Post 1: Response to In Defense of Food

After reading up til chapter 4 I believe that the main point Michael Pollan is trying to make is that the western diet needs to change so that, as a society, we can all live healthier lives.

One idea of Pollans is that greener whole foods are better in terms of health than processed. Processed foods contain many additives and trans fats that can have harmful affects on our health like chronic diseases. You see advertising on processed food labels such as high in fiber or low in saturated fat. The healthier foods, according to Michael Pollan, are the foods found in the produce section. They do not need labels highlighting single nutrient values since as a whole they are a more nutritious "natural" product in most cases.

Another is how science has become too involved in our food choices and that the consumption of a food as a whole is more important than obsessing over the reduction of its chemical compounds. A good example of this is how scientists link health benefits, such as prevention of cancer, to a single nutrient like beta-carotene. Pollan's argument is that there are tons of other micro nutrients in broccoli that could aid in caner prevention and that the consumption of the complexities in a vegetable as a whole are much more beneficial.