This post is part of fellow book blogger, Beth Fish Reads‘, weekly meme (a “community” blog post, for all those non-bloggers out there) called Weekend Cooking.
Nonfiction – Cooking / Food
Released January, 2008
268 Pages
Bottom Line: Read it.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon
Plot Summary of In Defense of Food:
A behind the scenes look at how the American food industry relies more on scientific compilations of nutrients and less on real food, written by the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
My Thoughts on In Defense of Food:
This is a book about what and how Western people eat, and more than any other single factor, really changed how I try to eat. Pollan’s motto (“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”) is simple, easy to follow, and rooted in common sense.
Pollan explains how the FDA goes through “fads” where certain nutrients are deemed important and then artificially added (or subtracted if deemed “bad”) to mass produced foods. Over time, these foods end up resembling science experiments rather than actual foods. Pollan’s investigation of the entwined relationship between government and the food industry is fascinating and provides the evidence supporting his common sense approach to food…essentially, stay away from processed foods!
He also provides tips to help you decipher health claims on food packages and make sense of ingredient labels – helping you shop smarter.
In Defense of Food is a must read for anyone who is trying to eat healthier and wants to avoid formulaic “diets”…and it’s on my Cooking / Food Books List.
Pollan has such a sensible approach — I generally like what he has to say.
I like his approach to healthier eating. Very informative book. Will add it to my to – read pile!
It’s been a few years since I read this, but you can never go wrong with Michael Pollan. His most recent, Cooked, was excellent, too.
I’ll have to check that one out – I haven’t read it yet!
This is the book that changed how I think about eating. I needed some help from a cognitive-behavioral point of view to actually get me to make the changes, but this way of eating was always the goal. And, I finally got there.
I agree with JoAnn, Cooked is a good book, too. More like Omnivore’s Dilemma in its approach. And, so fun to read.
I wonder how much overlap there is in this one with Omnivore’s Dilemma? I listened to that one a few years ago and was fascinated and horrified all at the same time. I knew that High Fructose Corn Syrup was prevalent but not to the extent Pollan described. I’ll have to seek this one out, too.