In Defense Of Food Summary

In Defense of Food is a look into a society harboring an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. Michael Pollan is an author, journalist, and professor of journalism at the University of California. He has written four New York Times bestsellers, and has had articles published in The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s Magazine, and National Geographic. In Defense of Food is one of multiple books he has written focusing on diet, and his aim is to help readers “reclaim their health and happiness as eaters,” by defending food and the eating thereof. He starts this book off with the simple mantra: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Pollan addresses three main points in this book: the history and current state of eating that we have, the Western diet with its effects on health, and how to enjoy better health while getting the most enjoyment out of foods.

Numerous changes have occurred over the years in terms of food and eating. We've gone from foraging to fast food, and from traditional cooking to convenience. The culture of food is one that in our current society has the tendency to change quickly. It can change multiple times, even within a single generation, as nutrition science …show more content…
We are living in an age of nutritionism, which varies so much from original tradition diets focused on food as opposed to nutrients. The Western diet falls short of adequately providing nutrition, and the results are telling with how pervasive chronic diseases are now. Healthful eating provides many benefits and an opportunity to enjoy foods on a greater level in new ways, however it does take more effort to upkeep. The context in which foods and nutrients are consumed has great importance, and balanced use of knowledge of nutrients and foods as a whole is