In Defense of Food Science

Author(s): david julian mcclements, césar vega, anne e. mcbride and eric andrew decker
Source: Gastronomica , Vol. 11, No. 2 (Summer 2011), pp. 76-84
Published by: University of California Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/gfc.2011.11.2.76

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 science | dav id jul ian mc clement s, césar vega, anne e. mc bride, and eric andrew decker
In Defense of Food Science
The modern supermarket has become a battleground
of ideas about food, health, and culture. Consumers are
increasingly concerned about the origin of their foods; the
environmental, societal, and ethical implications of their
food choices; and the impact of the foods they consume on
their health. This concern is reflected in the popularity of
articles, books, and documentaries that over the past decade
have focused on issues surrounding the production, distri-
bution, and consumption of food.1 The increased awareness
of food-related issues among consumers is an encouraging
development, as it helps foster a healthier and culturally
richer society.2 However, many participants in this debate,
on all fronts, have shown a tendency to denigrate the impor-
tant role that science and technology play in providing safe
and nutritious food. By suggesting that locally grown and
organic foods produced on a small scale are the only viable
alternative to our current food system, food activists have
closed the door to any sort of understanding or acknowledg-
ment of how science and technology can be part of this
debate and contribute to the development of a better
food system for all.
It is true that many processed foods are nutritionally
su m m e r 2 011
poor or unhealthy. Advances in technology and social orga-
nization have reduced the costs, increased the availability,
and broadened the diversity of all sorts of products, includ-
ing foods. Overconsumption of this sort of nutritionally
76 poor foods, either at home or at restaurants, contributes to
unbalanced diets that could promote obesity, heart disease,
gastronomica
hypertension, diabetes, and other diseases.3 Easy access
to inexpensive and desirable calorie-dense foods, coupled
with a reduction in exercise due to changing lifestyles and
occupations, has greatly contributed to what is called the
“obesity epidemic.” The food industry is certainly respon-
sible for some of the problems associated with the modern
food supply, such as the aggressive and indiscriminate
marketing of calorie-dense and nutrient-depleted foods
to children and adults. However, it should be recognized
that the industry has also greatly contributed to the quality
gastronomica: the journal of food and culture , vol.11, no.2, pp.76–84, issn 1529-3262. © 2011 by the regents of the university of california. all rights reserved. please direct all requests for permission to
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of modern life, and that it is addressing many of the chal-
lenges that face developed countries. The work of food
scientists, technologists, and nutritionists has expanded
the diversity of foods available to consumers, increased
their safety, and decreased the time and effort required to
prepare them. Advances in food science and technology
have allowed a large portion of the population year-round
access to a diverse range of food products that can enable
rich and balanced diets—a luxury once available only to
elite members of society. Many of these apparent benefits
to consumers have come under severe criticism from food
activists, who suggest that the low cost of food and expecta-
tion of yearlong availability are responsible for many of the
problems of the modern food system. This article addresses
these and other issues related to the modern food industry.
Our Food Culture
In his book In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan makes
valid criticisms of the modern food industry and offers
some useful recommendations for improving the health
and well-being of the population: “Eat food. Not too
much. Mostly plants.”4 Pollan’s work, and that of other food
activists (including Marion Nestle, Frances Moore Lappé,
Anna Lappé, Alice Waters, and Eric Schlosser), highlights
important issues that urgently need to be addressed: health
issues arising from high-calorie diets; environmental and
sustainability issues resulting from large-scale food produc-
tion, including pollution and overutilization of fossil fuels
and water; ethical issues associated with animal-raising
facilities; the impact of large integrated production and
distribution systems on food safety; a drive toward lowering
costs, often at the expense of food quality and nutrition;
and the aggressive marketing of nutritionally irresponsible
foods to children.5 Many of these diet-related problems
have arisen as the result of social, cultural, and economic
circumstances in the United States and other Western
societies over the past century.6
Figure 1. The number of deaths resulting from pellagra in the
United States decreased dramatically after flour was enriched with
vitamins and minerals (see http://www.unu.edu/Unupress/food/
V191e). This is a clear example of how the fortification of foods with
One important criticism of Pollan’s prescriptions for
healthy eating is that they are elitist and impractical for a
majority of people to follow, especially those who live in
challenged economic conditions, in areas where the grow-
ing season is short, or who have busy working lives. Many
people, even when full of good intentions, do not have
the time, energy, or resources, let alone the will, to grow
their own fruits and vegetables; to pay a premium price for
organic or local foods; or to prepare a full meal completely
from scratch every day. Pollan appears to be prescribing
his own food and lifestyle preferences—possible thanks to
his specific socioeconomic and geographic context (he is
a very busy professional living in northern California, with
the flexible schedule afforded by an academic and writing
career)—as the most appropriate choices for society as a
whole. It is certainly a question of priorities, and Pollan has
chosen to make food growing, shopping, and cooking his.
