Defender of Food

I just finished In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan's latest. I had been putting it off, since many of the articles it is based on I had already read when they were first published in the NY Times Magazine. A big improvement on The Omnivore's Dilemma, this book is much more of a rant, with back-up. It's more fun to read, with tasty nuggets of fact buried inside - kind of like some of our favorite adulterated food-like products.

Pollan is straight-up from the get-go. He says our food system is sick and its illness is reflected in our societal health. He recommends a simple solution: Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants. In 200 pages he presents a relatively plain-spoken argument of what our food mess is, how we got here and how to apply his simplistic (and common-sense,) solution.

Pollan points to two important events of the 70's, Nixon's expansion of farm subsidies, which massively increased corn and soy production, and a little noted "political dust up" that led the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs to change the recommendations they gave Americans about their diets. Rather than suggesting we "reduce consumption of meat," they instead told the public to "choose meats, poultry and fish that will reduce saturated fat intake."

Pollan does not imply that these events created the reductionist nightmare of "Nutritionism," where we talk not about food, but foodstuff's "nutritional value," but he connects them to the broader sweep of American Culture and the Western cult of Science that seems incapable of recognizing its methodology is not suited to understanding every problem.

Now who is ranting?

Anyway, back to the book. Have you ever wondered how to keep up with the changing health news? Eggs are bad - no maybe not. Meat is bad, or maybe just red meat - no its carbohydrates. Fat is bad -well only some fat - well maybe no fat is bad. Turns out all of this info is suspect, or just plain crap. It's all based on science that thinks you can know what food is by breaking it into its parts (and only those parts we have figured out how to measure) It turns out food is way more complicated, especially when its not just how food is prepared, or combined that gives it value, it also matters how it is eaten, or how it is grown. It also turns out there are some very powerful actors that find it useful to discuss food in this reductionist manner. How else can a new product be rolled out every year - or at least relabeled - to reflect the changing winds of "Healthy Eating" Pollan names some names and provides good sources, but this books strength is mostly what its subtitle suggests it is: "An Eater's Manifesto"

In its final section Pollan fleshes out his simple suggestion of eating food, explaining how to identify it, where to find it and some simple tips on how to afford it. You see, good food actually costs more than crap, both in terms of time and money, but it turns out that expense is not as straightforward as it may seem. In 1960 Americans spent 17.5% of their money on food and 5.2% on health care, today the numbers are nearly reversed; food expenses have declined to just 9.9% while health care eats up 16% of National income. Personally, I would rather spend time and money eating well with my friends, than cooling my heels alone in a Doctor's waiting room.

Which is why I already follow many of Pollan's practical food suggestions, such as growing a garden and eating free range organic eggs - because long ago it made sense to me that "You are what you eat eats too" Unfortunately, I can't afford organic, free range meats, so I just try to keep meat a small part of my diet and follow Thomas Jefferson's injunction that meat should be used to flavor vegetables and not the other way around. I have been telling Tiz I'm going to start hunting for a while now, although I'm sure she thinks I'm pulling her leg. But I have talked with enough forest experts to know that here in the Northeast at least, killing Bambie is an environmentally positive thing to do.

Anyway, it's a worthwhile read, even if you are a foodie like me you will surely get something out of it. This year, for example, I will finally order seeds for golden purslane and put a few more Omega-3's in my diet