http://www.alstevens.org The personal blog of Al Stevens. Focus is overrated. Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:18:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://www.alstevens.org/2008/02/24/spend-more-on-food-live-better-and-longer/ http://www.alstevens.org/2008/02/24/spend-more-on-food-live-better-and-longer/#comments Sun, 24 Feb 2008 18:23:57 +0000 Al Stevens http://www.alstevens.org/2008/02/24/spend-more-on-food-live-better-and-longer/ I just finished “In Defense of Food”, by Michael Pollan. Everyone who eats should read this book. It’s a refreshing, guilt-free look at how we relate to food. Most books I read, make me think a bit or add a bit of knowledge to how I think about other things. Books on nutrition turn me off. This book provided a completely new perspective on my daily meals. It’s short, easy to read, and often summarized with its openning line: “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” There are many more memorable rules, phrases and ideas than the opening one, but I found the section “Pay More, Eat Less” the most provocative.  Acknowledging that better food costs more, Pollan suggests that we’ve traded food costs against our health. Since 1960, Americans have gone from spending 17.5% of national income on food and 5.2% on health care to 9.9% on food and 16% on health. I’d rather spend my money on better food.

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