zBlog Post #4

In Michael Pollan’s latest work, In Defense of Food, Pollan argues that nutrient scientist and food industrial marketers are misleading us with those “unreal” food with many healthy claims to replace the real and traditional food. The author suggests that we ought to consider about what to eat that is informed by ecology and tradition rather than by the prevailing nutrient approach. One major claim that Pollan makes is that nutritionism exaggerates the health concerns or health benefits that people get from eating certain products. His argument was made effectively with directly related statistics to his claim. The scientific examples stated in the book appeals to reader’s logic further enhanced his argument. In addition, his extensive analysis effectively supported his points and make them more convincible.

Evidence: Statistics and Examples
Before the days that our grandparents were born, , the examples and statistics that Michael Pollan lays out through the argument Before the days that our grandparents were born, , the examples and statistics that Michael Pollan lays out through the argument that the nutritionism does not help our health are very general as they are all close to our life and includes detailed data.
The examples he provided in the first chapter are very persuasive as they are all close to our daily life since human being cannot live without food and we are all concerned about our health and we often pay attention to the events that affect us, especially those that we have to deal with everyday in our life: food. Fast food restaurants(like KFC, Mcdonald's), Vitamins supplements, candys... The food he talks about in this book are those we can easily find on the streets or in the market. For instance, those food, tasty and familiar, get readers' attention easily and make them think about their own lives through the examples to get the purpose of convincing them. Also, the examples are in clear order of time. To get to know the history of what we eat and the development of it is very useful and interesting as it helps us to learn more about the modern nutritionism: about how it was created and how it developed in these years.
One major claim is that Pollan makes is that exaggerates the health concerns or health benefits that people get from eating certain products. In the 1950’s, manufacturers advertised that margarine, which contains polyunsaturated fats and vitamins, could be healthier replacement for the unhealthy butter. However, during the process of making this nutrient product, more dangerous substances were made that could harm people’s health. Additionally, many companies try to promote nutritionism often make claims that do not relate to personal health.
According to Pollan, these false claims have contributed to the growing health concerns in the United States. Though there is a larger movement by companies to make products concerning health however, Americans’ health hadve progressively gotten worse, which supports Pollan’s claim that nutritionism is a detriment to American health.
With this study, we can recognize the main problems that have led to the rise of market nutritionism, false or exaggerated information from the companies and advertisers in order to make viewers or readers believe in their products. First, one must consider if the market nutritionism is trust-worthy and if it actually relates to our health. Second, one must consider if the data provided by Pollan in terms of the companies’ argument are clear and factious. The day that the supermarkets begin to sell artificial foods will mark the day that natural foods begin to disappear from the said; the whole name of the man who coined the term of "Nutritionism" and published "Sorry Marge" in Australian quarterly Meanjin; the exact percentage of the data got from low-fat study. At the same time, Pallon’s data makes the examples more believable critical.

Analyse and Organization
Logical analysis is always necessary in an argument since throwing a pack of evidence to the readers does not help them fully understanding the book that much. Pollan does a really good job analysing all his evidence in a clear orderly fashion and made the article all organized that it is easy for readers to understand and analyse too. His analysis is very comprehensive as he does not just argues from one postition but from various aspects and combined them together in a way that is not only compact but also neat and clear. In this book, Michael Pollan talks about his evidence in a way that as if he is telling a story. From the old days to this modern society, how the food in market changed, how the food science grew and how it affected our daily life. After showing all the evidence, he asks questions to make the readers think: how come people are still getting fatter after eating all these low-fat food? Why do people nowadays have higher rate of heart disease? Does food science really do good to our health or just the economy? It makes readers automatically willing to get more information by considering these questions.

In summery, Michael Pollan argues that the modern nutritionism is not trust-worthy and it barely has anything to do with our health Michael Pollan effectively and convincingly presents his with detailed statistics, interesting examples and an organized analysis in an orderly fashioned way.