In Defense of Food

Join best-selling author Michael Pollan on a fascinating journey to answer the question: What should I eat to be healthy? Cutting through confusion and busting myths and misconceptions, In Defense of Food shows how common sense and old-fashioned wisdom can help us rediscover the pleasures of eating and avoid the chronic diseases so often associated with the modern diet.

Pollan’s journey of discovery takes him from the plains of Tanzania, where one of the world’s last remaining tribes of hunter-gatherers still eats the way our ancestors did, to Loma Linda, California, where a group of Seventh Day Adventist vegetarians live longer than almost anyone else on earth, and eventually to Paris, where the French diet, rooted in culture and tradition, proves surprisingly healthy. Along the way he shows how a combination of faulty nutrition science and deceptive marketing practices have encouraged us to replace real food with scientifically engineered “food-like substances.” And he explains why the solution to our dietary woes is in fact remarkably simple: Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

Pollan argues that many of our troubles stem from thinking about foods in terms of the nutrients that are in them – a tendency fueled by the food industry’s practice of making health claims on their products based on which nutrients they’ve added (for instance vitamins, fiber or Omega 3s) or taken away (most famously fat). But science shows that a wide variety of diets can be healthy, provided they consist of the kind of whole foods our species has evolved to eat, which include all the nutrients we need.

The film examines everything from the latest science about Omega 3s and 6s to what we’re learning about the biochemical roots of our craving for sugar-and how too much sugar can overwhelm our ability to process it. It looks at why nutritional guidelines that advised reducing fat in our diet had the unintended consequence of increasing obesity-as well as what the latest studies show about the benefits of a plant-based diet and the role of the trillions of bacteria in our gut – an emerging new field of nutrition science that is changing the way scientists think about food and health. And it reveals how hidden environmental cues influence not only how much we eat but also what we eat.

Based on this research, In Defense of Food offers viewers simple, practical advice throughout the program about how to eat healthier, such as “Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food,” “Eat only foods that will eventually rot” and “Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.” It’s indispensable viewing for anyone interested in the relationship between food and health.

The In Defense of Food Curriculum was developed by the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy at Columbia’s Teachers College.  The curriculum is comprised of ten sequential two-hour lessons that are designed to help adolescents develop practical tools for healthier eating.  Each lesson utilizes a short clip from the film, available on the PBS Learning Media website, and a variety of creative activities and exercises to help students learn why it’s important to eat healthfully, investigate how companies influence their food choices, and create action plans for changing their eating habits.  Although the curriculum was originally designed for middle school after-school programs, its content is readily adaptable to a range of educational settings.

One of the best ways to stimulate conversation about food and health is to bring people together to watch a good film.  If people are inspired to reflect on the issues raised in the film and shown clear ways to take action, a screening event can be an effective mobilizing tool.  All that’s required is good preparation, a touch of skilled facilitation, and follow-up by people like you.  Our Community Screening Toolkit contains thorough guidelines for planning all of the details of a successful screening.  Please complete the form at the top of this page to receive information about our 78-minute community version of In Defense of Food and additional support from our outreach staff.

House party screenings offer an intimate setting for sharing delicious food and stimulating conversation about our film with your friends and family members.  Our toolkit features a customizable invitation, links to tasty recipes from the Pollan family kitchen, and suggestions for formulating a memorable event.  Once everyone has enjoyed refreshments and discussion of the film, brainstorm ways to take action to improve the quality of food and nutrition in your community and beyond.

Our discussion guide offers talking points and prompts to help foster conversations about the film.  Within, you’ll find an assortment of questions that cover a range of different approaches to meet the needs of all sorts of audiences, from beginners to experts.  It also contains follow-up activities to help audience members plan to take action through various means.

We are proud to offer several Spanish language versions of our film as well as translated versions of our house party toolkit and discussion guide.  The student take-home sheets at the end of each lesson of the curriculum are also available in Spanish.  If you would like to learn more about screening a Spanish version of our film, please complete the form at the top of this page.