Tenets of an eater's manifesto
"[I]n our time, cooking from scratch and growing any of your own food qualify as subversive acts."
- From Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food, which is definitely the best book I have read in a long time. I highly encourage you all to read it. In the meantime, his tenets on healthy eating:
EAT FOOD
I've posted some choice quotes on my other LJ here.
I'd heard many of Pollan's arguments and explanations before, but it was nice to see them all brought together, well-organized and clearly elucidated. The second half of the book briefly described practical suggestions for changing our eating/buying habits (I've listed those behind the cut, above). This part was new to me and very exciting. So, which of these do I think practical to incorporate into my life?
Eat food: The first tenant is a really hard one, I have found over the last few days. Just that first tenet rules out most "foods." Many products, even organic or health food store products, have more than five ingredients, for example. That one I may have to skip for now, but avoiding high-fructose corn syrup is definitely a good start. The next three suggestions are good tips that I will keep in mind. (Already, for financial reasons, I'm going to try to avoid the supermarket - I definitely spend less when I go to the local fruit/veggie/meat market instead.)
Mostly plants: The leaves vs. seeds argument (that we are relying more on seeds and less on leaves to our detriment) came as a revelation to me. I will definitely try to eat more salad and avoid corn/seed oil. (...Is there any other kind of -inexpensive- cooking oil?) I would love to have a freezer, but I don't think it's practical at the moment. (For reasons other than what Pollan says, actually; cooking big meals from scratch and saving leftovers is a good use of a freezer, too.) I will also try to eat like an omnivore - eating a larger variety of meats, veggies, and fruits to get a variety of nutrients. Pollan makes the point that eating local is more important than eating organic (and many local farms are organic-but-in-name anyway), and so I will try to buy more of my produce from the farmer's market. I already am the kind of person who takes supplements (woo hoo!); I rarely buy actual supplements but from now on (or at least until the age of 50, Pollan recommends), I won't bother. I will definitely be more suspicious of non-traditional foods (my biggest question being about soy; Pollan says that tofu, being prepared in a traditional way that has been proven over centuries, is healthy, but that soy in other forms (like TVP and soy additives) is not. I wonder where does that leave soy milk and many other soy foods that I regularly eat. Hum.) Drinking a glass of wine with dinner... I can happily try to do that more often. :)
Not too much: At the moment paying more for better food is a problem. It's interesting how, after only a year, Pollan's book is already dated - at least when it comes to food prices. They have risen considerably in the last 12 months. It's not feasible for many people to pay more right now. Pollan does acknowledge, briefly, that some people cannot afford to pay more - and while it is a nice gesture for him to mention that, it would have been preferable to have included concrete suggestions on what poor people (or, circa 2009, the middle class) should do to try to eat better without necessarily spending more.
The idea of eating meals with other people (going back to the traditional family dinner) with a taboo on snacking is excellent -- but not feasible for many of us, I'm afraid. I don't even have a kitchen table, let alone a partner/family to eat regularly with. It's a good idea for those who do, though.
Now, the cooking from scratch suggestion (not the planting a garden one) I can do! That may be the most helpful suggestion on here, in that it is healthy (you know you're eating whole foods, not processed) and cheaper (if you make a large batch) - and the inconvenience of cooking from scratch (which can be approached as something fun and an experience in and of itself) is balanced out by the convenience of having, say, a week's worth of food on hand (more or less, depending on your freezer space and family size).
I was really surprised by his facts and figures about Americans spending around 9% of their family budget on food, while the French and Italians (with healthier diets) spent more like 14%, and that the French and Italians also spend more time both selecting and preparing food, and eating it. Pollan argues that if we North Americans spent more of our time and money on food, we would be a lot healthier and happier; our culture of convenience is literally killing us.
So, now I'm wondering: have you read his book? What did you think? Have you already incorporated some of these tenets into your lifestyle? Are there ones you already do, or have no intention of doing?
- From Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food, which is definitely the best book I have read in a long time. I highly encourage you all to read it. In the meantime, his tenets on healthy eating:
EAT FOOD
- Avoid food products containing ingredients that are A) unfamiliar, B) unpronounceable, C) more than five in number, or that include D) high-fructose corn syrup
- Avoid food products that make health claims.
- Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.
- Get out of the supermarket whenever possible.
- Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.
- You are what you eat eats too.
- If you have the space, buy a freezer.
