In Defence of Food by Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan, who wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma about how appalling the food industry is, begins this book with a manifesto for healthy eating: "Eat Food. Not too much.

Mostly plants." Eat food? This sounds obvious but food, Pollan tells us, is not the same thing as the "edible foodlike substances" we eat a lot of in the rich, greedy West. By "food", he means stuff that is fresh and whole, not refined or processed and preserved. He gives us other pieces of advice, all good: eat slowly, grow your own vegetables, eat meals rather than snacks. He is, as you might imagine, not a terrific fan of the supermarket — but says if you do go there, try to stay around the edges, because that's where they put the healthy things, such as vegetables and fish. Clear and well-argued.

Synopsis by Foyles.co.uk

This book is a celebration of food. By food, Michael Pollan means real, proper, simple food - not the kind that comes in a packet, or has lists of unpronounceable ingredients, or that makes nutritional claims about how healthy it is. More like the kind of food your great-grandmother would recognize. "In Defence of Food" is a simple invitation to junk the science, ditch the diet and instead rediscover the joys of eating well. By following a few pieces of advice (Eat at a table - a desk doesn't count. Don't buy food where you'd buy your petrol!), you will enrich your life and your palate, and enlarge your sense of what it means to be healthy and happy. It's time to fall in love with food again.