Can it really be so simple? In Michael Pollan’s new compendium “Food Rules,” he’s broken down his views on how and what people should be eating into an easy-to-read pocket manual. Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food,” has taken his intensive research and added a pinch of cultural wisdom to give us 64 simple rules, with the intent to guide us gently back to eating right.
It’s a common-sense approach to eating; which from Pollan’s point of view, has become lost in the deluge of nutritional science, fad-diets and foods that are in one day and out the next. People following what he calls a Western Diet, “generally defined as a diet consisting of lots of processed foods and meat, lots of added fat and sugar, lots of refined grains, lots of everything except vegetables, fruits and whole grains” (xii) have come to rely so heavily on so-called nutritional experts that we’ve lost our common sense and cultural wisdom when it comes to what and how to eat.
The majority of the text lies in the introduction, which does a nice job of explaining the book’s focus and purpose. The 64 rules that follow are quick and simple, leaving out everything (the science behind the rules, etc.) but a brief explanation. In a way, this is nice, because it is far more approachable than Pollan’s other works. Perhaps it will reach an audience just looking for an easy-to-understand manual on how to get back to a healthy, natural diet. It’s also a handy quick reference manual that gives you information in format that is easy to remember. Pollan gives the reader real life rules to follow to get back to what he believes is the path to food enlightenment; “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
It’s a tidy little unassuming volume with more mass appeal than his other food tomes. It has a lot to offer an individual who is wondering how and what to eat – and perhaps draw readers in to want to know more, and read Omnivore and In Defense. Whether it was done as a marketing strategy or money-making scheme it’s a good little book that isn’t at all preachy or overwhelmingly science-laden. If you have read his earlier books, “Food Rules” doesn’t give you too much new information; it’s more like a cliffs notes version. But for those looking to move away from a “western diet,” it’s a great place to start.