- Eat like an omnivore.
- Eat well-grown food from healthy soils (i.e. organic except in name).
- Eat wild food when you can. (With the caveat that this is not environmentally friendly.)
- Be the kind of person who takes supplements. (Then save your money.)
- Eat more like the French, or the Italians, or the Japanese, or the Indians, or the Greeks. (i.e. any kind of traditional diet
- Regard non-traditional foods with skepticism.
- Don't look for the magic bullet in the traditional diet.
- Have a glass of wine with dinner.
- Pay more, eat less.
- Eat meals. (Not snacks.)
- Do all your eating at a table.
- Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.
- Try not to eat alone.
- Consult your gut. (Stop when you feel full.)
- Eat slowly.
- Cook and, if you can, plant a garden.
I've posted some choice quotes on my other LJ here.
I'd heard many of Pollan's arguments and explanations before, but it was nice to see them all brought together, well-organized and clearly elucidated. The second half of the book briefly described practical suggestions for changing our eating/buying habits (I've listed those behind the cut, above). This part was new to me and very exciting. So, which of these do I think practical to incorporate into my life?
Eat food: The first tenant is a really hard one, I have found over the last few days. Just that first tenet rules out most "foods." Many products, even organic or health food store products, have more than five ingredients, for example. That one I may have to skip for now, but avoiding high-fructose corn syrup is definitely a good start. The next three suggestions are good tips that I will keep in mind. (Already, for financial reasons, I'm going to try to avoid the supermarket - I definitely spend less when I go to the local fruit/veggie/meat market instead.)
Mostly plants: The leaves vs. seeds argument (that we are relying more on seeds and less on leaves to our detriment) came as a revelation to me. I will definitely try to eat more salad and avoid corn/seed oil. (...Is there any other kind of -inexpensive- cooking oil?) I would love to have a freezer, but I don't think it's practical at the moment. (For reasons other than what Pollan says, actually; cooking big meals from scratch and saving leftovers is a good use of a freezer, too.) I will also try to eat like an omnivore - eating a larger variety of meats, veggies, and fruits to get a variety of nutrients. Pollan makes the point that eating local is more important than eating organic (and many local farms are organic-but-in-name anyway), and so I will try to buy more of my produce from the farmer's market. I already am the kind of person who takes supplements (woo hoo!); I rarely buy actual supplements but from now on (or at least until the age of 50, Pollan recommends), I won't bother. I will definitely be more suspicious of non-traditional foods (my biggest question being about soy; Pollan says that tofu, being prepared in a traditional way that has been proven over centuries, is healthy, but that soy in other forms (like TVP and soy additives) is not. I wonder where does that leave soy milk and many other soy foods that I regularly eat. Hum.) Drinking a glass of wine with dinner... I can happily try to do that more often. :)
Not too much: At the moment paying more for better food is a problem. It's interesting how, after only a year, Pollan's book is already dated - at least when it comes to food prices. They have risen considerably in the last 12 months. It's not feasible for many people to pay more right now. Pollan does acknowledge, briefly, that some people cannot afford to pay more - and while it is a nice gesture for him to mention that, it would have been preferable to have included concrete suggestions on what poor people (or, circa 2009, the middle class) should do to try to eat better without necessarily spending more.
The idea of eating meals with other people (going back to the traditional family dinner) with a taboo on snacking is excellent -- but not feasible for many of us, I'm afraid. I don't even have a kitchen table, let alone a partner/family to eat regularly with. It's a good idea for those who do, though.
Now, the cooking from scratch suggestion (not the planting a garden one) I can do! That may be the most helpful suggestion on here, in that it is healthy (you know you're eating whole foods, not processed) and cheaper (if you make a large batch) - and the inconvenience of cooking from scratch (which can be approached as something fun and an experience in and of itself) is balanced out by the convenience of having, say, a week's worth of food on hand (more or less, depending on your freezer space and family size).
I was really surprised by his facts and figures about Americans spending around 9% of their family budget on food, while the French and Italians (with healthier diets) spent more like 14%, and that the French and Italians also spend more time both selecting and preparing food, and eating it. Pollan argues that if we North Americans spent more of our time and money on food, we would be a lot healthier and happier; our culture of convenience is literally killing us.
So, now I'm wondering: have you read his book? What did you think? Have you already incorporated some of these tenets into your lifestyle? Are there ones you already do, or have no intention of doing?