Category Archives: Uncategorized

What are we doing? What to believe? Where to start?

Michael Pollan introduces the concept of “nutritionalism,” in his book In Defense of Food. Nutritionalism is the ideology of placing value on the individual nutrients of food vs. focusing on the food themselves. This modern wave of thinking has allowed the populous to be more nutritionally conscious, but also opened a can of new concerns. When we think about food… Read more »

Biased Research Fueling Nutritionism

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Michael Pollan’s concept and advice to “just eat food” is an interesting claim to make, as the average person who isn’t as conscious or educated on what they are putting into their bodies may think that this is an obvious and pointless statement. What he means by this is that it is important that what are consuming on a daily… Read more »

Telling Me To Eat Heathy is Great. Now How Do I Afford It?

In Julie Guthman’s article The Food Police, Guthman critiques Michael Pollan and other nutritionists for establishing a discourse that fat shames obese people and blames obese people for being obese. Indeed, Pollan does not recognize the complexity of the obesity epidemic. Many people would love to eat natural produce, but do not have the finances to achieve this. However, Guthman… Read more »

If Only Eating Could Be Simple

When did eating become so difficult? There is a dizzying amount of conflicting information about food. The result is a multitude diets like: keto, gluten-free, low-fat, paleo, high-protein and liquid to name a few.  Pollan attempts to cut through the confusion with his book In Defense of Food. Pollon exhorts a simple answer to my food question “Eat food. Not… Read more »

Seattle’s Sugary Beverage Tax is Racist and Classist: Change my mind

  I work at a bar, so I see how much the sugary drink tax affects consumers and business. We have to charge an extra $1 when people want a chaser for a shot. A cup of pineapple juice is $4 and a vodka redbull will be $9 (redbull on its own is $5!). Now, alcohol and drinking culture is… Read more »

The Ineffectuality of ‘In Defence of Food’ in Regards to Race

Pollan’s book, while providing very tangible and well researched explanations about the shift in dominant food paradigms and practices across the world, is fundamentally flawed in one way: its applicability. Specifically, In Defence of Food, in my opinion, has blind spots at the intersection of nutritionism and class/economic status, and is subsequently racially flawed also. In Part III of the… Read more »