In Defense of Food
Synopsis: We're all about healthy eating here in America - but you'd never know it by looking at our med charts. Food activist and UC Berkeley journalism prof Michael Pollan takes on health advisors, the food industry, and scientists in his latest book, which takes eating back to basics and might just make you change your diet.
About the author: Michael Pollan, winner of the James Beard Award, is the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma (named one of the 10 best books of 2006 by both the New York Times and the Washington Post), as well as several other books. Pollan is in the documentary film Food, Inc. that just hit theaters this June, and this fall PBS will air a doc based on his other best-selling book, The Botany of Desire, giving us a "plant's-eye view" of the world.
About the author: Michael Pollan, winner of the James Beard Award, is the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma (named one of the 10 best books of 2006 by both the New York Times and the Washington Post), as well as several other books. Pollan is in the documentary film Food, Inc. that just hit theaters this June, and this fall PBS will air a doc based on his other best-selling book, The Botany of Desire, giving us a "plant's-eye view" of the world.
Reading Selection Week 1:(July 6-12) Intro through Part 1, Ch. 6; 53 pages.
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?
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?
Submitted by alara on Mon, 07/06/2009 - 11:00pm.
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.
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.
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?!?!
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