The Writing of Michael Pollan

In many social situations, I find myself talking about food. It happened several times in Vegas this past weekend. For those that know me, they know it's something I'm passionate about. For those I meet, I'm not always sure how it comes up. Maybe it's because my husband and I look younger than our years or that we maintain healthy body weights or that we just obviously feel good but when people ask, we broach the food subject gently by sharing our catalysts for change.

As I've stated before, my food journey has been a long one. I was making stealth changes in what foods came into our home as my dear husband remained a disinterested skeptic for what seemed like forever. That is, until he read The Omnivore's Dilemma  and An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan.

If you've seen Food, Inc. (which I highly recommend), you are familiar with Michael Pollan's take on our society's food supply. As is to be expected with films, Food, Inc. only scratches the surface of the knowledge found in the books.

'Omnivore's' traces four meals from the earth to the plate. The industrial conventional (McDonald's), the industrial organic (what you find at Whole Foods), the so-called beyond organic (local, sustainably farmed) and the hunter-gatherer (a meal comprised of only what the author grew, gathered and killed himself).

'Manifesto' was a response to the many people who read 'Omnivore's' and wrote to Pollan asking what exactly they should be eating. It's a very simple suggestion -- Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Before you say, 'Well, duh!' Zero in on the first sentence and ask yourself, 'What is food?' Sadly, there is precious little to be found on our country's overstuffed supermarket shelves.



So, if you're interested in beginning your journey to eating real, vital food, these books are a good place to start. Let me know what you think!