In the “American Paradox,” Michael Pollan confronts the “American Paradox: a notably unhealthy population preoccupied with nutrition and thee idea of eating healthy” (268). Americans are obsessed with the trend of healthy eating that they fail to see the unhealthy results it has on them. The unhealthy trend of “healthy diets” is a result of the rise of multi-billion dollar food-marketing business and the “shifting grounds of nutrition science” (268). Michael Pollan believes that Americans focus too much on the scientific aspect of food that they fail to concentrate on their own health and happiness. Americans have misconceptions on the way Americans eat because of the rise of nutrition science, flawed data on healthy eating, and the redefinition
…show more content…
Belasco believes that food specialists are “useful to have around…since modern life is far too complex…” (300). The world is changing and growing at a faster pace making the simple task of eating food complex. The need for specialists in today’s world can be argued. In the past, specialists have made many assumptions on what is beneficial to human health and what is harmful to human health. For example, during World War II specialists have guaranteed that the first pesticide was safe to consume. Pollan states that major food businesses and nutritionists have managed to complicate the simple act of eating. Again, in today’s world people question why people need “investigative journalists to tell us where our food comes from…” or why we need “nutritionists to determine the dinner menu” the real reason is that there is no reason (300). I believe that there are some benefits to having nutritionists; however I do not think that specialists need to instruct people how to eat healthy for people have done it for a long time without the guidance of these “specialists” …show more content…
At home, my mother is the one in charge of the menu. My mother is from Seoul, Korea a nation where food is exotic and traditional. She has learned to prepare Korean meals from her mother. My mother left Korea with my father after they got married. In America, my mother stuck to her cooking and continued to prepare traditional Korean dishes such as kimbap (Korean sushi rolls) and kimchijiga (kimchi stew). Even to this day, my mother continues to prepare traditional Korean meals instead of low-fat diet influenced meals. As a child, my mother would always gather the family together and pray before every meal because it was a “ritual” we performed as a family.
In Marcel Danesis’ essay “Food as Myth” he supports Pollan’s idea of culture being the origins of eating food. In the past, families would eat together, but now with the ever popular “two-person, working household” the tradition of eating as a family has lost its value (323). In correlation, fast food companies such as Mcdonalds have been on the rise making meals with the family affordable and quick. Pollan believes that the way Americans eat today in comparison to the past is that Americans today fail to eat for the purpose of starting relationships and gaining happiness through these
Belasco believes that food specialists are “useful to have around…since modern life is far too complex…” (300). The world is changing and growing at a faster pace making the simple task of eating food complex. The need for specialists in today’s world can be argued. In the past, specialists have made many assumptions on what is beneficial to human health and what is harmful to human health. For example, during World War II specialists have guaranteed that the first pesticide was safe to consume. Pollan states that major food businesses and nutritionists have managed to complicate the simple act of eating. Again, in today’s world people question why people need “investigative journalists to tell us where our food comes from…” or why we need “nutritionists to determine the dinner menu” the real reason is that there is no reason (300). I believe that there are some benefits to having nutritionists; however I do not think that specialists need to instruct people how to eat healthy for people have done it for a long time without the guidance of these “specialists” …show more content…
At home, my mother is the one in charge of the menu. My mother is from Seoul, Korea a nation where food is exotic and traditional. She has learned to prepare Korean meals from her mother. My mother left Korea with my father after they got married. In America, my mother stuck to her cooking and continued to prepare traditional Korean dishes such as kimbap (Korean sushi rolls) and kimchijiga (kimchi stew). Even to this day, my mother continues to prepare traditional Korean meals instead of low-fat diet influenced meals. As a child, my mother would always gather the family together and pray before every meal because it was a “ritual” we performed as a family.
In Marcel Danesis’ essay “Food as Myth” he supports Pollan’s idea of culture being the origins of eating food. In the past, families would eat together, but now with the ever popular “two-person, working household” the tradition of eating as a family has lost its value (323). In correlation, fast food companies such as Mcdonalds have been on the rise making meals with the family affordable and quick. Pollan believes that the way Americans eat today in comparison to the past is that Americans today fail to eat for the purpose of starting relationships and gaining happiness through these