Human beings are in the top of the pyramid of food chain. We absorb water and nutrition from many kinds of foods such as vegetables, meats, and fishes. Recently, you can see many foods especially industrialized foods with signs, “organic” and “Genetic modification (GM)- free.” People sometimes prefer them to ones without such signs. It is possible for human beings… Read more »
Something that Michael Pollan talks about in his book In Defense of Food, and something that I feel we don’t discuss enough is nutritionism, and what that actually is. Nutritionism is really just breaking down food into the little ingredients that make it up, and what you’re actually get from your food, such as protein, fat, sugar, etc. I find… Read more »
Nutritionism, a food ideology described in Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, is an inaccessible notion of food justice that isolates middle and lower-class consumers. Pollan describes nutritionism as a relatively revolutionary new way of thinking about eating food, especially as this reductionist approach translates meals into scientifically calculated intake. Pollan even says nutritionism “might be the best thing ever… Read more »
To those who may be unfamiliar, greenwashing is a marketing tactic that promotes products as “green” or “healthy” without holding any real benefit to the consumer, the environment, or greater social equity. As mentioned by Jennifer McNulty, “‘buying green’ offers little real defense against environmental hazards and may pose an even greater threat by lulling people into a false sense… Read more »
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 »
Michael Pollan offers many valid points using concrete evidence and trustworthy sources. However, there’s a problem when the information he presents does not match the corresponding scientific evidence. Throughout In Defense of Food, Pollan advises “eating less” as a guide to eating more quality food and less processed foods. He lists the additional benefits of calorie restriction, including slower aging… Read more »
There has been a new phenomena stirring around the media, where new “research” has found that eating tofu, or other soy products, is correlated to lower levels of testosterone, and higher levels of estrogen. This belief led to the label, “soy boy”; a male who exemplifies feminine characteristics as a result of eating a lot of soy products. Soy has… Read more »
Food: when you hear the word, what do you think of? A favorite food, or a reason to be social? Or do you instead think of food as a barrier to your health–do you view food strictly in terms of carbs and calories? Michael Pollan, a famous author, journalist, and professor, tells us in his book, In Defense of Food, we may… Read more »
In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan, outlines the best ways for people to eat for both their own well-being and the well-being of the planet. His encouragement of a change in personal habits (in this case food habits) is very much a microcosm of modern environmental and food movements. Pollan’s individualistic approach to the way we eat and interact… Read more »
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 »