One thing I appreciate more than possibly anything else is logic. This may sound obvious, but I just simply enjoy a well-reasoned and thought out argument. To that point that I have been known to change my mind multiple times about an issue (sometimes in the span of one discussion) simply because of logical, articulate points.

That said, it should come as no surprise that I loved Pollan’s book. Full disclosure: I started reading In Defense of Food almost two years ago, loved it, got distracted by a few fiction reads, and, since I felt like I had pretty much grasped the concept of the book, never returned. Until now. I reread and continued reading and found myself just as impressed as the first time.

It is such a good reminder of the fact that SO MUCH of what we as Americans are ingesting is not even food. Pollan points this out throughout the book and it’s worth repeating: we are not eating food. We are eating food product. I was about to make a point and decided to test myself first, so I just got up, went to a cabinet, and grabbed a box of flavored rice. There are 20+ ingredients and only five are things I recognize as belonging in the rice (rice and the five spices used to season it). Clearly I should just make the rice and season it myself. Doing so would save me from ingesting chemicals and get me closer to eating actual food.

The other interesting little nugget that I find myself repeating to basically everyone when the topic of eating in American or this book comes up is how recently it became possible to eat foods that are out of season and beyond our cultural heritage (i.e., only the foods our parents cooked for us). Fascinating.

I’ll tag onto what Katherine C. said and repeat here that Pollan’s rules for food and eating are so simple, and if you’re looking for an easy, completely manageable New Year’s resolution, here it is:

1. Eat food.
2. Not too much.
3. Mostly plants.

Thanks Michael Pollan, I’ll be trying my hardest (but probably still splurging on some Oreos, because I’m a human).