In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan - Critical Essay

Introduction

Michael Pollan has authored this text to trace the feeding habits and consciousness associated with food among Americans. He admits that Americans have a peculiar feeding habit when it comes to their diet. The author observes that most of the people nowadays are preoccupied with the ingredients they are putting in their bodies as opposed to just preparing meals that they will enjoy. The fad with the majority of Americans has been to the detriment of their simply because of their firm belief in the quantity of nutrients in their meals in lieu of the quality of quality of their food intake. He recommends on eating mostly plants as they are healthy compared to any food items that have more than five ingredients (Pollan, 2008). The author strongly opines that natural food items like greens and vegetables contain fresh and adequate nutrients to meet the dietary needs of people unlike the majority of processed food items in the market. 'In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto' despises the concept of nutritionism whereby people are only concerned with the nutrients that they are eating. The author admonishes this concept as it encourages people to forego quality meals in preference for quantity of nutrients that such meals contain. He claims most of the nutritional studies are skewed and people ought not to rely on them when it comes to choosing what food items to consume. This claim is especially true considering that most of the nutritional researchers work in cahoot with marketers to influence the consumer trends when it comes to feeding.

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There are some likeable assertions that the author makes in the text like where he insists that people ought to settle for whole foods but not manufactured edibles. This is informed by the naturally-occurring nutrients that whole foods contain and that are conspicuously absent or distorted by processing or additives. I also liked the book because it prevails upon its audience to engage in dietary practices that will make them appreciate food. This means enjoying nicely cooked organic meals without any undue pressure to gobble down junk food or manufactured food items. However, it is disheartening to learn that the author looks down upon nutrition and the research conducted on it. His perceptions of nutritional studies seem shallow and uninformed because as much as not all of them are candid, understanding the concept of nutrients in food substances has helped a lot of people lead healthy lifestyles. This is without mentioning the countless hours and tedious methodologies that researchers have to apply before making a comprehensive conclusion regarding a certain food substance and its nutritional values. Michael Pollan ought to be candid with himself as an esteemed culinary author and admit the pivotal role and breakthroughs made possible through nutritional research. The thing that surprised me in this book is that the author does not want the audience to consume food with more than 5 ingredients on its label yet there are perfectly healthy food items with more than those ingredients in the market. These include spaghetti sauce, curry paste, fortified soymilk, and even the ever-popular salsa. The regular consumption of these substances does not pose any health risk to the consumers but instead promotes healthy living through proper dieting.

Conclusion

All in all, there is no denying that this text contains useful dietary information that most of the United States citizens could apply in their real lives for healthy meals.

Reference

Pollan, M. (2008). In defence of food: The myth of nutrition and the pleasures of eating. London, England: Allen Lane.