In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
Ratings105
Average rating4
A good read for gaining perspective on the modern Western diet. Whilst I do not agree with all of the author's suggestions, such as including alcohol in your diet, most of the advice is good, common sense which is sorely lacking in today's landscape.
I think I love long-form journalism. Although I wasn't as blown away by this book as I was by The Omnivore's Dilemma, I did really appreciate this, especially the deep dive into “nutrionism.” I don't think any of the final suggestions were new to me, but it was interesting to read about how the Western diet has broken food down into its component parts – and perhaps not to our benefit.
This book raises many good points. It presented me with the best arguments for organic food I have yet encountered. It convinced me that the modern science of nutrition stands on ground as shaky as psychology or economics; in that we can't run controlled experiments on any of those fields and they are probably wrong about many things.
Where I disagree with the author is that I don't think natural foods represent the best possible sustenance for humans. I think that eventually nutritional science will advance to the point of bettering our natural diets, even though I don't think we are there right now
Enlightening. This book makes its case well, and taught me much I genuinely didn't know - not something I often admit. Very intriguing read, and one I'll likely use as a general guide to healthier eating. No matter what you think about food or weight loss or anything related to the very basic act of eating and the more elaborate structures of cuisine, this book should teach you something and/ or challenge any beliefs you may already have.
As you might guess, my yoga practice has helped me become even more aware of how important I think a holistic approach to health is. And I think that, in a vast majority of respects, American attitudes (often including my own) about food, cuisine, nutrition, health, bodies, and the interactions between all those things are the antitheses of holistic. So, I'm obsessed with Michael Pollan because he presents a simple, logical, yet compassionate possible answer on how to allow food to make you both happy and well: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. It says that right on the cover, but like Omnivore's Dilemma, Pollan expands his guidelines in the book with humor, research, and an investigative journalist's eye. Don't read this book if you want to be told WHAT food to eat (or what food you should feel bad about eating). Read this book if you want to learn a kinder, gentler (dare I say exponentially healthier?) way HOW to eat food.
Pollan's good, but the best part of this book is Part III, Getting over Nutritionism, and it turns out that his latest book, the tiny “Food Rules” is a better statement of how to eat. This book gives the background, but you'd do fine to just stick with “Food Rules.”
I read this before I read Omnivore's Dilemma. The whole book can be summed up with the phrases circling the lettuce on the cover: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
well researched.. well terrifying.. made me wanna live in a hut somewhere with a small garden and no distractions..
A lot more food for thought (no pun intended?) than real prescriptions or proscriptions. Interesting, easily readable. A little more geared to the middle class, further on in life than I am - I essentially still live a college lifestyle still: no dining room, roommates are strangers, little room in the fridge or time to cook it because of social and professional obligations, and definitely nowhere to plant a garden. But that's a lot of excuses and his advice is still sound. It's a lifestyle change and it takes a commitment, as Pollan says. Anyway, I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to think about food culture, cooking, even American culture as a whole as it relates to big business.
This book provided a clearer insight into how the food industry works. If you enjoy the book I would also suggest the movie Food Inc.
