic choices related to food) too.
I like this definition of culture: enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training. Teaching ourselves how to buy and prepare healthful, delicious food, then sharing it with other people (more dinner parties!) seems like a solid place to start.
At least from what I observe in general it seems the eating culture in America can best be defined by the title of a fantastic book called Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink. Whether at home on a couch watching tv, in a car on the road or on a call at work, Americans seem to eat without thinking or paying attention to the process or the meal. This compounds when coupled with quick fast food meals a la Fast Food Nation. Reading books on this topic has made me aware of how I fall prey to this myself.

In reference to the response to my original post yesterday around what eating means to people as well as to today’s question on how we go about creating a culture, I think we begin by implementing a great mantra from Ghandi that a few of my friends use, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I have been very blessed to begin to redefine our family’s eating culture with a little help from my friends. I have met a great group of parents at my son’s school, and now that summer is here, to maintain close ties until school starts back we have instituted faery ring Fridays. We gather at a friend’s house and do potluck. The meals are freshly prepared to share with friends. The kids play in the backyard and the parents enjoy wine and beer. We are even implementing a mix tape share so we can add music into the line up. At dinner we eat on the picnic table out back or table indoors and laugh and enjoy the day as it turns to dusk. This tradition is very recent, but has begun redefining how our family looks at mealtimes and also how we, as friends, look at each other. We have raw foodists, wheat allergies, vegans… doing potluck not only becomes a social gathering but a learning experience about the families.

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What about the pleasure principle?

Mike’s question Monday - do labels make you change your mind about eating foods? - is a good one, but I think Pollan is trying to show us that we need to pay more attention to Culture (the author uses the capital “C” here) and pleasure (yup, whether we enjoy the taste) as guiding principles to how we eat. In the long term, they are steadier, more reliable indicators than the latest nutritional fad.

How logical, right?  Today I paged through a health magazine, and the ads touted nutritionally fortified-this-and-that processed snack.  I’m totally guilty of keeping a running tab in my brain of antioxidant-rich or vitamin-filled foods I’ve consumed that day, but Pollan’s broader outlook seems closer to nature - and a path we’re more likely to follow over time. 

So, have you moved away from eating what simply tastes good? Do you grocery shop by the latest RDA requirements?

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I'd say about half the stuff I buy I like. I mean, if I only bought what I liked I'd have a basket full of ice cream and gummy bears every time I left the store, so I have to buy other stuff too.

The problem is that I buy "healthy stuff" -- veggies, etc. -- that's supposed to be good for me, but I mow down the cheese, salami, and chicharrones while the kale goes bad.

Yeah, I heart chicharrones, too, but even mama said that was a snack, right? IOW, there's cultural guidelines and there's, well, pure indulgence. And I think we know the diff.
I haven’t moved away from what tastes good, but I do weigh my options to attempt to get the “most bang for my nutritional buck”. I try to focus on whole foods and in so doing I may choose berries over bananas or broccoli over cucumbers in dishes, depending on what nutrients I believe I need to focus on the most in a week. My goal is to eat what I like knowing that I may not get all the veggies and fruit I need in a day, so make ‘em count.
Before I started reading In Defense of Food, I began shopping at Wholefoods and the local farmers' market. In doing so, I created a love for my food that was not just about taste, but about how beautiful it was to look at, about knowing how and where it was grown, and about knowing that I was supporting good causes. When I looked at my food, I knew it was good for me and my family. Everytime I entered my kitchen and saw the delectable treats that filled my fruit and vegetable bowls, or the bread basket on my counter, I praised their beauty in my mind (and even sometimes out loud if there was someone to listen). I firmly believe that love for that which nourishes you only enhances the flavor and nutritional value. Maybe it is psychological or maybe it is something more. I have not completely eliminated processed foods from my pantry and refrigerator, however I do try to purchase ones that at least start with whole foods. My biggest challenge is finding foods that my children will eat, can easily prepare in my absence or take to school, and don't break the bank. The economy is making things a little more challenging for everyone and we have to make choices about what is important to us. Unfortunately, it seems the "big brand" businesses, like Kraft, are taking matters into their own hands and "bullying" the USDA and other authorities regarding labeling in the guise of making organic foods more accessible to everyone by making them "cheaper" or "more abundant". I just learned that Barbara Robinson with the USDA took it into her own hands to make it legal to "include" non-organic substances in certified USDA organic foods (baby formula was one of them). I was appalled. Learning that made me question whether I was actually getting the organic foods I thought I was (though I'm sure they are still healthier and safer for the environment than non-organic). I'm looking forward to reading everyone's comments. I've finished the book and it truly changed the way I look at my food.
Shannon -- re: admiring your food...I think you're onto something there. And I think that's probably what Alison is getting at as far as a Capital-C Culture regarding food in America.

