Pollan and the American Food Paradox

There was plenty of food for thought at Michael Pollan’s talk this week at CDC.* Pollan, an environmental journalist and author of several books focusing on food culture and policy, took a break from his gig at the Georgia Organics Conference in Atlanta this week to speak to a packed crowd at CDC’s Clifton Road headquarters. His topic: America’s dysfunctional relationship with food – including our obsession over nutrients that neither we nor the science world yet understand. The irony, he says, is that our focus on “nutritionism,” as he calls it, coincides with skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease in this country. Pollan calls this the American Paradox, in contrast to the better-known French Paradox, meaning the ability of the “cheese-chomping, red-wine swilling” French to enjoy relatively good health.

The food problem in the U.S. is complex, of course, and includes the megamillions that food industries make from selling heavily processed foods rather than simple foods like oatmeal or oranges. Foods that are packaged, Pollan points out, attract more consumers by shouting about their superiority, be they added nutrients (“more omega-3 fatty acids!”),  their lack (“fat-free!”), or convenience (“fully cooked!”).

So what’s a hungry, confused consumer to do? Pollan recommends a return to viewing foods as – well, foods, and not merely vehicles for miracle nutrients. A few of his sensible maxims include “Don’t eat anything your grandmother or great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food” and “Shop around the edges of the grocery store,” meaning go for the produce, milks, fish and other fresh foods. The middle aisles of the store are chock full of processed foods (or “edible foodlike substances” as Pollan likes to call them) that will last years, which should ring some alarm bells for us. As an illustration, he told the group about a package of twinkies he tacked up on his office wall some two years ago, which is still as squishily fresh as the day he put it there. He encourages people to pay attention to the fact that bacteria and fungi don’t attack this – maybe they have an inner wisdom we should pay attention to, he says. For much more on these fascinating topics, see his book, “In Defense of Food, An Eater’s Manifesto,” published last year to much acclaim.  The cover features his bottom-line mantra: Eat Food – Not Too Much – Mostly Plants.

Important Note: Denise Casey is the author of this entry.

 

*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

Comments

[Margaret Murray Kolk]

Denise: Nice article. Articulates the Pollan philosophy succinctly and accurately. It was nice meeting you and Murray today at Moringside Farmers' Market. Look forward to reading more of your work. Hope to see you at a Slow Food ATL event soon.

Margaret Kolk

[Term Papers]

The irony, he says, is that our focus on “nutritionism,” as he calls it, coincides with skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease in this country.