However, it is important to acknowledge that this choice of
carefully sourcing or growing food and buying only the best
quality from farmers we know is not one that all Americans
can make, particularly when economic circumstances
might mean that their major choice is which meal to skip
on any given day. Thus, Pollan often appears to be preach-
ing to the choir—a choir that has grown with each of his
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micronutrients can have a beneficial effect on the general health of
the nation. The potential health benefits of the newer generation of
micronutrients (“nutraceuticals”) still have yet to be established.
data from alberto nilson and jaime piza, “food fortification: a tool for fighting hidden
hunger,” at www.idpas.org/pdf/602foodfortificationatool.pdf
books since the release of The Omnivore’s Dilemma—without
seeming to look for solutions that reach those outside of his
already-devoted audience.
A number of social scientists, historians, and food writers
have addressed the social and cultural aspects of elitism
within Pollan’s and others’ work.7 On the other hand, only
recently have food scientists made any contribution to
this debate. It is time for them to take a more active role.
su m m e r 2 011
More than fifty years have passed since the British scientist
and novelist C.P. Snow made his influential statements
about the divide between the two cultures within society:
the sciences and the humanities.8 Snow felt that many in
the humanities had little knowledge, interest, or respect 77
for the sciences. Since that time, some progress has been
gastronomica
made toward bridging this gap, particularly in the arts and
architecture. Yet food offers a prime opportunity for science,
art, craft, and the humanities to engage constructively with
one another. Many chefs have embraced the ideas and
techniques of science in their kitchens to help improve the
preparation of existing foods or to develop entirely new food
experiences, while some scientists have turned to food to
help them explain to the public and to their students vari-
ous scientific phenomena that occur, particularly during
cooking. This movement has been referred to by a variety of

names, including “molecular gastronomy,” “science-based
cooking,” and “experimental cuisine.”9 This interest in
dialogue among scientists, chefs, social scientists, and the
general public about food and culture has encouraged the
establishment of projects such as the Experimental Cuisine
Collective in New York City and molecular gastronomy
programs in European universities. These efforts show that
a fruitful collaboration between both worlds is achievable.
Fear and Loathing in the Supermarket:
Are All Processed Foods Bad?
Pollan states that “processed foods of any kind are a big part
of the problem” and juxtaposes “whole foods” as good with
“processed foods” as bad.10 These views are simplistic: Not
all processed foods are the same; nor is the application of
science to food intrinsically bad. In an excellent pre-Pollan
article, Rachel Laudan countered the arguments of the
“Culinary Luddites”—those who oppose processed foods and
want a return to the halcyon days of “organic” foods that
never really existed—and coined the term “culinary mod-
ernism” to describe the position of those who acknowledged
that our diet is continually evolving, and that processed
foods have historically played, and will continue to play, an
important role in improving our food choices.11 Humans
have always processed (or, to put it simply, have cooked)
foods to make them tastier, safer, more digestible, or health-
ier. Before modern industrial food production, people had
to toil for hours on farms and in kitchens to produce foods
that often could not sustain their daily nutritional needs.
Indeed, it has been estimated that before the widespread
availability of processed foods, many people (primarily
women) spent up to half of their working hours in food
su m m e r 2 011
preparation.12
Paradoxically, many of the foods most of us now
consider to be natural and wholesome are the products
of different degrees of processing: cheese, cream, beer,
78 pasta, bread, sausages, sauces, smoked fish, olive oil, and
vinegar. We now accept these foods and the processes
gastronomica
used to create them as familiar parts of our culture, but they
were once, even if centuries ago, also novel. Many of the
newly created processed foods being consumed today may
become accepted as traditional parts of our culture in
the future, such as meat substitutes (soy proteins, myco-
proteins [Quorn™], vegetable proteins), “steamable”
frozen vegetables, fruit- and vegetable-enriched beverages
(“smoothies”), reduced fat yogurts, flavored teas and coffees,
and whole grain- and fiber-enriched foods (bread, pasta,
rice, cereals, snacks).
