The Omnivore's Dilemma

"Whatever native wisdom we may once have possessed about eating has been replaced by confusion and anxiety. Somehow this most elemental of activities- figuring out what to eat- has come to require a remarkable amount of expert help" (Michael Pollan, 1)

I believe that this statement is correct and would apply to many people in this people in country, including myself. People are constantly reading and researching about the types of foods they should and should not eat. Most people eat according to what the experts say, and what they say is beneficial for us, which may not always be true. The words of the experts completely dominate the foods found in our refrigerators. I would also add that, in some cases, the objective of researching is not to shape the our diets, rather it acts as a green light for people to eat the things that we know is bad. If the experts say that eating certain foods would be beneficial (or at least, not as bad), then people will go ahead and eat it. Our diets are completely dependent on what strangers tell us.

On the bigger picture, the foods that I eat are influenced by experts. Most of the time I eat whatever I choose to eat, but I know that subconsciously that choice is affected by things I have heard in the past. I never purposely read about or look up what experts have to say about eating different types of food, but they still have an impact of what I eat. The decisions I make about the foods I eat, are affected by the nutrition and ingredients of food, both of which have been established by experts. Every time I eat, I am concerned about how this will affect me after the meal, whether it be beneficiary or something I would have to work off.

I personally do not follow any food experts, but my mom does. She reads Chinese magazines that come with the weekend newspaper. And within those magazines, there are various writers talking about different foods having hidden benefits. They provide many tips about eating certain foods to have a certain effect (e.g. skin care, digestion, etc.), and of course my mom listens to it. Every other week, she is trying something that the magazines said. She is currently following the cucumber-fad. Other than that, my family doesn't really anything else, in terms of food experts.