Running head: BOOK REVIEW 1

Book Review: In Defense of Foods by Michael Pollan

Miroslaw “Mirek” Babiarz

Mercer County Community College

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I recently finished a book by Michael Pollan called “In Defense of Food”. It was a very

interesting and intriguing read. I learned a great deal of new information about nutrition and was

very surprised by few of them. I really enjoyed the book because it showed a clear picture of

why our (western) diet is bad and why we should reevaluate the way we think and look at food.

I was really captivated by the fact that in 1898, 5 states passed a law that all butter imitations be

died pink to let people know that this is a “food imitation” and not a real thing. Additionally,

1938’s legislation by food drug and cosmetic association passed a law requiring everyone to

have “food imitation” labels on all foods that were not real foods. If this legislation survived, it

could have save thousands if not millions of lives. Instead, in 1973 the legislation was tossed out

and companies no longer had to label their foods as “imitation”. Ever since then, the chronic

disease numbers in America have increased. The 1973 change was an essential modification of

our food system but nobody really knows about it; change that led many people to develop

chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and many others. I believe that

this rule should be brought back to let people know that most of the foods that they buy

nowadays are not real foods but just imitations. Another intriguing fact about nutrition is that

eating a western diet is really bad for our health. Michael Pollan talks about different cultures

that adopt different diets based on their residence. For example, a culture that is generally

healthy and free of chronic diseases moves to the United States and starts eating a western diet.

In few decades that culture develops the same chronic diseases that eventually cause early

mortality. He also talks about how different races are more susceptible to different diseases but

once again when a certain race moves to the United States the same chronic diseases are

developed regardless of the race. That is proof that our diet is not good and it leads to many
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otherwise preventable diseases. In the book, Michael Pollan also talks about how people accept

the diseases as something natural, something that should happen with age. That is a very wrong

type of attitude and a very bad assumption. People are making excuses instead of looking at facts

and changing the way they eat. It is easier to go to sleep at night by telling yourself that you have

a heart problem or diabetes because you are old. It would be very hard to go to sleep if you knew

that both of these and others could be prevented if you only ate healthier foods and not

“imitations”. The book also points out that for the past 100 years the diet suggestions changed

very often from good to bad to good and back to bad. As the science and technology developed,

our true understanding of foods and nutrition did as well. Now we know that what people ate in

the 1900’s was actually good and what we are eating now, it is not. Throughout the years we

have listened to science and other people telling us what we should eat and what we shouldn’t

eat. We should have listened to our bodies instead. We are sick and undernourished. We are full

but we are literally starving to death. Our bodies our toxic and we have an insufficient amount of

nutrients to fight off infections, viruses, diseases etc.

There are many new things that I learned by reading this book. I learned that my diet is

actually good according to Michael Pollan and that is the reason why I haven’t been sick in years

and I do not suffer from any chronic diseases. I love the quote “Don’t get your fuel from the

same place your car does”. It is clear that the marketing and convenience of such places is

obviously too strong for most of the people. This book was a great reminder of how we as

species should “feed” ourselves. We tend to eat and not feed like animals do. Animals know

what is good for them and what is bad. We, on the other hand, don’t or at least we pretend like

we don’t or maybe we simply don’t care enough. Michael Pollan brought up many great facts

and hopefully with books like this one we will learn how to live a healthy, disease free life.