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Figure 2. Scientific Basis for Food Enrichment
Criteria for Choosing the Next Generation
of Health Promoting Bioactives
• Food/food component has strong epidemiological and
clinical evidence that it improves health when included
in the diet
• Segments of the population have difficulty in obtaining
efficacious levels of the nutrients from a normal diet
• Food with good consumer acceptability (flavor, value, and
convenience) can be produced with demonstrated effica-
cious levels of the bioactive compound
• Efficacious concentrations of the food components can
be maintained throughout the normal shelf-life of the
enriched food
Potential Bioactive Compounds and Food Components
That Could Meet the Criteria for Increased Incorporation
into the Diet
• Whole grains
• Dietary fibers
• Ace-inhibiting peptides
• Vitamin D
• Omega-3 fatty acids
In Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, Pollan attempts to
distinguish highly processed “food-like substances” from
these other, older types of processed foods. Among the
sixty-four rules he advocates are the following: “Avoid food
products that make health claims”; “Avoid food products
that contain more than five ingredients”; “Avoid foods con-
taining ingredients that a third grader cannot pronounce”;
“Don’t eat anything your grandmother wouldn’t recognize
as food”; “Don’t ingest foods made in places where every-
one is required to wear a surgical cap.”13 Pollan’s rules
demonstrate his aversion to any processed foods and high-
light his preference for a way of life that many people may
not wish to adopt, simply because of the cost and effort it
requires. Not just physical effort, but mental effort, too:
Even highly attentive consumers who seek to educate them-
selves when buying food can be befuddled by the amount
of contradictory information available for even the simplest
product.14 For example, should we buy organic produce
even if it comes from afar, or local produce that might not
be organic? Many of the additives that Pollan decries and
says are unpronounceable are also plant-based (konjac flour,
carrageenan, or guar gum, for example). Or what if your
grandmother, or even more so your mother, used mostly
processed foods because she enjoyed the convenience they
 Figure 3. Many studies suggest that increased consumption of
polyunsaturated lipids (like omega-3 fatty acids) has many potential
health benefits, e.g. against coronary heart disease, stroke, mental
2008
illness, and immune response disorders. Consequently, the food
©
2009, oil bottle photograph by odv
industry is trying to increase the amount of these beneficial lipids
present in food products, such as beverages, yogurts, sauces, soups,
dressings, breads, etc. Given that omega-3 fatty acids are highly sus-
afforded? Pollan’s rules are closer to clever catchphrases
that advocate a particular point of view rather than offering
genuinely practical advice.
©
2009, yogurt photograph by dimitry naumov
Some of his rules may actually be harmful. Many
of the foods now enriched with vitamins and minerals
contain more than five ingredients, some of which a third-
grader could certainly not pronounce. Nevertheless, it is
widely acknowledged that consumption of these enriched
foods has helped to alleviate diseases that were prevalent
only a century ago: pellagra (niacin deficiency); spinal
tube defects (folic acid deficiency); beri-beri (thiamine
©
2009, ice cream photograph by juan monino
deficiency); goiter (iodine deficiency); and rickets (vitamin
D deficiency). Eliminating all foods with more than five
ingredients would eliminate foods containing enriched
flour, which contains wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamine,
riboflavin, and folic acid. Such an approach could actually
cause a reversal in the major public-health advances associ-
ated with food enrichment, particularly in economically
challenged populations.15 Food fortification with vitamins
©
2010, soup photograph by joe gough
and minerals has, simply put, improved global health (fig.1),
and there is potential for further improvement through food
design efforts, provided that these efforts are carried out
within a sound scientific and societal framework (i.e., that
the nutrients in question have a demonstrated causal rela-
tionship to the improvement or maintenance of a desirable
physiological condition, and that the conclusions drawn
©
fish photograph by mark cillow
from such studies are clearly demarcated as relevant to a
specific cohort of the population [see fig.2]) .
We agree with Pollan that cultivating your own fruits,
vegetables, and herbs is a good way to increase the intake
of fresh and healthy produce, while also reducing the
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cepible to chemical degradation (i.e. oxidation), which leads to the
formation of undesirable rancid flavor profiles, food chemists are
developing novel ways of increasing the stability of omega-3 fatty acids
in food products, by using natural antioxidants, chelating agents
and/or encapsulation technology. Thus, the beneficial health attributes
of omega-3 fatty acids can be delivered to the general population
through consumption of a wide range of different food products.
environmental impacts associated with food distribution.
