In Defense of Food

My friend, Carmen sent me this video over the weekend. It is really, really good!

These are some points Michael Pollen makes in the video:

1. Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
2. Eat real food!
3. Don’t eat ingredients that you can’t pronounce.
4. Don’t get crazy and become an orthorexic.
5. Eat local, farm fresh food.

I grew up on my family’s farm. My sister and I were the fifth generation to be raised on the same 260 acres where our great great-parents lived and farmed. We raised cattle and sheep and we grew corn, alfalfa and beets. My great grandfather had milk cows and raised chickens. I’m happy to see people thinking more about local, real, farm fresh food these days. 25 years ago when I was growing up on our farm no one really cared about the benefits of farming. Unfortunately, Americans paid the price with their health by consuming more processed foods.

Pollen is a journalist, he researches and writes about the origins of food. He questions where and how “nutritionism” has penetrated our modern world. I listen to him and I think; “I could not have said it any better myself!”If you get frustrated because one year you’re told something is “good for you” and then the next year you’re told; “oops, now we decided this is bad for you.” Pollen gives good insight about this political, corporate and media driven food advice.

Pollen’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals came out in 2006. His book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto was published this year. While I listened and watched the video, I decided I really need to read, In Defense of Food. I went to the Denver Public Library website to put the book on hold, I’m number 132 on the hold list, ugh! Apparently I’m not the only one who wants to read this book – oh well, that’s a good thing! In the meantime, watch this video it is really, really good!