Michael Pollen devotes a section in his book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" to what he calls "America's National Eating Disorder."
Pollen writes, "America has never had a stable national cuisine; each immigrant population has brought its own foodways to the American table, but none has ever been powerful enough to hold the national diet very steady. We seem bent on reinventing the American way of eating every generation, in great paroxysms of neophila [love of food] and neophobia [fear of food]. That might explain why Americans have been such easy marks for food fads and diets of every description."
Case in point, this week's NYT Advice, How-to and Miscellaneous bestseller list. The subjects of the hardcover and paperbacks include:
* French cooking (undoubtedly on account of the movie Julie & Julia)
* A book about metabolism (written by a trainer on the weight-loss reality show "The Biggest Loser")
* A collection of 200-calorie recipes from Hungry Girl (and you thought "carb-free bagel" was an oxymoron!)
* A pro-Vegan diatribe (it's all about soy)
* "Cook Yourself Thin" — no further description necessary
* A cookbook featuring DIY versions of "classic" American food from establishments like Arby's and KFC.
Ironically our reading habits might be schizophrenic but our national waistline is steady—steadily growing. But instead of getting on my soapbox, I will finish reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and encourage you to do so, too, if you haven't already. Pollen's ideas may not be palatable to everyone, however they are certainly thought provoking and are sure to generate discussion around the dinner table.
P.S. "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and Pollen's other book "In Defense of Food" are numbers 12 and 13 respectively on the Nonfiction Paperback Best Sellers list—go figure.