Nevertheless, as Pollan himself acknowledges, not everyone
has the resources, time, or finances to grow, prepare, and
cook their own meals. Consequently, there is still a need
for convenient and inexpensive mass-produced foods for a
majority of the general population. We are not suggesting
that a diet should be based entirely on processed foods, but
every type of food has a place in a balanced diet. The focus
should not be solely on processed versus whole food, but also
on good-quality processed food versus poor-quality processed
food. Scientists and scholars therefore need to understand
how specific ingredients and types of processing alter the
quality and nutritional properties of particular foods. We
thus propose that foods be judged on the basis of their final
relevant attributes (e.g., quality, nutritional profile, and
su m m e r 2 011
environmental responsibility), rather than strictly on how
they are produced (e.g., at home or in a factory). Although
it is generally assumed that homemade foods are better than
processed foods, this is not necessarily true. Homemade
croissants, cakes, or french fries may be free of additives, but 79
the nutritional consequences of eating them are similar to
gastronomica
those of their factory- or restaurant-produced counterparts.
We therefore encourage food activists to advocate not only
for high-quality fresh foods, but also for the development of
more responsible processed foods.
Food Science: Angel or Devil’s Food Cake?
The food science profession takes a bashing in recent works
by food activists. One gets the impression that food scien-
tists spend all their time in corporate laboratories creating
 Figure 4. Food scientists are trying to better understand what hap-
pens to foods after they are consumed, so that they can design them
“food-like substances” to trick consumers into purchasing
more fat, sugar, and salt. This image is far from the truth
and does not give an accurate or fair view of what food
scientists actually do. Some food scientists do work for food
companies to develop processed foods that can be high in
fat, sugar, or salt, such as sugared sodas, pizza, ice cream,
desserts, chocolate, breakfast cereals, and frozen meals.
su m m e r 2 011
These foods are not in themselves “bad” and can certainly
be enjoyed as part of a nutritionally balanced diet. However,
overconsumption of these products leads to a poor overall
diet that will likely have a negative impact on health. There
80 is therefore a need for food manufacturers to market their
products responsibly, for the government to provide infor-
gastronomica
mation and regulations that help guide consumer choices,
and for individuals to take personal responsibility for their
own dietary choices.16
Food scientists are also involved in activities that demand
the application of the basic principles of physics, chemistry,
biology, and engineering to improve the manufacturing,
storage, distribution, quality, safety, and nutritional attributes
of foods. The knowledge that food scientists generate can be
used by large, multinational corporations as well as by small
farmers and food-processing operations.17 The challenge
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to maximize bioactive delivery. The illustration shows the different
mechanisms by which food is processed within the human body.
lies in how best to make this knowledge available to smaller
enterprises that may not have access to the industry journals
or events where food scientists present their work. Finding
ways to create dialogue among food scientists, farmers, and
small producers—and including consumers in those conver-
sations—would increase the benefits that science can offer
to localized agriculture and food production.
An important concern highlighted by Pollan and other
food activists is the potential damage that large food-process-
ing operations incur on the environment. Food-processing
plants often utilize large amounts of fossil fuels and water
during the food-manufacturing process, and produce appre-
ciable quantities of waste material that must be disposed of.
As is the case with most industries today, a major research
2011
thrust of food engineers in recent years, supported by the
©
digestive system illustration: leonello calvetti
European Union and American funding agencies, has been
to improve the sustainability and environmental impact of
food-processing operations, by increasing energy efficiency,
reducing waste, and decreasing the use of organic solvents
and other potential pollutants. It should also be noted
that in many instances large, centralized food-processing
operations have less overall environmental impact than pro-
ducing the same foods in smaller facilities locally.
 Food scientists are involved in numerous other activities
of which many consumers are aware. A description of sev-
eral of these follows.
Food Chemistry and Physics. A major objective of food
science is to understand the nature and properties of foods
at a fundamental level. Food scientists aim to identify the
multitude of chemical constituents within foods, and to
determine how these constituents interact with each other
and with the human body to produce the characteristic
physical and sensory attributes we associate with particular
foods—their unique tastes, textures, and appearances. Food
scientists also aim to understand how foods and their con-
stituents are changed by the various processes to which we
subject them during food preparation at the factory and at
home, such as mixing, kneading, stirring, frying, grilling,
baking, boiling, microwaving, chilling, freezing, and storage.
The knowledge gained from these studies is used to make
existing food production processes more efficient, to increase
the shelf-life and safety of foods, to increase the diversity and
quality of processed foods, and to make them taste better.
