Book Review: "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" by Michael Pollan

Review by John Berrout

“In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto”
Author: Michael Pollan
New York: The Penguin Press

In response to the many readers of his “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” who asked, “OK, but what should I eat?” Michael Pollan wrote “In Defense of Food,” his manifesto as an eater concerned with the health of his body and the land. Pollan’s answer: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Though this simple response remains the core of the novel, Pollan’s discussion touches on many subjects, including the rise of processed foods, the advent of the food industry and the imperfect science that have grown out of our desire to manipulate and refine the foods we eat, much to our harm.

Pollan explains that for thousands of years humans were split up into different cultures, each adjusting its way of life and customs to the geography where they lived and the foods available to them. While they figured out how to find sustenance through trial and error, they were inventing damn good diets that helped them to be healthy and survive. And this worked out, at least until the Western Diet (defined as “lots of processed foods and meat, lots of added fat and sugar, lots of everything—except vegetables, fruits, and whole grains”) spread from the United States and western Europe to other countries and supplanted the traditional diets. This new Western diet seemed fine at the time. Remember, for thousands of years, people were usually unsure if their harvest would be good enough to feed them, and the processed foods that resisted spoiling were like a dream come true. These new processed foods were also loaded with calories and fats instead of nutrients and promised to save all those people from going hungry. A massive processed-food industry grew quickly to give the people these foods that would replace their traditional diets. And since scientists seemed to be figuring out how food worked (through vitamins and fats and carbohydrates and minerals), it seemed that no one would ever need to eat vegetable stews and fresh fruits ever again. The scientists would figure out how to make the most healthy, perfect foods. Right?

Wrong. The food industry was terribly wrong, and we have learned the hard way that food cannot be simplified down to its parts. We still haven’t identified all the parts, and, as it turns out, the ways those parts work together is infinitely complex. As an example, Pollan describes the early manufacturing of supposedly safe infant formulas, around which an entire industry would grow: The result was an increase in rates of diet-related diseases in formula-fed infants. Worse, the traditional diets that had kept their eaters healthy became replaced by fast food, refined flours and processed sugars—the Western Diet that caused obesity, heart disease, cancer and a host of other diseases. The Western Diet crowded out the fruits and vegetables; the wild meats; the real, whole foods that are considered tasteless and nasty in comparison. Think Lays Potato Chips versus a baked potato. For thousands of years humans never had a chance to eat anything as fatty as a Big Mac in one sitting or drink anything nearly as sweet as a Coke. The truth is, people like pop because thousands of years of evolution taught the human brain that sweet foods (which used to be only fruits) packed a lot of calories and would help ward off starvation. Drinking soft drinks or eating calorie-packed food releases a flood of chemical pleasure in the brain. In addition, eaters of the Western Diet lead inactive lifestyles and do not spend much time or money to find fresh produce and prepare whole meals.

The solution Pollan poses is straightforward: We must eat the kinds of foods that our grandparents would recognized; we must eat whole fresh foods rather than processed foods; we must generally eat less, especially meat, which is “better approached as a side dish than as a main”; we must be willing to devote more time and money to eating healthier; we must relearn the pleasure of cooking food and eating meals. In the context of “In Defense of Food,” gardening becomes a subversive act against a manipulative food industry, ordering a salad is a form of protest against industrialized livestock production, buying locally grown produce is a show of solidarity with small farmers. By the end of Pollan’s book, it is obvious that changing to a healthier, plant-based, fresh food diet is as good for the body as it is for the environment, such that the defense of food is also the defense of the land.

Have you read this book? Get your copy today.

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