In Defence of Food - Review

Eat food, not too much, and mostly plants. This single line summarizes Michael Pollan's philosophy of eating. His book, In Defense of Food, is a text centered on the importance of the things that we eat. His arguments are broken down into three parts. He opens with the history of nutritionism and attempts to discredit a view of eating that is reduces its parts to simple preteens, and vitamins. Part two chronicles the western diet and the disease of civilizations and describes a history of food development and processing. The third, and final, part of Pollan's work focus' on getting over the western diet and returns to elaborate on the opening statement about eating a moderate plant based diet.

Eat food, not too much, and mostly plants.

This is a compelling book that makes a persuasive argument. Pollan describes food in a thoughtful and holistic manner that starts from the ground (garden) up. His attempt to paint a picture of the modern food chain, and its consequences, is insightful and transparently biased. Little credit is given to the benefits of modern food production and the whole treatise seems a one sided affair.

I would recommend reading this book. Pollan does not set out to create an objective account of the modern food chain. He does, however, put forward a moving endorsement for eating a moderate plant based diet. His prescription is surprisingly reasonable and smacks of common sense and temperance. My eating habits were challenged  in each chapter of this book. I didn't always come to the same conclusions as Pollan but he paints a greater picture that both makes sense and demands some type of response.