In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

In Defense of Food: An Easter’s Manifesto by Michael Pollen is one of the most interesting and “eye opening” books I’ve read in recent memory. It makes the case that the entire way we’ve been thinking about food over the last 30 or so years is completely misguided. And considering the explosion of obesity and related diseases during that time, I think there’s a very good case to be made for that.

It makes the case that instead of thinking about carbohydrates, fat, & protein - we should be thinking about food.  It makes the case that “nutrionism” (the focus on the nutrition inside of food rather on the food itself ) clouds our thinking. It makes the case that people have lived healthily eating all kinds of varied diets which focus on all kinds of different thing. The one diet that has been a consistant failure? The “Western Diet.”

What’s the “Western Diet”? It’s one focused on processed “foods” which really cease to be food but instead some kind of imitation of food. And in fact until the 1970s, imitation foods had to be labeled as such. It is no coincidence that the removal of that “imitation” label has lead to less and less real food in the grocery store and more and more processed crap that we shouldn’t be eating which in turn has lead to increased health problems and skyrocketing obesity.

I cannot recommend this book any higher. It’s a great book for anyone who is concerned about their health and for anyone who enjoys food (the good news is that the real best way to “diet” is to simply eat real food.) Really I think it’s a great book for everyone to read, after all - everyone eats.

Buy The Book:

Buy Audio CD Version: