In todays globalized and diverse world, the concept of “diet” and types of diets have become an obsession that we humans stress and contemplate over. As a result of the public’s demand for “healthier” options for foods, the ideology of nutritionisism has become a tool for the food industry to make more profits and come out with new findings that alter the way in which we treat food. Michael Pollan in his book, In Defense of Food, explains how nutritionism is not an actual science, but an ideology of how to take care of your body through effective ways of eating. If nutritionism is not truly scientific, then why do we treat different findings we read about nutrition as if they are such amazing findings that we HAVE to try the brand new suggestion or else we become unhappy?
Pollan suggests that American’s attitude towards food are different from other culture’s attitude in that Americans tend to consume more of the “healthier” option instead of truly enjoying and savoring the meal in front of them. It appears that American’s view the food on their plate as a set of invisible nutrients that are either harming or improving our health. It is this particular view of food and nutrition that makes American’s have higher rates of getting chronic diseases or being at the risk of obesity. I realized that the fads of different types of diets and looking at nutritional content is a way for us to feel better about our eating habits and in turn our view that we are being “healthy” is an unconscious façade to cover guilt for eating too much of one thing. At least in my own personal experience, I realized that I tell myself I can eat an entire bag of popcorn and tell myself, “it’s SMART POPCORN and it’s super healthy so you can keep eating it.”
I am not indicating that being aware of nutritional factors and having diets are a negative thing, but I do believe that we get too caught up in trying to be the healthiest version of ourselves which can potentially cause more harm. Instead of counting the calories of our meal and differentiating what are “good carbs” versus “bad carbs,” we should learn to truly enjoy our meals while cutting down on our portions.
[First Blog Response]
Hello Bunji,
I think your blog post displays a great understanding of the unspoken ideology of nutritionism. I completely agree that Americans view food differently than other countries especially through my personal experiences as well. You say that “Americans tend to consume more of the “healthier” option instead of truly enjoying and savoring the meal in front of them.” I think this is a powerful statement because in today’s society we are seeing a huge increase in organic stores and vegan based restaurants and I think this is because of this fad of “nutritionism” that is being spread around. I feel as if no one is eating for their own pleasure anymore but instead eating because they are health conscious or because they are trying to fit in. In my opinion I think this is taking the actual social aspect out of food which is what so many cultures categorize food with.
I have been thinking about another view that goes against this and I think this is something that you should give a thought. Yes Americans are focusing too much on the nutrition labels of food and yes it is taking away the social aspect, but could this be good for everyone? With the US having such a high obesity rate this could be a fad that sparks the overall population of being more aware of their health. This could cause a decrease in the obesity rate of the US and allow for people to actually live healthy. So my question is, is the health of the overall population more important than losing the social aspect and overall pleasure of food?