I would challenge anyone to read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food without becoming angry at Big Food and the government for systematically robbing our food supply of its most vital nutrients year-by-year. (I almost fell off the couch when I read that today's eater would need to consume three apples to get the same nutrition in a single 1940-era apple.) I would also challenge anyone to read this and without deciding to make some serious changes to their diet: I couldn't help but feel that even the "whole foods" that we often buy aren't nearly as whole as I thought. I signed us up for a CSA before I got to the last page.
I read this as a follow-up to Genius Foods, which I read to gain insight on the most neuro-friendly diets. The good news for readers is that the two books agree; similarly, readers of Food of a Younger Land will be familiar with the advice to eat only food that would be recognizable to our ancestors. Pollan does spend significant time detailing the ways in which foods are changing - look no further than the apple example above - and in this way his work is similar to that of Bread, Wine, Chocolate only much more readable. In fact, I argue that of all the books in the food-is-bad-and-becoming-worse genre, In Defense of Food is the quickest and easiest read; although it covers similar terrain to Pollan's The Botany of Desire, In Defense of Food is much more accessible - and much less dry.
If you do one thing for your health this year, read this book. Also, if you're still eating margarine, it's probably best to give that up, stat.
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