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Overview of the western diet
Importance of nutrition in the health, wellness and development of a society
Overview of the western diet
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In chapter one (Escape from the Western Diet) of Michael Pollans book In Defense of Food, Pollan informs people about what he believes needs to happen in order to change the health issues that many people in American are facing today. Pollan begins the chapter by discussing the many different scientific theories that have been presented in response to the western diet and the western diseases that follow. He informs the readers that many of the theories conflict with one another and that even scientist gravitate towards simple one part solutions that many time fail to see the bigger picture of the problem. At this point in his book Pollan (2008) states one of his many thesis’s that, “People eating the Western diet are prone to complex of chronic
Peter Singer’s lead us in these issues throughout the article to point out how complex our choices of food have become. Moreover, he persuades us in many ways on how the farming
The three essays assigned this week had several common threads running through them. The strongest core theme is the rapid change in the food cycle in America and the vast changes that have taken place in the way by which we grow, produce, and process the food that average Americans eat. The food we eat now is drastically different from what our grandparents grew up eating and the three essays each examine that in a different way. Another theme is the loss of knowledge by the average consumer about where their food comes from, what it is composed of, and what, if any, danger it might pose to them. “Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear” by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele is a harsh look at the realities of food production in a country where large corporations, like Monsanto, have been allowed to exploit laws and loopholes to bend farmers and consumers to their
In Michael Pollan’s book, An Omnivore’s Dilemma, we are focused on many different views of eating meat and other foods that are products of animals. The majority of those who chose to consume
The procedure of how food is made does not come into concern, only the results do. That is how large industrial farms are accepted, because they provide proficiently. The outcome of industrial farms outweighs the negative impacts, at least to industrial farmers. Pollan responds to Berry’s statement by agreeing with him on the issue of the current industrial model being acceptable to some consumers, only due to the fact that
Kalista Cook Miss Grimes College Composition II 9 February 2023 Persuasive Techniques Used by McKay Jenkins and Anna Lappe The topics of food sustainability and agricultural awareness are incredibly important. Authors McKay Jenkins and Anna Lappe bring awareness to these topics in their articles Can GMOs Be Sustainable and The Climate Crisis and the End of Our Fork. In these articles, the authors address the negative impacts of the food and agriculture industry. More specifically, they attempt to educate on the importance of creating environmentally conscious eating habits.
Michael Pollan’s Escape from the Western Diet connects well with what Mary Maxfield says in her article. Both Pollan and Maxfield talk about the ways that dieting is taking over American people’s healths and causing them to become even unhealthier. In Mary Maxfield’s argument she talks about how people believe everything that diet industries say, even though they know that the information they give you is false. This connects really well with what Michael Pollan talks about in his article, which is that people know that these theories that are used for the Western diet are not accurate, but yet they still decide to use the Western diet to help them become healthier.
In Michael Pollan’s essay “Escape from the Western Diet,” he directly to Americans about the western diet and why he believes they need to escape from it. The reason Americans should escape the western diet is to avoid the harmful effects associated with it such as “western diseases” (Pollan, 420). To support his view on the issue, Pollan describes factors of the western diet that dictate what Americans believe they should eat. These factors include scientists with their theories of nutritionist, the food industry supporting the theories by making products, and the health industry making medication to support those same theories. Overall, Pollan feels that in order to escape this diet, people need to get the idea of it out of their heads.
Within the movie In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan attempts to tackle the question of what we “should” eat. As simple as he can, Pollan examines that question in depth, trying to push through the supermarket, good industry, diet industry, and another place people go to find and choose the food they eat. I wouldn't say its a guide on specific foods that will increase your health but more towards the line of philosophic view on what “food” has become in the united states and also comparing it to other countries around the world. Pollan feels that us complicating the food around us is not benefiting us, but hurting us. When I say complicated food I'm referring to the center of grocery stores with the all processed food or diet “healthy” food.
The industrial food chain unveils the scary but accurate truths to some of the foods found in our local grocery store. For example, Pollan trails the process of turning cattle in a feedlot to the meals found on our dinner tables. He finds many imperfections in the system--the health problems resulting from feeding the cattle grain and not grass, the overwhelming use of chemicals and antibiotics in crops and animals, and the disgusting and cluttered environments of feedlots and industrialized farms. Section two focuses on organic, or rather, the ambiguous definition of organic foods. Pollan explores the manipulations of labels and advertisements, claiming that their foods are “organic”.
If we don’t change our diets, we will become overweight and depriving our bodies with nutrients we need to run effectively. This piece of text is full of information that is explicit and to the point, including what we need to do in order to adapt our lifestyles. Its factual about what our cells do and how we need to work on diets in order for our bodies to make new cells and to get rid of the old. It goes on to give us a clear list of food in which we need to be eating more of and what these foods will provide, following directly after the reasons in which processed foods are bad food you and what they are lacking in
As a leading authority on food and human health, he often looks at the way nutrition is linked to economic, political and environmental factors. This new books looks at how preservation and cooking helps human beings preserve nutritional value. According to Pollan, cooking is also a way for human beings to connect to each other and the earth. 3. Sugar Nation With diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, obesity and cancer rates on the rise, something has to be done to address the American diet.
This over reliance on processed food, causes consumers wanting more, which sparks a response from the producers to supply more. These new eating habits are being passed down to the younger generations, who in turn demand for even more unhealthy foods. Yet, parents do not take responsibility for their own mistakes, instead putting the blame on the industries. The article “Obesity in America,” offers a persuasive counter argument: “cutting out meat products, processed food, fast food… while incorporating grain, vegetables, fruits, and legumes into the diet…”(Obesity). People have an option to eat healthy, but fail to do so.
According to the data published in CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), about 34.9% of adults and 17% of Americans are suffering from obesity. If the eating pattern of Americans is not changed on time, the rate of obesity is likely to increase in the future. The industrialized based farming has rapidly taken over the traditional farming which undeniably, is the major reason for obesity as most of the Americans allow themselves to be fully depended on processed food. American local farmers should put an effort to grow different type of crops in order to provide healthy plant-based diet to Americans by competing with industry based mono-crop farming. Graceful Nature.
In “How Junk Food Can End Obesity,” by David H. Freedman, he claims that processed foods can help fix the obesity crisis in a more realistic manner, rather than whole-some foods. The popular opinion emphasizes whole-some foods because they aren’t informed about the similitude between processed and unprocessed foods. The essence of the essay is that people believe processed foods are bad and unhealthy for us, therefore whole-some foods are highly recommended for the health of an individual. Freedman mentions many prominent authors who wrote books on food processing, but the most influential voice in the food culture Freedman makes a point of is, American journalist, Michael Pollan. The media and Michael Pollan indicate that everything should be replaced with real, fresh, and unprocessed foods, instead of engineering in as much sugar, salt, and fat as possible into industrialized foods.
