So says Michael Pollan of "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto". So far I am about 1/4 of the way through this book and I really like it. He starts by breaking down the first part of this statement: Eat food. He clarifies by saying we are talking about real food. Not things that come wrapped in plastic and cardboard boxes. Not things that have lists of ingredients you can't pronounce, but you know, food.
The thing that I am finding interesting is that he is talking about how his grandmother's generation never took advice from scientists, books, or the government on what to put on their kitchen table. They just ate .... food. What's in season? Put it on the table. Grandma made some bread? Put it on the table. What's in the garden, at the market, or what your neighbors brought over to trade with you, you put on the table. Our generation was raised so differently, we eat food sometimes because of the "nutrients" that scientists tell us are in them, and not for pleasure. We eat to check of the list of vitamins we need every day, not because a certain food is in season. He calls this "The Age of Nutritionism".
All of this has not made us healthier. In fact, anyone that reads the paper, or sees the news clips on TV can attest to the fact that we are being told over and over again that America is actually in worse shape than any other nation. He contends that all this advice has actually made us less healthy and considerably fatter.
I'm looking forward to reading more.......
The thing that I am finding interesting is that he is talking about how his grandmother's generation never took advice from scientists, books, or the government on what to put on their kitchen table. They just ate .... food. What's in season? Put it on the table. Grandma made some bread? Put it on the table. What's in the garden, at the market, or what your neighbors brought over to trade with you, you put on the table. Our generation was raised so differently, we eat food sometimes because of the "nutrients" that scientists tell us are in them, and not for pleasure. We eat to check of the list of vitamins we need every day, not because a certain food is in season. He calls this "The Age of Nutritionism".
All of this has not made us healthier. In fact, anyone that reads the paper, or sees the news clips on TV can attest to the fact that we are being told over and over again that America is actually in worse shape than any other nation. He contends that all this advice has actually made us less healthy and considerably fatter.
I'm looking forward to reading more.......
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