Michael Pollan Delivers an Excellent Speech

Michael Pollan came to the Kohl Center this past Friday, September 25, to discuss his book, In Defense of Food. He came as a part of the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s “Go Big Read” program. Many people, both in support and in opposition of Michael Pollan, attended the event. The event format was a lecture in which Pollan discussed several of the key aspects of his book.

Overall, Michael Pollan did a great job in conveying his ideas to the public. Pollan knew his audience and appealed directly to everyone in attendance. His speech was even molded as to apply to both those who were familiar with his book and those who weren’t. One of the neat points in Pollan’s speech was how he made it difficult to disagree with him. For example, to start out his speech, he stated that he would gladly wear an “In Defense of Farmers” shirt to silence some of his opposition. Subtle tactics like this made the event even more interesting.

One of the more notable and interesting points in Pollan’s speech was his discussion on healthcare. Michael Pollan makes numerous references, in his book, to the western diet and how seemingly unhealthy it must be. He described the western diet and then went on to describe the diet of the Inuit among other civilizations. Along the way he pointed out how Americans supposedly eat healthier, yet they are the ones suffering from cardiac diseases linked to diet. This says something about the microanalysis of nutrients in the western diet. Pollan also discussed how America spends 2 trillion dollars on healthcare; three quarters of which is spent on preventable chronic diseases, mostly pertaining to diet. This raises a red flag about the western diet. Not only is the western diet ruining the lifestyles of many, it is also affecting our national healthcare system. Maybe it’s time to change our eating habits.

Another interesting point that Pollan brings to the forefront is the hidden motives of nutritionism and advertisement. In this example he creates a parody of the fruit loop. He talks about how scientists can alter the fruit loop to contain any nutrient that will make the product sell better. For example the “smart check” system on these products was created to increase the appeal of their product to make more money. Don’t let the “smart check” system fool you though; fruit loops are still 44% sugar by weight. Then he contrasts a whole food like the avocado to fruit loops. He states that an avocado can’t be altered to contain any ingredient, which allows the consumer to know exactly what they are consuming. Through these examples, Pollan makes a strong case against processed and other manufactured foods, simply because anything can be added to these foods.

Throughout Pollan’s entire speech, he was interesting, comical, and informative. He was able to deliver a persuasive speech that was based not only on opinion, but also on expertise (several references came from Harvard studies). He did a great job promoting the book, while increasing the general public knowledge. The evening can definitely be considered a success for the “Go Big Read” program.

Nutritionism: Beneficial or Detrimental?

Nutritionism, disputed by Michael Pollan, is defined as an ideology that proclaims that the key to understanding food is first understanding the nutrient. In the more current industrial times, this idea of nutritionism has been researched endlessly and has taken a more scientific approach to food. This reasoning makes sense in that if food can be altered to contain the more healthy nutrients, the food will be healthier itself. However, as Michael Pollan discusses in In Defense of Food, this ideology of nutritionism may not be the answer.


In the first section of his book, Pollan summarizes the history of vitamins and nutrients. He also discusses how nutrients became a large part of attempting to solve certain complications of the western diet, like obesity, diabetes, and other cardiovascular diseases. In hindsight, he states that the best way to analyze one's diet may not be to view foods simply as "the sum of their nutrient parts." Nutritionist Joan Dye-Gussow agrees with Pollan in making the argument that if foods are only thought of by the nutrients they contain, then organic whole foods are no healthier than the processed foods that contain the exact same nutrient levels. This is the first paradox introduced in In Defense of Food.



A second argument deals with the French paradox. The paradox is that if the French enjoy food so much and eat food that is considered to be unhealthy, how come they have much lower rates of heart disease than Americans. Part of the problem is considered to be that Americans spend too much time worrying about the food they eat. This is widely becoming considered "Orthorexia," which states there is an inverse relationship between the amount of time spent worrying about food and one's overall health. This idea that Pollan introduced in his book has yet to be proven, but is becoming seemingly more recognizable. Dr. Barbara Berkeley has made agreeing contributions in recognizing "orthorexia" as an eating disorder, in a recent article.



Both of Pollan's arguments in the book are solid points, which are very relevant to the western diet. Already in the book, he has found several problems with the western diet and has already provided several solutions providing the readers with much more to look forward to.