In Defense of Food
Also known as In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, In Defence of Food
Michael Pollan's 2008 case against nutritionism, summed up as "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
At a glance
Key ideas
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants., Against nutritionism, Food versus foodlike substances …
See all 4Connections
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Pollan looks at nutritionism and the Western diet and answers the question of healthy eating in seven words: "Eat food.
- Not too much.
- Mostly plants." He argues that focusing on nutrients has overcomplicated and harmed American eating habits.
- People should instead eat food their ancestors would recognize, not "edible foodlike substances".
- He recommends spending more money and time on food and buying locally.
Why it matters
- It turned Pollan's food writing into a short rule for everyday eating, and it was chosen as a university's first common read, which a dairy scientist there disputed.
Key facts
- Author
- Michael Pollan1
- Published
- 20081
- Origin
- His 2007 essay "Unhappy Meals" in The New York Times Magazine; written for readers of The Omnivore's Dilemma who asked what to eat1
- Bestseller
- Number one on the New York Times non-fiction list for six weeks1
- Go Big Read
- Chosen in 2009 as the first book of the University of Wisconsin–Madison's common-read program; a dairy science professor objected1
- Adaptation
- A PBS television documentary, 20151
Key ideas
-
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.1
His whole answer to the question of healthy eating.
-
Against nutritionism1
Thinking about food as nutrients has overcomplicated and harmed how Americans eat.
-
Food versus foodlike substances1
Much of what Americans eat is not real food but "imitations of food".
-
Science has not mapped nutrients1
Scientists have yet to identify the full range of nutrients, so nutrition science should not drive eating habits.
Connections
Written by
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us
The line under a date fills as time passes: empty when new, then one equal share each for a day, a week, a month and a year. For episodes and other items it is full at 2 years; for "last checked", at a year. A striped line means the date is known only to the month or year.