Forgive me Michael Pollan, for I have sinned

NPR had a tongue-in-cheek piece about Michael Pollan's new book Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. In this book, he expands on his core "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants" with other maxims such as "if it's a plant eat it; if it's made in a plant, don't."

The forum has been a fertile ground for these pearls of wisdom. To wit:

Mike G's Rule of Pizza: Always try a pizza that's been around since the 50s, there's the chance they haven't turned it into imitation Domino's crap yet.
Or
The Kudho rule: If your first dinner is not up to snuff you owe it to yourself to have a second.

Or one I'll make up right now:
Never is a great time for nacho cheese.

So I thought this would be a good grounds for discussion. What food rules do you live by?

You've hit a home run when you find a place where the waitress says, "It will be just a few more minutes before your chicken comes out of the grease." A quote from the late OT's Soul Food Emporium.

Never eat in an empty restaurant.

It's not that I necessarily think anything is wrong or that it's a sign that things will be inferior somehow (though sometimes that is the case), it's just that being the only table in an otherwise-empty restaurant creeps me out.

Corollary to Khaopaat's rule: especially Khan's during Ramadan, which I have done enough times that at this point they just shrug helplessly and kindly serve me anyway. You would think that the empty restaurant would have been a clue...

If a writer has a successful book about food politics, ignore all subsequent books from that writer, as he is barely even rephrasing what he's already written 500 times so that gullible do-gooders will make him richer.

Hi- Food Rules is still #5 on Amazon, even though it has probably been a month since he was on Oprah. In general, the people who did not review the book favorably on Amazon, were people who had read his other books, and thought that Food Rules was a rehash of his other books. I don't think that the book was written for the hardcore Michael Pollan fans, but was rather written for the people who want a book that is easy to read, and does not go into a lot of detail. Alot of the reviews on Amazon compared the book to the Cliff's version of his other books. This book reminds me of a book which I have called "50 simple things you can do to save the earth". When the book came out in 1989, it sold a zillion copies because it was a real easy read, and many of the suggestions were easy to do. Hope this helps, Nancy

NFriday wrote: I don't think that the book was written for the hardcore Michael Pollan fans, but was rather written for the people who want a book that is easy to read, and does not go into a lot of detail. Alot of the reviews on Amazon compared the book to the Cliff's version of his other books.

But that's what the last book was. This one is just the "Show Me The Money (Again)" edition.

Kennyz wrote:

NFriday wrote: I don't think that the book was written for the hardcore Michael Pollan fans, but was rather written for the people who want a book that is easy to read, and does not go into a lot of detail. Alot of the reviews on Amazon compared the book to the Cliff's version of his other books.

But that's what the last book was. This one is just the "Show Me The Money (Again)" edition.

And if I were in his position, my next book would be called "Food Rules: An Addendum". And the one after that would be called "Food Rules: The Unabridged Collection". And after that, "Lemme Tell You What To Eat: A Guide". And so on, and so forth.

And I'd sleep like a baby every night on a king-size bed of neatly-stacked Benjamins (I like a firm mattress...a big fluffy pile of hundos would be hell on my back).

One of the many happy_stomach rules I live by could be paraphrased as:

"Settle for nothing less than an actual Oreo." Anything else (Newman-O's, Trader Joe's Os, Hydrox, etc.) is a waste of time and calories.

I've read that M. Pollan saying and I wish I could live by it. I need to drop pounds. I've been thinking about how to change my diet and a doctor from the Cleveland clinic who is an ardent proponent for a vegetarian diet to cut heart disease admonishes "Eat nothing with a face or a mother".

Hi- Mr. Pollan does not say that you have to swear off meat. He says do not eat it at every meal, and do not center your meal around it. For instance, you can have chicken stirfry, or you can use meat in soup, such as turkey chowder or chicken noodle.

I do not eat much red meat, because I have a really strong family history of colon cancer, and I have had precancerous polyps removed on two separate occasions, but I still continue to eat small amounts of turkey, chicken and seafood at least 3-4 times a week. I also have a genetic cholesterol problem, for which I am on medication for, and I try to stick to a low fat diet. Hope this helps, Nancy

Kennyz wrote:If a writer has a successful book about food politics, ignore all subsequent books from that writer, as he is barely even rephrasing what he's already written 500 times so that gullible do-gooders will make him richer.

I think this extends far beyond food politics. From self-help to science fiction to dieting to partisan political rants to children's literature, most writers who find success with an issue or a story (fictional or not) will find a number of ways to milk it for every penny it's worth. Whether it's their own idea or they're encouraged by their agent or publisher, it seems pretty common.

From the perspective of someone who has an agenda, like Pollan, it makes sense from a political angle in addition to a financial one. There are plenty of people out there who may be interested in what he has to say but are not going to slog their way through "The Omnivore's Dilemma". With his subsequent books, he's clearly finding a way to press his agenda to a wider audience and make some money while doing it. Personally, I can't blame him. Make hay while the sun is shining, you don't know what tomorrow will bring.

Best,
Michael

Michael,

Fair points, and I don't blame Pollan. I like his writing, so - selfishly - I wish he'd put his energies toward writing something interesting for me to read again.

Kenny

Kennyz wrote:Michael,

Fair points, and I don't blame Pollan. I like his writing, so - selfishly - I wish he'd put his energies toward writing something interesting for me to read again.

Kenny

Write and tell him! Maybe he'll dedicate his next book to you.

This month he releases an updated edition of "Food Rules" (The Penguin Press) with wry illustrations by Maira Kalman. "The idea is to reach a lot of people who don't read books," he said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 35472.html

i<3pizza wrote:Write and tell him! Maybe he'll dedicate his next book to you.

Then write him another letter in slightly different wording!