Pollan, Michael

Follows the three major food chains that feed humans--industrial, organic, and hunter-gatherer--from the earth to four meals, exploring the ethical and political effects of one's food choices.

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These simple words go to the heart of food journalist Pollan's thesis. Humans used to know how to eat well, he argues, but the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused and distorted by food industry marketers, nutritional scientists, and journalists. As a result, we face today a complex culinary landscape dense with bad advice and foods that are not "real." Indeed, plain old eating is being replaced by an obsession with nutrition that is, paradoxically, ruining our health, not to mention our meals. Pollan's advice is: "Don't eat anything that your great-great grandmother would not recognize as food." Looking at what science does and does not know about diet and health, he proposes a new way to think about what to eat, informed by ecology and tradition rather than by the nutrient-by-nutrient approach.--From publisher description.

"[The author] demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a reciprocal relationship. He links four fundamental human desires--sweetness, beauty, energy, and control--with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, coffee, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind's most basic yearnings. And just as we've benefited from these plants, we have also helped them to thrive"--OCLC.

"A radical challenge to how we think about drugs, and an exploration into the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants--and the equally powerful taboos"--Provided by publisher.

Michael Pollan provides an investigation into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs and discusses his own life-changing psychedelic experiences.

Follows the three major food chains that feed humans--industrial, organic, and hunter-gatherer--from the earth to four meals, exploring the ethical and political effects of one's food choices.

Michael Pollan provides an investigation into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs and discusses his own life-changing psychedelic experiences.

Explores the power of the four classical elements--fire, water, air, and earth--in cooking and argues that taking back control of cooking rather than relying upon corporations to process our food is a step anyone can take to help make the American food system healthier and more sustainable.

Offers insight into food consumption in the twenty-first century, explaining how an abundance of unlimited food varieties reveals the responsibilities of consumers to protect their health and the environment.

Presents a set of rules for eating wisely in accordance with a variety of ethnic and cultural traditions, sharing guidelines for making grocery choices and dining out.