A Guide to "Real Eating"

Green and Healthy Nutrition Tips from Author Michael Pollan

Mar 12, 2008 Shirley Siluk Gregory

Suggestions for eco-friendly and healthier eating from Michael Pollan's latest book "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto."

In his latest book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, (2008, Penguin Press) Michael Pollan offers numerous guidelines for establishing a more healthful and satisfying diet.

Many of his tips are not only good for us humans, but beneficial to the planet as well. Following are some useful suggestions from In Defense to keep in mind:

  • Eat "real" food. By "real," Pollan means food that has been grown or raised, not processed or manufactured. In addition to being unhealthy for you, processed foods also require a lot of energy in the form of fossil fuels, both to make and to transport.
  • Eat good food. That means food from good sources: healthy soils, healthy feeds. In other words, avoid fruits and vegetables that have been grown industrial-style with lots of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and avoid meats (if you eat meat) from animals fed on unnatural, chemical-laden diets.
  • Eat wild foods. Pollan points out that wild greens like lamb's quarters and purslane are among the world's most nutritious plants. Wild-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables also tend to be higher in healthful Omega-3 fatty acids, because they need those compounds to defend themselves naturally against pests. When it comes to meats, though, Pollan adds a note of caution: many wild fish stocks are close to collapse, so choose carefully. The best options, he suggests, are fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel and anchovies.
  • Grow your own food. The more food you can grow yourself, the less you have to depend on foods shipped from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Growing your own food not only reduces your fossil-fuel footprint (both for food transport and for personal trips to the grocery store), but provides you with fresher – therefore, healthier – foods.
  • Eat less. Many of us in the West eat more than we need to, often because we're in such a hurry to finish our meals or believe we need to clean our plates. Pollan recommends eating slowly, savoring each bite, saying no to seconds and stopping eating not when you're stuffed, but when you're no longer hungry. A handy tip in this regard is to serve your meals on smaller plates (In his book, "Mindless Eating," Cornell researcher Brian Wansink notes that the average U.S. dinner plate has actually increased in size over the decades, encouraging us to eat more without even realizing it. He suggests using smaller, vintage dinner plates to encourage better eating.)
  • Cook your own foods. Cooking has traditionally been a cultural, social act that brings people together, Pollan points out. By cooking more and relying less on prepared meals, fast food, take-out and restaurant meals, you can also indirectly reduce your consumption of energy and fossil fuels.
  • Eat mostly plants. Pollan acknowledges that meat can be nutritious, but that modern meat production is responsible for cruel treatment to animals as well as lots of water and air pollution. (Livestock production also generates a great deal of carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change.) While he doesn't say everyone should go vegetarian, Pollan does advise meat-eaters to make careful choices and treat meat more like Thomas Jefferson did, who approached meat more as a "condiment for the vegetables."

The copyright of the article A Guide to "Real Eating" in Nutrition is owned by Shirley Siluk Gregory. Permission to republish A Guide to "Real Eating" in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
A healthful assortment of fresh produce., Scott Bauer, USDA A healthful assortment of fresh produce.
   
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