Food Safety. Foods can contain substances that adversely
affect human health, including microorganisms (e.g.,
E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria), harmful chemicals (pesticides,
lead, mercury, melamine), and extraneous matter (stones,
glass, metals). Humans throughout history have battled to
keep these substances out of foods (by careful storage or by
cooking to remove or deactivate them before consuming
the food). The modern food industry has helped reduce a
number of food-related illnesses associated with food con-
tamination that were prevalent in the past, through better
sanitation, monitoring, and processing operations, such as
the pasteurization of milk. Nevertheless, due to the large-scale,
centralized handling and processing facilities now used to
create many foods, new problems have arisen that have led to
cross-contamination and to larger numbers of people being
affected by an outbreak. In response, governments have devel-
oped stricter safety regulations that apply to food-manufacturing
operations.18 Consumers who are better informed about
their food supply can play an important role in advocating
for the further development, funding, and enforcement of
such regulations and thereby help to reduce the influence
of industry lobbyists. Large food companies have an enor-
mous vested interest in ensuring that their products are safe,
since any harmful effect on consumers damages their brand.
Consequently, most food manufacturers go to great lengths
to ensure that their processing, storage, and distribution
facilities conform to stringent safety regulations.
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In this context, many food scientists work to understand
how foods become contaminated with harmful substances,
how contamination can be prevented, and how contami-
nants can be removed or rendered harmless. Efforts are also
being made to develop further food-industry guidelines and
analytical tools to detect the presence of any potentially
harmful substances. For instance, in response to the inten-
tional contamination of pet foods and infant formula with
melamine, food scientists have recently developed new
methods of analysis.19
Food Science and Sensory Perception. Food scientists are
also working to understand the complex physicochemical,
physiological, and psychological processes underpinning
the sensory perception of foods, such as appearance, texture,
mouthfeel, and flavor. What makes a food taste creamy,
thick, or rich? Why does the flavor of a food change when
the fat is reduced? What is the relationship between taste
and appearance? Why are toffees chewy, apples crisp, and
cookies crunchy? These are some of the questions they are
trying to answer. Establishing the fundamental scientific
basis for how foods are perceived enables the production of
foods that are both high quality and nutritionally respon-
sible (e.g., lower fat, lower salt, reduced calories) while still
being acceptable to consumers (it doesn’t matter how nutri-
tious a food is if consumers refuse to eat it). This analysis is
useful not only to large food companies but also to medium
and small companies that do not have the resources to
carry out basic research. More dialogue and collaboration
between food scientists and small-scale food producers
would improve the food system.
Redesigning foods is, of course, only part of the solution
to food-related health problems such as obesity, heart dis-
su m m e r 2 011
ease, and diabetes. Major changes in lifestyle and diet are
also essential. However, creating more-nutritious processed
foods that also taste good could help reduce or alleviate
some of these problems. Pollan and other food activists
appear to believe that any attempt to achieve a healthier 81
diet through food technology is all wrong, ignoring the fact
gastronomica
that a majority of Americans eat some form of processed
foods on a daily basis, whether organic, whole-grain cheese
crackers or packaged, frozen macaroni and cheese tv dinners.
Some people eat all types of processed foods; others choose
only what they consider to be “good” processed products;
still others are forced to eat only what they have access to
or can afford. It is unlikely that a majority of the American
population will stop eating processed food in the near
future, whether it is bought at Whole Foods or Walmart.
Additional scientific research and further development
 of processed products could result in foods that furnish a
significant amount of essential nutrients to the everyday diet
of all Americans, regardless of their financial means.
Food Science and Human Health. In conjunction with
nutritionists, some food scientists are attempting to under-
stand how specific nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids,
vitamin D, iron, dietary fibers, phytosterols, flavanols, and
carotenoids function within the human body (fig.3). They
are trying to learn how particular nutrients are released
from a food within the body, what factors affect the digestion
and absorption of specific nutrients, and how the health
benefits of a nutrient depend on the presence of other
ingredients. The ultimate aim of these researchers is to
determine whether food structures can be designed to
increase the bioavailability of beneficial food components
such as iron or calcium, or decrease the consumption of
detrimental constituents, such as trans fats or cholesterol.
They are also seeking to learn what levels of a given nutrient
are optimal. The structural design of functional foods may
help to alleviate health problems in both the developing world,
where under-nutrition is a problem, and in the developed
world, where over-nutrition is an issue (fig.4). Food scientists
also need to explore whether the redesign of food products
to alter their nutritional value might result in unanticipated
consequences that are detrimental to health. For example,
if the bioavailability of a constituent that is normally very
low is appreciably increased, could it possibly become toxic?
Decisions about which food and food components should
be increased in the diet must be carefully considered.
Processed Foods in Contemporary Life
su m m e r 2 011
Processed food is so ubiquitous and integral to our everyday
lives that we either take it for granted or vilify it. Processed
food certainly makes an easy target for public health issues.
