Book review

Year: 2009

Authors: Michael Pollan

Rating: Entertaining 4/5 | Informative 4/5 | Inspiring 3/5

The decisions we make at mealtime carry great importance; our food choices impact not only our personal health, but that of our communities and the planet more broadly. Michael Pollan is acutely aware of the critical role that food plays in our lives, and this consciousness is reflected in his books. His biography describes him as a writer of “the places where the human and natural worlds intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in our minds”. One such work is Food Rules, a short book consisting of 64 “personal policies” to help guide decisions when hunger strikes.

He writes in his characteristically down-to-earth style, presenting his detailed research in a manner that is easy to digest. Some rules were fairly obvious: “Treat treats as treats”, while others were more surprising such as his advice to “have a glass of wine with dinner”. The book is divided into three sections: 

1. What should I eat?

2. What kind of food should I eat?

3. How should I eat?

The basic answers to these questions and the culmination of Pollan’s years of food research can be boiled down to seven simple words: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” 

While this book is intended as a short summary of his eating ideals, I think he could have achieved this clarity while also offering the reader more information to engage and educate them. In the beginning he explains, “I deliberately avoid the vocabulary of nutrition or biochemistry, though in most cases there is scientific research to back them up.” I found his watering-down of the science behind the “personal policies” to be detrimental to the book's overall quality. Scientific principles do not have to be boring or difficult to understand, and a skilled writer like Pollan could have integrated some of the more detailed information underlying his thoughts to produce a more satisfying read without transforming it into a nutritional biochemistry text. 

For those interested in exploring Pollan’s ideas about food and health in greater detail, I would recommend his longer work In Defense of Food that this compact book is based on. Or any of his titles, for that matter. Because, whilst the scarcity and simplicity of Food Rules left a bit to be desired, there is a lot of valuable advice within the book—just without the context that I crave.