Response to In Defense of Food, Section 1

Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food, starts out by listing his definition between the words "food" and "nutrition." "Food" is what we as a society should be eating, but we've been dragged into the thought that we need to be consuming "nutrients." The transition we are making is not a healthy one, although many scientists would lead us to believe otherwise. When people go to the supermarket today, they hardly choose food for pleasure; now the emphasis is on what vitamins does the food contain. While many people look for packaged foods, some of the healthiest foods we can get are fresh fruits and vegetables, as Enrique Wilkinson talks about in his article, Nutrition in Diet. If America wants to get healthier, it must break the hold of searching for what's in the foods rather than for the food itself.

Another point made by Pollan that made me think was that kids today aren't eating the same things their parents did. I can attest to this claim as I know that my parents didn't eat Chinese takeout one or two times a week when they were kids. Parents of today's children lived in a generation where everything was made from scratch. Even though it was a choice to make food this way, many people in America decades ago made food the way they did out of necessity. We have so many unhealthy options today, aside from what we can get in the supermarket. I think it's sad when I drive through small towns in the state that have five thousand people and four fast food restaurants. With enticing advertising and marketing, it's no wonder how unhealthy we've gotten today with the food choices we are offered.

The final point I will talk about is that Pollan feels that everyone depends on labels in stores more than the actual food they are buying. I can understand where he's coming from with this claim, but I myself rarely look at labels. I go into a supermarket or general store having a good idea of what I need. I approach the aisle, scan the brand names if anything, grab the product, and purchase it. So the label argument that he brings up about people searching for vitamins and other nutrients doesn't pertain to me personally, but I'm just a college kid looking for the cheapest product with the best taste.