Michael Pollan, “Escape from the Western Diet”
1. How does Pollan define nutritionism?
2. What is Pollan’s problem with the philosophy of nutritionism?
3. What does Pollan mean when he refers to the “Western Diet?” Why does he believe Americans need to “escape from” it?
4. How do new scientific theories about food and nutrition benefit both the industrial food industry and the medical community, according to Pollan?
5. What does Pollan mean by the food chain, and that “all the links in it are in fact linked?” (629)
Mary Maxfield, “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating”
6. Discuss some of the problems Maxfield points out with Pollan’s argument.
7. What does Maxfield mean when she encourages readers in her title to “resist . . . the moralization of eating” (641)?
8. Having read and discussed both articles, who do you see yourself more aligned with in terms of your food philosophy, Pollan or Maxfield?
