Pollan Food Culture Analysis

In 2009 food detective Michael Pollan published an eye-opening book called The Omnivore’s Dilemma. According to Pollan, we don’t know what to eat because unlike other cultures around the world, Americans lack a stable food culture. Food cultures are traditions that are passed down from generation to generation to teach us how to cook and eat food. These cultures can help you stay healthy and more importantly, enjoy your food.

Food production has changed drastically throughout the span of this country’s history, shifting from small-scale farms into mega-facilities that horde animals inhumanely. In Pollan’s The Ominvore’s Dilemma, he showcases the transformative nature of food production throughout the years, by emphasizing the commercialization and industrialization aspects of this continual food evolution. Though Pollan expresses his opinions on modern-day methods of food production and categorization of these means of production, he experiences the dilemma that is commonly faced by many individuals in this day and age. Therefore, he undergoes the endeavor to find the solution to this national dilemma.

In his book " In Defense of Food " author Michael Pollan takes an interesting and thought

In the essay, Pollan also discusses about American eaters compared to French eaters. While Americans tend to choose a meal because of health reasons, French is more likely to choose on their favorite. However, French is the healthier ( thinner) compared to Americans. Americans assume that there is a chemical component that makes French food different from Americans even if it is the same meal. The truth is that French people can eat the same food we do and not get fat or other health problems because they eat their food in portions. They know how to make their meals smaller and also they do not eat snacks throughout the day. It does not matter if Americans eat a healthy lunch and a healthy dinner if they are also snacking throughout the day

Michael Pollan is the author of In Defense of Food. He is a journalist, activist, and currently a professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Pollan argues that nutrition has become overtly complicated and complex and that food is no longer truly food rather it is processed nutrients. He believes that overnutrition is emerging and that people have an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy (Pollan 9). This obsession of healthy eating has led to scientists concocting food like substances. These foods like substances are over processed foods with added nutrients and preservatives that the FDA claims have health benefits, but what is truly healthy is eating fresh fruits and vegetables. His main message is to “eat food, mostly plants” rather than these imitation foods that fill our grocery stores (Pollan 1).

We live in a world that is in a continuous process of transformation, considering that progress manages to control all the aspects of individual's life. Being part of a society which is always changing makes it essential for people have to adapt to all these aspects. One of the biggest problems for the American society is that it has no time to eat, since it is always on the run. Fast food came as the greatest solution for this problem. Since the process of modernization of the American society is accelerated day by day, the fast food industry has gained its place on the market. Even if individuals are well aware of the problems they can and will encounter if they eat fast food, they are forced by the circumstances to fall back on it.

Food and eating as we know are important for our body maintenance and growth process, but can we eat anything we like and trust it? As long as you live in the Western side of this world, you cannot always trust what you digest. As Michael Pollan mentioned, most of the Western food is processed food, which you cannot trust. Pollan is focusing on getting rid of Western diet in the United States and guiding Americans to start eating healthier, and having better eating habits. I agree with his idea because the Western diet is threatening our health and it might become uncontrollable in the coming years. Replacing processed food, and changing bad eating habits can save Americans from many dangerous health problems they are suffering from.

After reading this article, I’ve realized that the idea of food, eating, and even the type of food is different when compared to different cultures. Specifically, the article talks about food as an identity, as survival, as a status, as a pleasure, as a community, and as humanity. For each of these main ideas, the article gives an example of each culture and what they do differently with food. One that I though was really cool was how in China, people would rather eat unique textured foods such as Jellyfish and pig ears, instead of something that has a unique taste. After reading this, I began to thinking that this was the complete opposite compared to the American culture. This is because we will usually eat foods for taste and when we eat

In this era today, the social norm is everyone wants everything right here and right now. Which is why fast food has become so popular among Americas. Not to mention fast food is so much cheaper than fresh, organic groceries from the whole foods store. You can get a meal for 10 people

All aspects of fast food have been criticized significantly, especially since the health food trend craze came around. An argument by culinary Luddites that is often thrown around is that our ancestors never had the access to these options and lived a much happier natural lifestyle. Rachel Laudan brought these points to the forefront to be critiqued in her writing “In Praise of Fast Food”. Rachel Laudan brings the argument that individuals have always participated in the consumption of convenience based foods, the goal in growing and producing food has always been to alter produce to make it more convenient as well as better tasting. Fast food is not as new of an invention as many believe it to be. Modern mainstream media outlets have pushed the belief that processing food has been the worst thing for the well being of the human body. Rachel Laudan makes some very solid points in the fast food debate that should be noted.

Fast food might be easy and cheap but people do not realize how harmful the food is for their bodies. The problem is the food that is served at these types of restaurants, especially McDonalds, are high in fat, salt, processed, and can have harmful ingredients included in the food. While home cooked food takes time to plan and make people know what they are eating, that isn’t the case at McDonalds: “McDonald’s burgers retain its fresh appearance for a very long time. This can easily fool customers who do not have a hint of this alteration in their burgers. The use of excessive preservatives is harmful for your health which McDonalds seems to overlook for gaining more and more

Fast food chains nowadays are in every corner. When walking people can look to their right and see a Taco Bells. Or on their right they can go into a McDonald’s. Fast food chains are spreading worldwide. What leads to consuming fast food is convinces that fast food chains are providing. People can literally go outside of their house and get fast food that is either half a mile away than going to a subway. Every day when I commute to school from my house all the way to my school, I see McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC on the same block. Every morning they are packed with early birds trying to get an easy meal to grab and go. The cost of buying a hamburger is way cheaper than buying a salad nowadays.

We go to the area, is central Peru, and most live in the middle of the Peruvian daily diets to plant roots and decorated with chicken dishes. This single diet, intake of essential nutrients for the human body is very unfavorable.

This paper will discuss the multifaceted relationships among food, and culture. I will be looking at the relationships people have with food, and explore how this relationship reveals information about them. Their food choices of individuals and groups, can reveal their ideals, likes and dislikes. Food choices tell the stories of where people have travelled and who they have met along the way.

While the idea of eating outside of the home has been around for a considerable length of time, the fast food industry as we probably am aware it didn 't get its begin until the post-WWII American financial blast. Americans started to spend increasingly and purchase more as the economy blasted and a society of consumerism blossomed. As an aftereffect of this new yearning to have everything, combined with the steps made by ladies while the men were away, both individuals from the family unit started to work outside the home. Eating out, which had beforehand been viewed as an extravagance, turned into a typical event and after that a need. Laborers, and working families, required snappy administration and modest nourishment for both lunch and supper. This need is the thing that drove the amazing accomplishment of the early fast food goliaths, which took into account the family on the go. As the fast food industry started booming, they were the main source of part time job for teenagers. In late 1970’s, a staggering one out of eight US citizens were employed by McDonalds. In the mid-1970s as the nourishment business extended it turned out to be more aggressive setting off the "Burger Wars" of the 80s and 90s. Toward the start of the 21st century the business sector experienced another seismic movement as espresso chains and quick causal eateries rose as genuine contenders to bigger fast food chains. Brands like Starbucks, Chipotle, and Panera were introduced into the industry.