We don't admire our food so much as slam it down during an episode of American Idol (or The Wire, if you're in my house). Most cultures have that reverence for certain ingredients...and from that admiration comes respect, which is definitely what we're lacking for our food here in America. The very idea of fast food negates that sort of lifestyle.

Shannon - I loved your comment and absolutely agree with it! I have started frequenting the farmer's markets lately and making a point of buying things that I know were grown locally. Besides letting you get excited and take pride in what you're eating, it's also so important to support your local farmers. It always put a smile on my face to look in my fridge and on my counter top and see beautiful fresh veggies, fruit, and breads!

I think that this ties into Culture quite strongly...it makes me think of perhaps how people used to live, you know, Little House on the Prairie style! What you eat actually becomes entwined with you in a way and becomes something that gives you a sense of pride and excitement.

To answer the question above, I honestly only eat foods that I like. I don’t pay much attention to the new crazes and fads or government food regulations. I simply won’t eat foods that I don’t enjoy to eat! And, I have to ask: what in the world are chicharrones?!?! What am I missing out on?!?!
Jeanette - Chicharrones are, well, fried pork rinds. I suppose they're eco in the way of the Native Americans...using every last piece of the animal? OK, now I'm really stretching. :)
Food admiration: beauteous!! I've been appalled at the recent dialogues elsewhere around organic/natural with a whole lot of information about items labelled organic that are nothing remotely like the healthy organic we're in quest of. Pollan's guidelines for local and farmer's market are wonderful. On the pleasure principle: Absolutely food is a part of pleasure. When did we go from making it an element -- the company with which we're spending our eating time, the atmosphere & environment in which we're eating -- to making it the main stage? And some of the additives, etc, remind me of the tobacco industry and their additives to cigarettes to make them even more addictive. On the ciccharones -- more for you, darlins :-}
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Are you unhealthily healthy?

Howdy, everyone! Welcome to the first day of your In Defense of Food book club.

I've been looking forward to reading and discussing this book, because, well…I eat. And since my mom was a nurse, and saw plenty of people in the hospital with heart attacks, etc., she made an effort to make my dad and I eat healthy (even going so far as telling 2-year-old Mike that donuts were called "yucks").

Pollan states in the intro that "we are becoming a nation of orthorexics: people with an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating" - and the more we worry about it, the more unhealthy we get.

Based on my family history, my doctor's pretty concerned about my cholesterol and blood sugar, which in turn makes me pretty concerned about my cholesterol and blood sugar. It feels warranted to me, but then that could be exactly what Pollan's talking about.

Have you ever been ready to eat something, then looked at the label and said, "Oh, never mind?" And if so, do you think that's a bad thing?

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I've grown up being in a family of overweight people - high cholesterol, heart problems, diabetes, thyroid issues. When you go to the doctor and they ask about your family history, you know it's for a reason; they're going to check you for the same things, so in a way, you need to be worried about it.
The biggest focus of most of these illnesses (and many others) is what we eat. I think it's not just us, but as you alluded to, the doctors who have also encouraged the "orthorexic" rage.
As I have had family history of so many illnesses, I've only been able to recently overcome them by watching what I ate - I lost weight, went from pre-diabetic to no diabetes, my thyroid returned to healthy numbers, and instead of my cholesterol being several hundred points above normal, they were a mere tens - a small issue, seeing my past, that my doctor is confident I can overcome by continuing my path.
In cases like mine, I think you can't just eat with wild abandon. Does it mean I'm completely obsessed with what I eat? Not really. I watch my calories, mostly, and if I notice something is very heavy in sugars, salts, or is a processed food (among other credentials), I do usually put it down. I don't count every gram of fat, salt, sugar, etc., thinking that the one or two points over will make me that much fatter - I know better.
But with this attitude, I'm now hoping to learn what I can and can't eat, what I should eat, so that I don't have to be focused on what I'm eating. I'm creating new habits now, so that in a year or two, what I reach for is inherently fine and good for me. I think growing up with the Western Diet ingrained within me, with the nutritionists telling me what's good and what's bad, what the new fads are and the new little enemies, the practice of eating takes a lot of time to rewrite.
I think the real problem with many a person "trying to be healthy" is that they focus, and are obsessed on nutrients, not with whole foods. When you focus on nutrients, the "bad" and the "good", of course your food loses value and it will only lead to problems.
With making the change, I don't think at all that it's a bad thing to be almost obsessive-like in finding the real food, not processed or altered or modified. Only when you find it, should you shed the worry of what you're eating and enjoy the practice, culture, and soulful act of eating.
Ang - I definitely agree that doctors have helped to encourage that. And that's the weird thing about the medical profession.