Yet food processing can make productive, positive, and
82 essential contributions to our food system.
Women’s changing role in the kitchen over the past
gastronomica
century at least partially explains the changes in Americans’
relationship to food.20 Historically, the planning, prepara-
tion, and cooking of food was an arduous process that could
take up a significant part of a woman’s day. Innovations in
home economics and the introduction of processed foods
helped reduce the time and effort required to prepare meals.
This increased convenience has been particularly important
for families in which both parents have to work to sustain
the household, or in single-parent households. Of course,
cooking from scratch does not always take more time than
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using prepared foods; it is, for many of us, a question of
how we choose to spend our time. Many others do not have
that luxury, however, and must rely on processed shortcuts,
whether frozen meat or vegetables, jarred mayonnaise or
bottled ketchup, or a boxed pancake mix. Store-bought
canned tomatoes, arguably a healthful product, technically
belong in that category of processed shortcuts that allow
people to put balanced meals on the table in a reasonable
amount of time. While home food processing, including
canning and pickling, is currently undergoing a revival,
most Americans are unlikely either to have or to take the
time to process their own foods. Even devoted cooks use
purchased items processed at varying levels.
While the overconsumption of many processed foods
and beverages has contributed to the diet-related diseases
currently afflicting the world, there is also a broad range
of nutritious, convenient, and inexpensive processed foods
that can form the basis of a healthy diet, such as whole-
grain and fiber-enriched products, meat substitutes, frozen
vegetables, and fruit juices. In addition, regional and inter-
national foods that were unavailable to earlier generations
are now regularly stocked on supermarket shelves. We
can buy curry sauces from Asia, pastas from Italy, noodles
from Japan, mustards from England and France, cheeses
from around the world, crisp breads from Sweden, beers
from Belgium, specialty biscuits and chocolates from
Europe, and much more.
An ever-growing number of chefs are interested in
the science behind the ingredients and cooking processes
that they use in the kitchen, and in using this knowledge
to improve their recipes or to develop new dishes. World-
renowned chefs such as Ferran Adrià, Heston Blumenthal,
Wylie Dufresne, Grant Achatz, and Andoni-Luis Aduriz
use the concepts and tools of science and technology to
create exciting new foods and eating experiences while
maintaining respect for food, its origin, and its flavor.
According to Restaurant Magazine, eight out of the ten
best restaurants in the world are characterized by a heavy
use of science and technology in their creative process.21
Science-assisted cooking has opened a new dimension in
dining, mainly through the creation of hitherto-unknown
textural experiences, such as the widely celebrated pea
ravioli at Adrià’s restaurant El Bulli in Roses, Spain. Barely
cooked peas are finely pureed, drained, and combined with
calcium glucono-lactate; spoonfuls of this flavorful liquid
are then poured into a bath of sodium alginate, which in
contact with the calcium immediately gels, creating a com-
pletely transparent film around a liquid center. The result
is a single green pea raviolo that resembles a green, raw egg
yolk. The creation of milk-based meringues (as opposed to
an egg-white base) is a recent culinary achievement made
possible by the realization that proteins are the building
blocks of many foam systems. The use of dehydrated egg
white allows a chef to use any infused liquid as the base for
a meringue. Chefs have entered into a conversation with
scientists and diners, becoming a conduit for demonstrating
how science and technology can be used to create new
eating experiences.
Changing Food Priorities
While many of the problems Pollan exposes are legitimate,
their roots and solutions are mainly sociological, cultural,
and personal. There is nothing inherently wrong with a food
being inexpensive or convenient; too often, though, sacrifices
in quality and nutrition are made to achieve this end. The
question then is, What compromises among quality, nutri-
tion, cost, and convenience are consumers willing to accept?
Choosing what to eat for dinner each night is one of the
most complex aspects of our lives, as food is connected to
both culture and identity.22 Cooking can be an enjoyable,
creative, and rewarding activity; it can also be a chore. A cook
who favors convenience and speed might take great pleasure
in occasionally preparing a complicated meal that resonates
with family traditions, while a cook who prides him- or
herself on making everything from scratch might sometimes
appreciate the convenience of store-bought hamburger
buns. Priorities vary from person to person and from meal
to meal. The fact that a large proportion of the American
population does not devote great attention to the selection,
cooking, and consumption of food is often as much a
matter of choice as of circumstance, and this situation is
reflected in the cost of health care associated with many of
the diseases caused by the overconsumption of certain foods,
nutritious or not. Any matter of choice involves personal
responsibility. The low acquisition power of the median-
and low-income American family is frequently blamed for
poor food choices:23 The higher cost per calorie between
healthy (broccoli) and less-healthy food (hamburger) is
often considered a determinant in the poor diet choices that
these families make. A double cheeseburger at a fast-food
restaurant is roughly one-quarter the cost of a salad with
grilled chicken at the same restaurant but provides nearly
twice as many calories, mainly through fat. Between 1983
and 2009 the price of fruits and vegetables has increased
by over 200 percent, whereas that of carbonated drinks has
decreased by 50 percent.24 Thus it is not surprising that the
cheaper food becomes, the more frequently it is consumed.
