Book
Pollan M. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. New York: Penguin Press; 2008. 256 p.
Why we cite it
Provides the accessible, widely influential articulation of why modern dietary confusion is itself a product of the food industry and nutrition science working in concert. Pollan's concept of "nutritionism" — the ideology that food is merely the sum of its nutrients — gives the project a powerful lens for explaining why people struggle with eating despite unprecedented access to dietary information. His practical heuristics (the great-grandmother test, avoiding products with health claims) offer simple decision rules that align with the project's goal of making healthy eating less complicated.
About the author
Michael Pollan is Professor of the Practice of Non-Fiction at Harvard University (appointed 2017) and Knight Professor Emeritus of Science and Environmental Journalism at UC Berkeley (2003–2021). A contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine since 1987, he is the author of eight books — six of them New York Times bestsellers — on the intersection of food, agriculture, and human health. Named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People (2010); recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (2022–23) and the James Beard Foundation Leadership Award (2014). *In Defense of Food* grew out of his January 2007 NYT Magazine essay "Unhappy Meals" and reached #1 on the New York Times Non-Fiction Best Seller List for six weeks.
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