Eating: A Moral Choice

One idea both of these pieces of writing stress is America’s emphasis on health and how our health relates to our morality. In today’s society, we consistently ask ourselves what is the right thing to eat for our bodies and our heath, focusing on the nutrition of foods rather than foods as a means of taste. One point Pollan stresses is that our definition of health has changed over time. Through scientifically engineering food in order to implant the most important nutrients, this process has actually reduced health in people because the nutrients are not working in their natural way. One food issue today America struggles with is being deceived by the language on the packaging of foods. The foods titled low-fat, unsaturated fat, and low cholesterol are actually the foods we need to avoid. Instead of eating “silent” foods that thoughtfully sit in the produce section we become confused by the health restrictions we have put on ourselves and how language affects this interpretation. By choosing to follow the leads of food companies, we choose to eat the more “healthy” option in the same proportions versus choosing the diet involving “avoiding something our great-great grandmother wouldn’t recognize.”

            Dupois piece of writing takes Pollan’s piece a step further in analyzing how our desire for a good diet reflects on our social reforms and personal morality. Since early history in America, the idea of self-control and self-betterment have been emphasized, and these ideals have eventually even been applied to our diets of choice. Dupois implies that eating healthy is similar to a cleansing of the soul. In addition, another fact both Pollan and Dupuis focus on is how our food culture is specifically Americanized and specifically targeted towards the middle class. This is where the preliminary problem exists. America’s middle class is the prime example of how our vision of health has become so skewed that we are now unsure of how to handle our diets and health decisions.