The eater’s manifesto

I’m about halfway into Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, and I am (ahem) eating it up. My only regret is that I planned to write this book and Pollan beat me to it.

In a nutshell, Defense explains how we’ve gone from eating crops and animals to stuffing ourselves with refined, expensive, unhealthy foods. As Pollan says, “Eat food. Not so much. Mainly plants.” Okay. That’s it. But these seven little words didn’t sink in until I understood how recently our national diet had switched from recognizable farm produce to pulverized factory food. Our bodies are being overwhelmed by white flour, sugars, and heavily-processed foods. A memorable sentence I remember from last night’s reading: “We have undertaken a national experiment in mainlining glucose.”

My crap detectors are now on guard against groceries that don’t resemble real food. I no longer eat things if I don’t recognize the ingredients on the label. I’ve cut down on “mainlining” candy and marmalade. This is a crusade I don’t mind joining. The alternative brings on diabetes, weight gain, and poor health.

I’m not suffering in the least. In fact, it’s fun dreaming up new eating habits. A piece of white bread slathered with jam is not healthy. My alternative: whole-wheat bread in lieu of white, fruit instead of fruit jam.