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  • Essay / Discussion of American eating habits in “Escape from The Western Diet”

    In Michael Pollan's Escape from the Western Diet, he presents research on Americans' eating habits and America's best-kept secret: where our food comes from. The article begins by explaining various theories as to why the disease appears in the Western Hemisphere, the United States in particular. Pollan mentions the fat, omega-3, and carbohydrate hypotheses, which are advanced by the medical industry and help drive Americans to focus on single-nutrient deficiencies. When he says, “People who follow a Western diet are prone to a range of chronic diseases that rarely strike people who follow a more traditional diet,” he makes his position on the subject clear. It's obvious that his position is that Americans should stop eating the Western diet, just for the title. Pollan's solution suggests that people need to stop following the Western diet and believing in nutritionism and that the best way to avoid doing so would be to spend more time cooking, eating whole foods and not believing all the diagrams and rules that the industry scares Americans. The previously mentioned theories fuel the food and medical industry. According to Pollan, the American people want a quick, scientifically explained solution to be the answer, instead of researching and being willing to follow the apparent answer that changes their eating habits. Pollan concludes that if Americans follow his three rules: “Eat food. Not too much. Especially plants, the number of people affected by the disease will decrease. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Pollan's target audience would be Americans who want to be more conscious about what they eat. The aim of the article is clear: to inform readers of the sad truth about their diet and to persuade them to make a change. Throughout the text, Pollan uses subjective words that show how he feels about the subject. Words such as "traitor," "cult," and "cynical" are used to persuade the audience to share Pollan's dislike of Americans' eating habits. Using the example of the food industry and its use of the "single nutrient explanation" to "[change] the Western diet", he states that it uses it as an excuse to "[transform] more foods” instead of recognizing that processed foods play an important role. a major role in the problem in an attempt to frustrate the reader with the food industry. Readers of the article will most likely realize that all of Pollan's evidence indicates that the food and medicine industry is all about money. This trend is reinforced by the introduction of new drugs by the medical field to help treat diseases rather than focusing on the root of the problems. Everything I listed previously are examples of how Pollan tries to persuade the reader. However, unless the reader is already leaning toward their same beliefs, the article fails to appeal to the positive emotions of its audience. I believe this even creates frustration with Pollan himself, based on his critical outlook and his inability to offer a solution to every aspect of the American diet whose ugly truth he exposes. Near the beginning of Pollan's article, he makes it clear what his view is about the "single nutrient explanation» and on the purpose of the article. With each new paragraph and topic, he makes sure to be bold in his statements, leaving little room for misinterpretation. Only one example occurs after quoting Denis Burkitt. Pollan explicitly states that "going back to the bush" is neither attractive nor practical for most people. He then argues that avoiding the most harmful elements of the Western diet is a better solution. When talking about the time Americans spend preparing meals, he notes that to eat healthier, Americans need to spend more time preparing. I feel this may be subject to various interpretations. Some may interpret this as a maximum preparation period of thirty minutes, while others may interpret that it requires much more than that. I wondered if preparing the food myself actually had a correlation to the health of the meal and not just its quality. Since the article is aimed at health-conscious Americans, Pollan's tone seems to indicate that he assumes the reader believes as he does: the Western diet needs to be reformed instead of modified by greedy industries. 'money. Without the correction of the majority of Americans. According to the nutritionist thought process, the disease problem in the Western Hemisphere will only worsen to the point where it will spiral out of control. Additionally, Pollan infers that having more whole foods that people grow themselves, as opposed to the case of feedlot steers feeding themselves the Western diet, is the primary solution to the Western diet. Pollan assumes that changing the diet as a whole, not just one aspect, will be the long-term solution when he presents the information throughout the article, but specifically when he says: "The he food industry needs theories, so it can better rethink specific processed foods. A new theory means a new product line, allowing the industry to continue tweaking the Western diet instead of making more radical changes to its business model. Knowing that the American people are increasingly health conscious, the statements made in this article strengthen the argument and seek a deliberate attempt to reform the Western diet. These assumptions help the reader feel responsible for the health of future children and grandchildren as well as those living today. Pollan describes the ways in which the Western diet is modified rather than altered, but his evidence seems somewhat biased in my opinion. He repeatedly tries to influence the reader to come closer to his own beliefs. For example, when describing the role of the medical community in the problem, he uses subjective words like "cynical" and the phrase "this is...exactly what you would expect from the health care community that sympathizes with nutritionism..." when talking about medicalization of the Western diet, but he fails to provide adequate evidence to support his statement. The reason I say his testimony is only slightly biased is that Pollan quotes Denis Burkitt, the man responsible for naming Western diseases, as saying, "The only way to reduce disease is to turn back the clock." people's diet and lifestyle. our ancestors. when he begins to describe why the Western diet should become obsolete. To explain the role of processed foods, he uses Gyorgy Scrinis' theory. Scrinis' theory states that it is not the content of.