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In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by…
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In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (original 2008; edition 2008)

by Michael Pollan

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7,5252041,195 (4.01)177
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These simple words go to the heart of food journalist Pollan's thesis. Humans used to know how to eat well, he argues, but the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused and distorted by food industry marketers, nutritional scientists, and journalists. As a result, we face today a complex culinary landscape dense with bad advice and foods that are not "real." Indeed, plain old eating is being replaced by an obsession with nutrition that is, paradoxically, ruining our health, not to mention our meals. Pollan's advice is: "Don't eat anything that your great-great grandmother would not recognize as food." Looking at what science does and does not know about diet and health, he proposes a new way to think about what to eat, informed by ecology and tradition rather than by the nutrient-by-nutrient approach.--From publisher description.… (more)
Member:jtcalleson
Title:In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
Authors:Michael Pollan
Info:Penguin Press HC, The (2008), Edition: 1ST, Hardcover, 256 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:food, nutrition

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In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan (2008)

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» See also 177 mentions

English (199)  Spanish (2)  Dutch (1)  French (1)  Italian (1)  All languages (204)
Showing 1-5 of 199 (next | show all)
I think everyone should read this book, because it makes you change the way you think about food, one of the most basic (and important!) things in life. Food, and also knowledge of food, is underrated.

The book gives a pretty good summary of the development of the (not necessarily evil) foodindustry, and also explains why we think about food the way we do. In the last part of the book, [a:Michael Pollan|2121|Michael Pollan|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1258275549p2/2121.jpg] gives quite a few guidelines to improve how and what you eat.

The writer (who is not a foodexpert, but a philosopher and a journalist and also clearly someone with a good deal of common sense) puts all the information in the propper historical context, and the list of sources in the back of the book is impressive.

Always eat at a table. No, a desk is not a table.

And now, for [b:The Omnivore's Dilemma|3109|The Omnivore's Dilemma A Natural History of Four Meals|Michael Pollan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309200117s/3109.jpg|3287769]. :) ( )
  jd7h | Feb 18, 2024 |
What an incredibly infuriating read. The thought that our very health has been compromised by the pursuit of profit absolutely infuriates me. The research that Pollan presents to support his argument that the Western diet is the root of the vast majority of our chronic health issues is highly persuasive.

Give up the refined sugars, heavily processed startches and food-like substances. Real food is the way to go. Your body will thank you for it. ( )
  GordCampbell | Dec 20, 2023 |
No notes recorded when I read this book, but I still remember many of its main teaching points these many years later. Definitely made a lasting impression on me for its common sense approach in this age of diet quackery. ( )
  BBrookes | Dec 12, 2023 |
This was an amazing book and unfortunately it has cemented my rather low opinion of large corporations and how they operate. Like putting the positive spin on the fact that industrial farmed vegetables have less nutrition than 50 years - people would have to eat more of them to get the same amount of nutrition - a definite win for those selling them. Very eye opening for me and I highly recommend others to read it too.

( )
  beentsy | Aug 12, 2023 |
I found myself nodding in agreement through much of the book, but when he gets to the advice, eh. I mean I agree that we should eat more whole foods slower and in the company of family and friends, that we should cook more, etc., but the advice seemed to be really only for a specific demographic. Many people don't have the time, energy, or monetary resources to eat the way he suggests. We need a whole overhaul of American society before Pollan's recommendations can be implemented universally. Overall a good read though. ( )
  veewren | Jul 12, 2023 |
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» Add other authors (5 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Michael Pollanprimary authorall editionscalculated
Brick, ScottNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vlek, RonaldTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Dedication
For Ann and Gerry,
With gratitude for your loyal friendship
and inspired editing
First words
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Quotations
…the "what to eat" question is somewhat more complicated for us than it is for, say, cows. Yet for most of human history, humans have navigated the question without expert advice. To guide us we had, instead, Culture, which, at least when it comes to food, is really just a fancy word for your mother.
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"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These simple words go to the heart of food journalist Pollan's thesis. Humans used to know how to eat well, he argues, but the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused and distorted by food industry marketers, nutritional scientists, and journalists. As a result, we face today a complex culinary landscape dense with bad advice and foods that are not "real." Indeed, plain old eating is being replaced by an obsession with nutrition that is, paradoxically, ruining our health, not to mention our meals. Pollan's advice is: "Don't eat anything that your great-great grandmother would not recognize as food." Looking at what science does and does not know about diet and health, he proposes a new way to think about what to eat, informed by ecology and tradition rather than by the nutrient-by-nutrient approach.--From publisher description.

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Book description
Challenges current approaches to healthy eating, arguing that the real food consumed by past generations is being replaced with commercialized, scientifically altered foods that offer no health benefits and may cause serious damage, and encourages people to change the way they eat and return to basic nutrition rules.
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Penguin Australia

An edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia.

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