(no subject)
I just finished reading Michael Pollan's In Defense Of Food, and I'm finding myself a bit torn.
He defines nutritionism as the idea that food is about providing nutrients, and that getting that right is a complex enough thing to require the involvement of scientists and other such experts. I'm largely with him on this... I think it is overly reductive to say the health benefits of a particular food come from Vitamin X or mineral Y so we can just add it to highly processed foods and be fine, and I agree with his indictment of the 'eat less fat - no, wait, eat less carbs! - oh, no it's the ____!' craziness of nutrition guidelines. Just eat real food.
What I can't seem to 'get' is his talk about the pleasures of savoring food, from the time you pick it out of your garden if you're lucky enough. For me, food is fuel and while I certainly enjoy a tasty meal when I get it I still balk at the lengthy, uniformly tedious (to me) process of cooking the way he'd like. Is that just how it is with me, I'm food-numb, or do I still need an attitude shift?
I also wish he'd have done more than just acknowledge that not everyone can afford to eat the way he suggests, but that's an issue for another time.
He defines nutritionism as the idea that food is about providing nutrients, and that getting that right is a complex enough thing to require the involvement of scientists and other such experts. I'm largely with him on this... I think it is overly reductive to say the health benefits of a particular food come from Vitamin X or mineral Y so we can just add it to highly processed foods and be fine, and I agree with his indictment of the 'eat less fat - no, wait, eat less carbs! - oh, no it's the ____!' craziness of nutrition guidelines. Just eat real food.
What I can't seem to 'get' is his talk about the pleasures of savoring food, from the time you pick it out of your garden if you're lucky enough. For me, food is fuel and while I certainly enjoy a tasty meal when I get it I still balk at the lengthy, uniformly tedious (to me) process of cooking the way he'd like. Is that just how it is with me, I'm food-numb, or do I still need an attitude shift?
I also wish he'd have done more than just acknowledge that not everyone can afford to eat the way he suggests, but that's an issue for another time.