In Defense of Food Summary

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In “From Quality to Quantity,” from part two of In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan argues that our food system’s sole focus is on increasing production and profit. To support his argument, Pollan describes the idea of nutritional inflation. It is the fact that people must consume more food to receive the proper amount of nutrients today, whereas, in the 1940s, people were able to consume considerably less, but still gain the fitting amount of nutrients. Going into depth with this point, Pollan references Brian Halweil and his report from 2007 where he traces the problems with today’s nutritionally deficient foods to the very roots. Halweil points out that though the use of industrial fertilizers are producing bigger plants with more yield faster, when one depletes the soil of its numerous necessary nutrients down to a basic three, those grown with the use of the fertilizers will always lose to those developed in organic soils, when comparing nutritional values and benefits. As a result, those who are on the Western diet are overweight, overfed, and malnourished—which is responsible for various chronic diseases according to Bruce Ames, a Berkley biochemist. Ames’ research found that human cells take on cancerous mutations when they are deprived of certain vitamins and nutrients. He adds that consuming the necessary amounts of fruits and vegetables daily can avert this, but the odds of prevention seem bleak since approximately a fifth of American children and a third of adults actually consume the needed amount. Pollan concludes by suggesting that the food system is a vicious circle—being that those who eat nutritionally drained foods, will eat more of it, in hopes of reaching the point of being nutritionally satisfied, though they never will

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