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 - A watered down version of The Omnivore's DilemmaThis is a watered down version of Omnivore's Dilemma with the same message (eat locally, eat more plants, etc.). The message is good, and the argument is solid, but this slim volume is not nearly the great achievement that The Omnivore's Dilemma was. Rating:  - In Defense of "In Defense of Food"I loved this book! It takes a different perspective from Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemna". Here, Pollan is principally concerned about eating from a perspective of personal health/nutrition. Fortunately, the conclusion that he comes to is that someone who is thoughtful about their eating will make many of the same decisions whether their starting point is ecology, environment, personal health (and I'd add to the list labor rights and animal rights, much of the time). Yes, between all these different viewpoints, there are A FEW places where advocates might disagree, but it seems that a thoughtful eater will benefit all of these areas in general. Rating: - our diets are sorely lacking because of the process Pollan labels "nutritionism." Book Review: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan New flash: When whole foods are broken down into their nutritional components and then reassembled as processed food, the new product is not nearly as beneficial to our health as the original. In the mid-twentieth century, who would have thought it? Weren't we sold on "better living though science?" Well, as it turns out, our diets are sorely lacking because of the process Pollan labels "nutritionism." This reductionist way of thinking about food assumes that the key to understanding food is through the individual nutrients it contains. Wrong! Whole food is greater than the sum of its parts! As a holistic chiropractor and a motivational speaker on health and wellness, I'm excited about Pollan's book. He discusses with clarity, supported by extensive research, something I've been advocating for years: a return to the Paleolithic diet of our ancestors 40,000 years ago! Pollan states it succinctly; Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. Furthermore, eat mostly the leaves of the plants, not the seeds. What about meat? Meat is nutritious food, yet when it comes from a highly industrialized food chain, it brings with it extra chemicals and hormones that do not serve us well at all. If you care at all about the food you ingest, buy this book and get out your highlighter! You'll want to mark passages to refer back to as you become pro-active with your diet! Michael B. Roth, D.C. Rating: - Clear, entertaining, science-basedJust the kind of information I needed to clear up the murky questions I had about the american diet. A great book for every modern person to read. AEmeryMD Rating: - Fresh Perspective on FoodThis is likely the most useful book I have read in a decade. Having grown up in the clean-your-plate-get-dessert era I greatly appreciate Pollan's fresh (pun accepted) perspectives on food and eating. Despite a medical background, I have long been perplexed by food and the many products now available that masquerade as food. If Pollan is right, it's not so complicated after all. This diligently-researched book explains the origins--government, food industry, junk science--and motivations behind commonly held myths about healthy and not healthy. He does a masterful job of presenting evidence, but avoids a know-it-all attitude common among so-called experts of the modern era. Though I find the evidence-based nutrition science to be fascinating, the book is filled with practical, applicable advice that anyone can understand, like Pollan's recommendation to avoid products with more than five ingredients or those with ingredients that are tough to pronounce. Though I still eat more than I should, I have drastically changed what I eat. More importantly I am using the book's concepts to gradually, persistently re-educate my high-fructose-corn-syrup-craving teenagers. Hopefully it's not too late.
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