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Summary Of Escape From The Western Diet

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In the first article “Resisting the Moralization of Eating”, by Mary Maxfeild she ¬argues many things against the other author Michael Pollan about how we need to change how the American people eat, and how the government needs to handle obesity better in the United States. This portrays to the other article “Escape from the Western Diet” by Michael Pollan in many ways, as well as many challenges. “The challenge we face today is figuring out how to escape the worst elements of the Western diet and lifestyle without going back to the bush” (Pollan 437). In this paper I will go over many subtopics including: Obesity, health, and food. Throughout the story, Maxfield always contradicts herself; Pollan doesn’t support the arguments with factual …show more content…

“As a culture, we no longer discuss healthy eating without also discussing unhealthy weights…eating too much-often without any parallel warnings against eating too little…overeating constitutes ‘the greatest threat’ to our survival” (Maxfield 444). The main point in both of these articles that both authors agree with is the fact that people don’t add up all their calories they eat daily, which should be less than or equal to 3500 calories. When you go to a fast food restaurant, usually a normal “healthy” person would get a salad, large drink, and a side item like fries; this normally doesn’t seem like a lot of calories, but then you add the dressing and this healthy lunch turns out becoming an unhealthy 1700 calories already in one meal. Not only is fast food a lot of calories, but it is really cheap too, and most people spend their money on this instead of eating healthy and spending more money. “Americans spend less than 10 percent of their income on food; they also spend less than a half hour a day preparing meals and little more than an hour enjoying them” (Pollan 439). This quote describes how most Americans’ spend their money on food, spend time to cook it, and then eat it in a fourth of the time it took to do all that. Most people in the United States do not have that kind of time or money between school, jobs, and their

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Mary Maxfield wrote her essay as a response to Michael Pollan’s essay on the western diet. Maxfield does not believe we should see food as what we can or cannot have, but to trust our instincts that our bodies will know what they need, which is contrary to Pollan’s article. Maxfield says that she does not believe that there is a correlation between weight, diet and health, which is also contradictory of Pollan. She believes that the body will naturally crave what it needs and you should let your body have what it wants because of this. Maxfield is targeting those interested in the real diet issue (possibly writers) and the Americans looking to make a difference in their diets.

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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

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The Critique Essay of the “Escape from the Western Diet” In his work Escape from the Western Diet Michael Pollan focused on American negative food habits, their place in different spheres of the society and general possible ways to improve the food behavior. “The Western Diet is known for its lack of fresh fruit and vegetables and its strong reliance on fast-food, high sugar beverages, high-fat dairy, refined carbohydrates and red meat” (“Western Diet”). While many experts focus on its content, Pollan suggested to turn the attention to the effect the diet has on social, industrial and medical spheres. The author highlighted they unlikely will completely abandon the Western diet as it promote their development.

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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.

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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.

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I believe that Micheal Pollan has described the bad habbits that the typical Americans do in majority of the time by mistaking fast foods with the whole healthy foods because lack of time or lifestyle. In the Michael Pollans argument about the "Western Diet" he informs that the majority of the American population about the western diet and believes that they need to get away from it, but it's for their own better health that many of us sometimes forget or don't even pay attention to it. There's many factors that the reasons Americans should get away from it is only to avoid the harmful chemicals we eat from a plain cheeseburger or fries and that effects our metabolism to get worse associated with it as the "western diseases" (page 433) Micheal Pollan has said.

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Junk food is responsible for the growing rate of obesity. This is outlined by David freedman in his article of “How junk food can end obesity.” David Freedman has credited the “health-food” motion, and followers of it along with Michel Pollan. Freedman claims that if the America desires to stop the obesity epidemic, or at least reduce its effects, they must shift to the fast meals and processed meals enterprise for assist, now not the “health-food” movement.

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However, this is not his only purpose in writing this essay. Additionally, Michael Pollan seeks to reassure the reader that this change will eventually occur and how it will happen. He argues that the food movement of our generation has been successful in changing popular consciousness. However, it has been struggling with shifting, in any impactful way, the “standard American diet,” which he purports has only gotten worse since the 1970s (Envision in Depth p.g

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Nowadays, people pay more attention to their health with the improvement of our life quality. Nutrition science is popularized on newspaper, online websites and many other social media. In the essay” The American Paradox,” Michael Pollan, a professor of journalism at University of California, Berkeley, argues that Americans have an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating because we care more about the health consequences of our food choice instead of eating with pleasure. Pollan claims that the food marketing machine, nutrition science, and journalism are main forces for Americans to change their diet. Pollan uses the conflicting reports of scientific studies of low-fat diet and dietary fiber as examples of bad influence of journalism and the

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Abstract: Obesity is a widespread epidemic in the U.S. that needs to be taken more seriously. This is incredibly important because thousands of people die from this enormous issue. Americans do not take the issue seriously; it obvious by the millions of obese people in the United States. There are many contrasting opinions on this topic, such as the social rights and abilities of obese people; therefore, it causes controversies. The experts that have written books and articles on this concern have the solutions to the problem; however, it is up to the American people to make a change in their everyday life to rid the country of this horrible disease.

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1565 Words | 7 Pages

Across the nation, medium fries are being exchanged for large fries, jeans are being returned for a pair the next size up, and doctor visits are becoming a weekly outing with the family. Between McDonalds, Taco Bell, Sonic, Panda Express, Pizza Hut, etc. consumers have a multifariousness of options when eating out, but do they know exactly what these fast foods do to their bodies? It seems that each year Americans consume more and more unhealthy food which in turn has made America one of the most obese countries in the world. In addition to the weight gain that results from the excess fatty food intake, consumers also increase their risk of developing certain diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

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Moreover, a BMI over 30 defines obesity. Obesity can lead to many life threatening and life changing diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and strokes. This paper will focus on the dietary concerns I have regarding the United States. It

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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.

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899 Words | 4 Pages

The persistent crisis of food and fitness and its effects on people's well-being has been a long-term concern that has risen more prominently in the last couple of years. While controlling eating habits and physical activity is mainly under the control of the person it is affecting, outside influences can also greatly impact the choices you can make. From the lack of grocery stores with healthy shopping resources in lower-class neighborhoods, to limited physical activity in schools and at home, to companies knowingly taking advantage of people's desires and wants in able profit off of their inevitable obesity. Since the 70s obesity has been on an exponential incline in America and the fault cannot be placed entirely on the person who is at

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According to Medical Daily, “ A new study recently found that the obesity rate in America has nothing to do with the amount of calories that we consume, but rather the lack of exercise that many people are now getting. While this might be true, and even bigger anniversary of the American diet is technology. According to the data from the national health and nutrition examination survey, researchers from Stanford University found out from 1994 two 2010, the number of physically in active American women grew from 19.1 to 51.7%. As for the man, their numbers went from 11.4% in 1994 to 43% in 2010.” Yes, eating fast food is not good for you, but that is not the sole purpose of why there is such a high obesity rate.

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