What Is In Our Food?

Last night my sister and I went to a lecture given by Michael Pollan. I've been looking forward to the evening for months. I find Michael's writing style to be educational as well as entertaining; a great combination for someone who writes about food nutrition - an easily boring subject for the general population. His ability to be charismatic on paper has helped to drive forth the education of people from all socioeconomic backgrounds about the American government and corporate mismanagement for our food supply and production. This education has resulted in numerous books, articles as well as the creation of popular documentaries like Food Inc. and The Botany of Desire.

I won't event attempt to being to summarize the material he presented but I will share one item with you.


Just because an item says "low fat" or "non-fat" doesn't mean it is healthier. Fat tastes good and in order to keep food tasting good once the fat is removed food manufactures often replace fat with sugar. Note the nutrition labels above for yogurt (first three are yogurts I normally buy, the last one is a popular Costco brand) as compared with to the Coke on the end. Isn't that Kirkland brand sugar content interesting?

Essentially if you want to eat healthier foods, eat whole foods. Food without labels such as fresh fruit and vegetables or food with five or fewer known (real ingredients, not chemical additives) ingredients.