Tracing the Origins of the American Obesity Epidemic

In his book, “In Defense of Food,” Michael Pollan traces the deterioration of the American diet to 1977, when dietary recommendations became political. A well intentioned Senator George McGovern had introduced the “Dietary Recommendations for the United States,” lamenting that the American diet had become full of fatty meats and sugary soft drinks that were causing disease. The report started a firestorm because every food has a powerful lobby. Discussion of actual foods had to be watered down only to mention mere nutrients. It was politically incorrect, for example, to distinguish between beef, chicken or fish. “Now the culprit is an obscure, invisible, tasteless – and politically unconnected – substance that may

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