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Low prices of less-healthy foods encourage their con-
sumption and ultimately their consumers’ weight gain, a
fact that has prompted policymakers to propose taxes on
sugared beverages or subsidies for healthy foods. Which
approach is better? The former penalizes the consumer for
making the wrong choice, while the latter rewards him for
making the right one. According to one study, taxes on less-
healthy foods represent a stronger proposition for reducing
their consumption while promoting healthier alternatives.25
By contrast, subsidies on healthy foods increase their intake
but do not reduce the consumption of less-healthy foods;
the money “saved” on healthier items is spent on buying
more less-healthy foods.
Such studies suggest that dietary choices are, for the
most part, financially driven, and that health awareness
and personal responsibility are low among a majority of
Americans. It is sometimes hard for those who are educated
and food-conscious—Pollan’s audience—to recognize or
accept this. But the fact is that processed food often takes
precedence over fresh fruits and vegetables, even though it
is not expensive to incorporate the daily recommendations
for fresh fruit and vegetables into the diet.26
We agree with many of the criticisms of the modern
food industry by Michael Pollan and other food activists,
and they offer a useful call to arms. The pressure put on the
government and the food industry by concerned consumers
and activists may lead to the kind of fundamental change
in the way that we produce and regulate food that occurred
over a century ago in response to Upton Sinclair’s classic
book The Jungle, which highlighted the atrocious condi-
tions in the meatpacking industry. Nevertheless, we see
good science as an essential part of the solution to the prob-
lems associated with the modern food system, including
su m m e r 2 011
establishing science-based nutritional guidelines, creating
higher-quality foods, addressing issues of sustainability, and
reducing the heavy reliance on fossil fuels and water in
food manufacturing. Science needs to be part of whatever
conversations take place among food activists, policy mak- 83
ers, producers of all sizes, and consumers. As Paul Roberts
gastronomica
points out in The End of Food, the problems inherent in
the modern agriculture and food production systems are
extremely complex and will require changes in government
policy, scientific advances, and industrial practices, as well
as in consumer demands, attitudes, and behaviors.27 To
improve the food system consumers will need to demand
higher-quality foods for themselves and their families;
governments will need to establish science-based guide-
lines and regulations; and industry must respond to these
demands by using science wisely.g
 notes
Note: Dr. Vega’s contributions are his personal views and do not represent those
of Mars Botanical or of Mars, Incorporated.
1. See, for example, Marion Nestle, Food Politics: How the Food Industry
Influences Nutrition and Health (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002);
Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
(New York: The Penguin Press, 2006); “The Food Chain” series, The New York
Times, 2008; and documentaries such as Food Inc., The Future of Food, We Feed
the World, and King Corn.
2. Anne Vileisis, Kitchen Literacy (Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2008).
3. David Cutler, Edward Glaeser, and Jesse Shapiro, “Why Have Americans
Become More Obese?” Journal of Economic Perspectives 17 (2003): 93–118; and
Shin-Yi Chou, Michael Grossman, and Henry Saffer, “An Economic Analysis
of Adult Obesity: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System,”
Journal of Health Economics 23, no. 3 (2004): 565–587.
4. Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (New York: The
Penguin Press, 2008), 1.
5. Marion Nestle, Food Politics; Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food; see also Paul
Roberts, The End of Food (Boston: Mariner Books, 2009).
6. Warren Belasco, Meals to Come: A History of the Future of Food (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 2006); Barry Popkin, The World Is Fat: The Fads,
Trends, Policies, and Products That Are Fattening the Human Race (New York:
Avery, 2009); Harvey Levenstein, Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating
in Modern America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993); and Harvey
Levenstein, Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003).
7. Julie Guthman, “Can’t Stomach It: How Michael Pollan et al. Made Me Want
to Eat Cheetos,” Gastronomica 7, no. 3 (2007): 75–79; Rachel Laudan, “A Plea
for Culinary Modernism: Why We Should Love New, Fast, Processed Food,”
Gastronomica 1, no. 1 (2001): 36–44; Michelle DuPuis, “Angels and Vegetables: A
Brief History of Food Advice in America,” Gastronomica 7, no. 4 (2007): 34–44;
see also the passionate debates on the listserv of the Association for the Study of
Food and Society.
