In the first section of Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food", Pollan discusses how the diet of America has changed over the last century. Pollan states that America does not eat "food" anymore but rather processed, nutrient enriched victuals found on store shelf's today. Pollan's argument is that America has become obsessed with the "nutrient"; that we value food for these "nutrients" that we cannot see when we should just eat pure, unmolested food. Pollan points out how nutritionists have tried to break down food into parts in a search for the "miracle nutrient" as we have seen with all the different supplements available (such as Omega 3's). In response to the American diet, Michael Pollan simply says "Eat Food. Not to Much. Mostly Plants." (1)
When Michael Pollan said in his book that "food is disappearing from store shelves" I believe he is correct. Anyone can go shopping and look at the items around them, look at the list of ingredients and clearly see it. Many people don't even know what half the stuff is in the list of ingredients. It would seem that food is built more than grown or made; with certain chemicals and nutrients added. Even when a label proudly states "made with real ______" one can hardly see it in the ingredients. Nutrients are a huge deal in the food industry, with foods being enriched with this and that and being called "superior". Pollan argues that with food we look at the parts (nutrients) rather than the whole thing; and that in thinking that a few nutrients added to a food will make it better is incorrect. Take an apple for instance, there are thousands of different nutrients and phytonutrients in it, who's to say its the vitamin A that makes it nutritious?
So far, Michael Pollan has made a lot of sense in his book. I believe that he has some good ideas and I a looking forward to reading more
I agree that food today is more built then anything. Like you said we can go to a store and see every other product proclaiming that it is made with "real" this or "real" that. But should companies really have to do this with their food? Shouldn't it be implied that when you buy a pack of chicken from the store that it is made with real chicken? Shouldn’t real cheese be made from real milk, by cows? Obviously in today’s grocery stores this is not the case. The fact that we even have to proclaim that products are made with "real ___" for marketing purposes is sad. The fact the people actually buy into companies that utilize “made with real ___” on their boxes is even sadder. Instead, we should be asking questions about our food, where it comes from, and what is REALLY in it. It just goes to show how we clearly have lost a grip on what we are putting into our bodies. When Pollen states we need to “eat food,” this is what he is talking about. We need to eat REAL food! These processed, imitation items we purchase at the store are not real food and we need to get back to the idea of eating real, nutritious food. Without an emphasis on real food, our society will continue to plummet into a pit of obesity and disease.
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