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In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto Paperback – April 28, 2009
Michael Pollan (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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Food. There's plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it?
Because in the so-called Western diet, food has been replaced by nutrients, and common sense by confusion--most of what we’re consuming today is longer the product of nature but of food science. The result is what Michael Pollan calls the American Paradox: The more we worry about nutrition, the less healthy we see to become. With In Defense of Food, Pollan proposes a new (and very old) answer to the question of what we should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Pollan’s bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we can start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives, enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy, and bring pleasure back to eating.
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPenguin Books
- Publication dateApril 28, 2009
- Dimensions5.52 x 0.69 x 8.43 inches
- ISBN-100143114964
- ISBN-13978-0143114963
- Lexile measure1390L
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"In this slim, remarkable volume, Pollan builds a convincing case not only against that steak dinner but against the entire Western diet." —The Washington Post
"A tough, witty, cogent rebuttal to the proposition that food can be reduced to its nutritional components without the loss of something essential . . . [a] lively, invaluable book." —Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"What should I eat for dinner tonight? Here is Pollan's brilliant, succinct and nuanced answer to this question: 'Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.'" —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"In Defense of Food is written with Pollan's customary bite, ringing clarity and brilliance at connecting the dots." —The Seattle Times
"This is an important book, short but pithy, and, like the word 'food,' not simple at all." —New York Post
"With his lucid style and innovative research, Pollan deserves his reputation as one of the most respectable voices in the modern debate about food." —The Financial Times
About the Author
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Product details
- Publisher : Penguin Books; 1st edition (April 28, 2009)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0143114964
- ISBN-13 : 978-0143114963
- Lexile measure : 1390L
- Item Weight : 8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.52 x 0.69 x 8.43 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #9,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in Caffeine
- #30 in Vegetarian Diets (Books)
- #117 in Cooking Education & Reference
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Michael Pollan is the author of seven previous books, including Cooked, Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore's Dilemma and The Botany of Desire, all of which were New York Times bestsellers. A longtime contributor to the New York Times Magazine, he also teaches writing at Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2010, TIME magazine named him one of the one hundred most influential people in the world.
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Five weeks eating 3 meals a day...and by week two much of the chronic 24 hour a day pain was gone and I began walking the elliptical and the woods. Five weeks and 30 pounds lighter....with more energy than I've had in 20 years. Buy this book, learn it, live it, tell your loved ones.
The book helped me explore my interest in more traditional diets made up of pure/whole foods, leave behind food-like (and gimmicky) products in the stores, and switch to cooking & baking from scratch. After reading it, I was inspired to buy a grain mill for my kitchen so I could grind my own flour and truly bake from scratch using whole grain flour (and wrote a get-started guide to help others do the same). Being able to control what goes into my food has improved my health and energy. I can't recommend this book enough.
I also like the companion book "Food Rules" Food Rules: An Eater's Manual , which I'd recommend if you want a brief "just tell me what to do" book. But for more detailed information that may help you change your food and eating mindset, "In Defense of Food" is the way to go.
Top reviews from other countries

The final part says what we can do about all this when we eat. Simple messages: avoid the processed stuff; spend more on food and more time preparing (and you will eat less); eat less meat; go for farm shops not supermarkets; and grow your own….Perhaps a little disappointing, but no doubt true. I will also personally be tucking into cheese and olive oil as recommend in Tim Spector's book The Diet Myth. But that book is rather less of a strong reading experience than this!...




Following the Great Grandmother rule blanks out a lot of options (and removes most of the profitability of the agro-food processing industry) but he shows that it is still just viable if a shopper frequents farmers markets or avoids the packaged goods in the central aisles of supermarkets.
He also interestingly shows how the food industry plays food science marketing with features such as "added fibre", "added omega3" etc. while ignoring the more beneficial natural sources.