8. Charles Snow, The Two Cultures (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998).
9. Hervé This, “Molecular Gastronomy,” Nature Materials 4 (2005): 5–7; César
Vega and Job Ubbink, “Molecular Gastronomy: Food Fad or Science Supporting
Innovative Cuisine,” Trends in Food Science and Technology 19 (2008): 372–382;
see also www.experimentalcuisine.org.
10. Pollan, In Defense of Food, 141.
11. Laudan, “A Plea for Culinary Modernism.”
12. Nowadays the time spent on food preparation is a maximum of sixty minutes
a day for women and twenty minutes a day for men, whether they are employed
su m m e r 2 011
or not. For details see Lisa Mancino and Constance Newman, “Who’s Cooking?
Time Spent Preparing Food by Gender, Income, and Household Composition”
(2006), at http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/21456/1/sp06ma13.pdf. Accessed
26 February 2010.
13. Michael Pollan, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual (New York: The Penguin
Press, 2009).
84
gastronomica
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14. Undergraduate college students taking food studies courses and dedicating
significant portions of their income to food are among them.
15. An increase in rickets has recently been reported in infants in the United
Kingdom and United States, which suggests that this disease might become
more prevalent if people stopped consuming enriched foods. See Owen Bowcott,
“Rickets Warning from Doctors as Vitamin D Deficiency Widens,” The Guardian,
22 January 2010.
16. When finding fault with our food system, food activism frequently makes little
room for personal responsibility. What the food industry puts on supermarket
shelves ultimately remains there because we purchase it. To his credit, Pollan does
require his followers to take responsibility for the food they eat, buy, and even grow.
However, by claiming to want to simplify nutritional advice and offer “mental
devices for thinking through our food choices” (In Defense of Food, 12), he creates
another form of subversion for the consumer. Personal responsibility in this case
is once again truncated, because it becomes little more than “do as Pollan says.”
17. Warren Belasco, Food: The Key Concepts (New York: Berg Publishers, 2008).
18. See, for example, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 (H.R.2749, avail-
able at http://thomas.loc.gov), which has been under review in the Senate since
early August 2009.
19. Jordan Lite, “Melamine Traces Found in Samples of u.s. Infant
Formula,” Scientific American weblog, posted on 26 November 2008 at
www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=melamine-traces-found-in-
samples-of-2008-11-26 (accessed 20 May 2010).
20. Laura Shapiro, Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the
Century (New York: North Point Press, 1995); Laura Shapiro, Something from the
Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America (New York: Viking, 2004); see also
Anne Vileisis, Kitchen Literacy (Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2008).
21. See www.theworlds50best.com/awards/1-50-winners.
22. See, for example, Massimo Montanari, Food Is Culture (New York: Columbia
University Press, 2006).
23. Elise Golan et al., “Can Low-Income Americans Afford a Healthy Diet?”
Amber Waves 6, no. 5 (2008), www.ers.usda.gov/amberwaves.
24. Lisa Mancino and Constance Newman, “Who Has Time To Cook? How Family
Resources Influence Food Preparation,” Economic Research Report # 40 (2007),
at www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR40/ (accessed 26 February 2010); see also
Kelly Brownell and Thomas Frieden, “Ounces of Prevention: The Public Policy
Case for Taxes on Sugared Beverages,” New England Journal of Medicine 360,
no. 18 (2009): 1805–1808.
25. Leonard Epstein et al., “The Influence of Taxes and Subsidies on Energy
Purchased in an Experimental Purchasing Study,” Psychological Science 21, no. 3
(2010): 406–413.
26. Fruits and vegetables, while expensive on a per-calorie basis, are actually “good
value for money” on a per-nutrient basis (see Golan et al., “Low-Income Americans”).
For a person who needs 2,000 calories a day the recommendation is two cups of
fruit and two and one-half cups of vegetables. In mid-2008 a pound of apples cost
$1.36, while a pound of carrots cost $0.87. The per-cup cost of apples and carrots
was estimated at about 37 and 34 cents, respectively. A person needing 2,000
calories per day could meet the dietary recommendations for fruit and vegetables
for under $2.50 a day by selecting among bananas, apples, carrots, lettuce, and
tomatoes (ibid.), which would total about ten dollars a day for a family of four.
27. Roberts, The End of Food, 269–297.