I’m a Michael Pollan fan. You have to admire his ability to stir up a meaningful and meaty conversation about the quality of the food we eat. We should all appreciate the spotlight he’s shone on how much of the food in this country is grown and produced, and I envy his knack for keeping the heat turned up on some troubling issues.  

 

Much of what he has to say is pretty discouraging though and to be frank, it’s rather depressing. He’s reported on bad business practices, bad decisions on both our food policy and food production and bad eating habits that are killing us prematurely.  

 

But, in his new book, “Food Rules” he had an opportunity to swing the pendulum in a different direction. He could have used his clout and sway with millions of Americans to infuse some excitement and enjoyment into the mix. As a journalist he’s taken great pains to kick up the dust so we’ll be motivated to eat better. Yet, his book serves up (especially in the first chapter) a heaping helping of don’ts – “don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food;” “don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap,” etc. Ugh.

 

On the first page of his book, Mr. Pollan states “most of us have come to rely on experts of one kind or another to tell us how to eat.” “…we may not always heed these experts’ advice, but their voices are in our heads every time we order from a menu or wheel down the aisle in the supermarket.” 

 

Though he never professes to be an “expert,” many people see him as one. His voice has impact. His advice is bouncing around in our heads as we order from a menu or swing through a grocery store. If much of his advice or “rules” are to:

 

where is the joy—the joy of eating good food?  

 

Mr. Pollan boiled down his “eating well” message into seven words:

 

I sure wish he would have added two more. Have fun.  

 

It makes a world of difference if we hope to eat well and truly be well.