Michael Pollen makes a few arguments in the first forty pages of the book. He points out that people in America are no longer eating “whole foods” but rather foods modified to provide us with the basic nutrients we need. He argues that even though Americans are more focused on eating “right”, it is not showing improvements on their health, but actually making people unhealthy.
One point that Pollen makes that I agree with is that manufacturers of the processed foods we consume are benefiting tremendously from the “nutritionism” state of mind, the focus on nutrients not whole foods. Processed foods are molded and created to supply us with the nutrients that we are being told every day that we need in order to be healthy. The article “Processed foods trade benefits U.S. agriculture and consumers” shows us how huge the food processing industry is. American companies alone provide about $119.2 billion of processed foods to countries all over the world. This industry also reflects the point that people don’t often grow their own food anymore and rely on these industries to provide them with food.
Another point I will defend is that information about food and its affects on health is changing all the time, making it hard for us as consumers to know what to believe and whose advice we should act upon. The article “Should you trust health advice from the web?” reflects this question of what advice we should trust. The article explains that many people turn to the internet for health advice, but the truth is that much of the advice found online is unreliable, making this growing trend worrisome.
The beginning of the book was very interesting and Pollen suggested some intriguing lines of thought about food and the way it is consumed today.
*Photo taken from www.betterschoolfood.org
