In Defense of Food

An Eater's Manifesto

By: Michael Pollan

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of This is Your Mind on Plants, How to Change Your Mind, The Omnivore's Dilemma, and Food Rules

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Because in the so-called Western diet, food has been replaced by nutrients, and common sense by confusion—most of what we’re consuming today is longer the product of nature but of food science.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.

©2008 Michael Pollan (P)2008 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Michael Pollan [is the] designated repository for the nation's food conscience."—Frank Bruni, The New York Times

"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

One of the most important books you could read

I grew up in America in the 80's at the height of America's reinvention (or perhaps the acceleration) of what it considered heathy and what it called food. My mom, I very much appreciate, cooked us a hot meal every day. But as a newlywed, I was a little concerned that a third of the recipes I had accumulated began with a can of cream of chicken and chicken breast. When I spent time living in Japan, I was surprised how many of the "rules" of healthy eating that traditional Japanese cooking broke, but they seemed healthier regardless. Traditional Japanese cuisine included far more actual food, much more vegetables and much, much less sugar. It also tasted amazing. Pollan does a tremendous job of documenting how we got to be where we are dietarily (in America), and offers useful suggestions on how we can get back on course. Thanks to this book, I finally made it over to our local farmer's market, something I had been meaning to do for some time.

I would also highly recommend French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon (even if you don't have kids) for a fascinating inside view of how the French approach eating (and ideas on how we could improve our Western approach), and Culinary Intelligence (sadly not an audiobook last I checked) by Peter Kaminsky, if like me, you aspire to up your taste level in order to improve your overall well being.

A masterpiece?

I read omnivores dilemma, loving it so, I decided to pick this one up and give it a try. While his former was at the gym be a logical, this one focuses on a more singular scale. Beautifully written and laced with beautiful logic.

Just wishing Michael Pollan had narrated it

The book is great, plenty of compelling data, as Pollan usually provides. I definitely enjoyed the day information provided. But the narrator is way too dramatic, and slightly sarcastic-sounding. Not a great match for the content.

Great book, but narration is not a good fit

I read the hard copy a while ago, and loved it, so I wanted to refresh my memory by listening to this audiobook, but the narration is really not fit for this kind of topic, the overly exaggerated tone is more appropriate for fiction. I am at about one-third of the book but will probably stop there. It would have been so great to have the author also narrate the book, as he is a great speaker.

Enlightening

I have read this book, as well as other Pollan books and enjoy his perspective and education provides to the reader.

Amazing book

This book has changed many of my views on eating. I have definitely fallen victim to the nutritionist mentality. Measuring macronutrients and taking supplements just made sense to me. And now, this makes more sense to me. Who knows, maybe I’ll ping-pong around to some other health advices, but this feels like progress to me. I highly recommend.

Inspiring and Informative

Narrated with an exactly appropriate tone, this book challenges our conventional view of eating, and encourages a return to the fundamental relationship man has with food. Pollan carefully reveals the catastrophic habits of the western diet, yet avoids condemnation, a pitfall of many proponents for organic health. Instead, he inspires the common man with an argument for simpler and better health, all based on a sturdy foundation of logic and current science.

Sneering, condescending narrator

I don't know that I've ever written this on this site, but I think this is a book better read than heard. At least, it's better read than heard with this narrator.

His general tone is one of sneering condescension, as he explains things that his tone seems to indicate any idiot should know. It's as if he's sprinkling vinegar, rather than honey, while attempting to convert a group of flies.

There is a lot of good information in this book. I had many questions as to the origin of the information provided. Perhaps the printed edition includes footnotes.

I have to say that the book gave me a lot to think about, and I will be adjusting my diet.

Some information in this book hasn’t aged well

It’s a pretty good book with a lot of useful advice. However, the information about moderate alcohol consumption being healthier than no alcohol consumption has been proven false. Any amount of alcohol consumption, even moderate consumption, negatively impacts your health. You will always be better off with no alcohol than with moderate alcohol because the higher occurrence of alcohol related diseases in even moderate drinkers overshadows the modest cardiovascular benefits attributed to alcohol.
It’s fine to drink a little, but don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s healthy, it’s not!

It’s always a good idea to cite your sources when making a claim, so here are mine

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)30134-X/fulltext

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/alcohol

A must read for anyone who eats

If you could sum up In Defense of Food in three words, what would they be?

Life changing information

What was one of the most memorable moments of In Defense of Food?

The message about Big Food having a very palpable political influence

Which scene was your favorite?

The sociological experiment with the indigenous tribe that had started moving into urban centers, also the psychological associations with food in Americans vs other nationalities.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me laugh in parts.

Any additional comments?

I LOVE MICHAEL POLLAN!!! You can't eat without reading all his books if you care about your health (and the health of the planet) at all!