The San Jose Peninsula District Dietetic Association book club meets every few months to discuss popular books relevant to food and nutrition professionals. All members of the book club are registered dietitians and are required to fulfill 75 hours of continuing education every five years. Much of this continuing education involves staying abreast of the latest in nutrition research. However, it is also important to stay current by reading what consumers are reading in the popular press. Our club selected In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan for July. We met over dinner to discuss the book.

The club members enjoyed reading this thought-provoking book and strongly agree with many of the key messages. Pollan’s thesis, while simplistic, encourages consumers to prepare and eat more meals using whole foods (foods from each of the food groups that are minimally processed). He advocates eating foods based on cultural traditions and steering clear of highly processed foods that have recently emerged on the food industry landscape. He promotes consumption of real, well grown, unprocessed foods. Finally, he advances the importance of eating more communal meals with family and friends.

Pollan challenges readers to eat whole food and avoid the prevailing nutrient-by-nutrient approach—what he calls “nutritionism”. Several club members felt Pollan was overly critical of the nutrition profession. Many felt these criticisms were unfair—that more dietitians are aligned with his philosophy than he inferred.

Our readers felt that In Defense of Food would be a difficult read for most of our clients and his recommendations hard to implement. Cooking most meals from scratch requires more time than many people can devote to meal prep. Rather than the “all or nothing” model presented by Pollan, the registered dietitians in our San Jose book club prefer a reality-based approach to meet clients where they currently are and help them eat more nutrient-rich foods to have an improved rather than perfect diet. How can we help clients strike a balance between the conveniences offered by the food industry and the nutrients available in whole food? This is our challenge as nutrition professionals.

Maureen Bligh, MA, RD

Project Manager