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Product Reviews:
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto |
Rating: 2 (out of 5)
Summary: One of Us...One of Us..join us..forever and...ever
Comments: I have to say I am prejudiced towards this kind of book that offers the reader a "lifestyle". With that said, I probably follow a lot of the ideas in the book, however I did not have to read the thing to come to obvious conclusions like eating fewer portions of food will make you thinner. Really? Processed food is bad for me? Wow, I have been living a lie.
Though it will not explain how some people live healthy and long lives and they eat crap, drink too much, and smoke.
I am impressed with the way these books tend to spread through the NPR-New Yorker crowd and make eone jump all over themselves with enthusiasm. I heard Pollan on NPR and it seemed that his "wisdom of the grandmother" was a little too wistful and a bit false.
My grandmother smoked like a chimney and boiled the hell out of ething that she cooked, draining almost all of those nutrients out the door. Maybe if I had super-Oma or idealized nanna, she might have opened the oracle and showed me the way to live better and not be so nasty.
We eat differently than people2generations ago. To compare they way we eat to the way they ate is loaded with comparisons that do not make much sense because the conditions are much different. Processed food was not nearly as pervasive as it is now.
After reading the Jungle, I do not think anyone is going to make the case that sausage from a local company counts as "great honest" food compared to the way that some larger companies load their meats up with preservatives and fillers. Given a choice between a rat or some guy's finger and MSG, I think I'll go with the MSG.
It will be interesting to see what the next fad will be. Maybe it will be that processed food is better for us. I can not help thinking about that scene in Woody Allen's now dated film Sleeper, where a man wakes up in a totalitarian future to find2people trying to explain what his "health food store" was all about while they explain that smoking was found to be healthy and red meat was also great, especially when it's fried. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: Eat food
Comments: Pollan's7word manifesto has the potential to change how we eat in this country. He goes through the science of where we went wrong (redutionism) and then tries to explain how we can do better (holism).
Eat food, almost allly plants, not too much. He then explains that is clear and understandable terms. We should all read this book and inculcate its message into our lives. |
Rating: 3 (out of 5)
Summary: A manifesto for mindful food consumption...
Comments: Author Michael Pollan develops a powerful thesis which is succinctly summarized in the title:
* Eat food (he defines "food" and differentiates it from what passes for food at the grocery store
* Eat in moderation
* Eat almost allly plants
That pretty much sums up the message, along with ancillary tips: eat at a table, eat with others, grow a garden however small, etc. About 60% of the book is filled with background material and science which at times made my eyes glaze over.
This book can change the way you feel about food and eating.
A great read to consume before your next trip to McDonald's.
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Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: Timely book by Pollan
Comments: Michael has written another gem. This book is profound and timely. What you eat and approach to food have a great deal to do with your health. He argues that the western diet is the problem. hard to dispute!! |
Rating: 3 (out of 5)
Summary: Only the last 1/3 of the book is useful.
Comments: 1st off, I am rather surprised at all the glowing reviews. The author really has no credentials to be writing about a subject such as the1he is trying to tackle. He starts off the book poo-pooing food science, however at the core of the book, he's really just ragging on the food industry for exploiting the scientific results (often from a single unrepeated study. Scientific facts are cemented by repeated studies, something the author fails to understand). Through the 1st 2/3s of the book, he really just repeats himself, not to mention make glaring errors that throw his credibility out the window (carbs and protein have 4 calories per gram, not 5. If he can not even get THAT right...).
The final 1/3 of the book is some great eating advice that would have made a great column in a magazine, or an essay on a website. It is certainly not worth purchaseing the book for, and I am glad I only borrowed my copy from the library.
Overall, not worth reading. Just avoid odd chemicals in food, purchase organic, local, and in season if you can, and try for fresh (or frozen) instead of canned. That's it. |