I mean, their job is to try to make you healthier, and it would be tough for them to say "Eh, don't worry about the latest study" if their peers are all touting it. Because wouldn't you be a little concerned if you were getting the opposite advice of everyone you know all the time? Even if it turned out to be correct, at the time, you'd probably think your doc was a little kooky, right?

I do think you're right about focusing on whole foods -- and it certainly looks like that's precisely the stuff that Pollan will be defining and defending as "food" here.

I was so surprised to learn about all the fuzzy science that has contributed to the national amnesia about how we eat. I can't believe the food pyramid was thrown together so haphazardly, and I'm disgusted by the efforts of the meat, dairy and sugar lobbies to keep us buying and consuming their products against our best interests, and GETTING THE GOVERNMENT TO LIE ABOUT IT TO US. Yikes. Thanks to this intro I've already started to think in terms of "food" rather than "nutrient," and kick my "orthorexic" mentality. Can't wait to keep reading!
I am vegan, going on 24 years now, and this topic continues to fascinate me. So far I am only through chapter one, but wanted to get into the discussion. I do think that many people in our nation are obsessed with healthy eating to the point that every new health supplement, fortified product or diet that comes out is pounced upon, yet these same individuals won’t follow the simplistic routine of eating vegetables, grains, proteins/ legumes and fruits every day (I know, I am guilty of this myself sometimes). I am not sure if it is the fact that we are all working harder than ever to earn a living and time is precious, so we think why cook a meal when I can pop a pill with some vitamin water in the car or eat a fortified cereal bar and feel like I am getting the same nutritional value? If you figure it out, tell me, I am a work in progress.

I also agree that the more we do this, the more unhealthy we get. I think in part this has to do with Pollan’s discussion that more and more products focus on one nutrient or vitamin versus the overall nutritional value of a food. I won’t get into my issues with this in terms of marketing, corporate profit, and the politics of this overall, rather I will say that I love that Pollan appears to be tackling this topic head on, providing solid information on how we got where we are today.

In regards to the question if I have ever been ready to eat something, then looked at the label and said never mind, absolutely. And I definitely do not think it is a bad thing. So many products right now list all natural, fat free, heart healthy or other such platitudes on their product labels, but when I pick up the box it is a bunch of chemicals and words that I have no idea what they mean, what they are, or where they come from. If the ingredients don’t list a simple food product, I put it down and run away. I am on board with others who posted that whole foods are the way to go. I actually have a recipe list I am collecting of whole foods recipes that are fairly quick and easy to make, and best of all my six year old son loves most of them! It is amazing without media to tell him what products he should like and what will taste good to him what he actually loves, but that is another topic altogether, isn’t it…

Paige -- I think your comment about time hits the nail on the head.

We're constantly bombarded in general with things to do, ways to make more money, be more attractive, whatever...and those things take time. If they made a pill that could grant you perfect health, it's be a top seller because any time you spend cooking is time you can't spend on that stuff. I'd be in line for a bottle of them myself.

The question is what eating means to all of us. It used to be a big part of the human experience, a way for families to stay close, a means with which you could learn more about other people. And we've definitely moved away from that.

Yes, I definitely look at labels, and yes, I definitely put things back if I don't like what I see. I don't think that this is a bad thing at all - we should be critical of what we're eating. It is our body after all! It's something that you should be taking good care of...and like Pollan and others who have already commented say, looking at foods as nutrients and not whole foods is going to be beneficial to your health.

Ideal Bite has introduced this book to me at such a great time, I've just started making important changes in my diet, more specifically eating more whole foods and less processed stuff. I now do most of my shopping in the produce department and make a ton of stuff from scratch...if I can't understand what a label says, I don't eat it (with a few exceptions that I haven't gotten away from yet, lol).

I can't wait to read more of Pollan's book, and of course, to read more of what everyone else has to say! :D
2 thoughts: Most of the medical/health care profession operates from a model of disease rather than a model of health. What would happen if we looked for health and built on it, rather than looking for disease to eradicate it? We, as a society, are so wrapped up in so many unhealthy lifestyle choices that looking to solve them via nutrition is a losing battle. I love what Pollan has to say about eating and the food industry and if it's wedded to healthy choices about community, employment, pace of life, ecological responsibility .... Well -- and I do mean "well" :-} -- then . . .
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Welcome Back, Bookies

Are you hungry for the second installment of the Biter Book Club? We'll be reading In Defense of Food in July, so if you're in, read through Part 1: Chapter 6 and then check back in on July 6 to chime in on the first discussion question. (We already got a jump on it and so far it's a refreshing blast of common sense.)

Mike and Alison'll focus on a few new chapters each week, and post questions daily. We want to hear what you have to say, so comment on the discussion questions, and see what other BC members have to say - daily, weekly, whenever you have time.
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