Quantcast Vegetarian StarMichael Pollan Not In Defense Of Vegan Diet

Michael Pollan Not In Defense Of Vegan Diet

Written by Vegetarian Star on September 18th, 2009 in Authors, Flexitarian, Food & Drink, Not So Vegetarian.

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In Defense of Food author Michael Pollan is outspoken improving health through better food.

He believes in less fast food, cooking at home more often, and everything in moderation.

He does not, however, believe in a vegan diet.

From isthmus.com:

That’s a very similar argument to what Karen Dawn makes, that if you’re too hardcore about a vegan diet you lose people.
“That’s right. I don’t want people to lose track of the fact that pleasure is a very important part of this, and being neurotic about eating is not good for your health. You know, there’s a great M.F.K. Fisher quote: “All things in moderation, including moderation.” I think she’s got the right idea.”

Granted, not everyone is gung ho about cutting all animal products from their lives.

But eating vegan isn’t pleasurable? Vegans are neurotic?

Pft!

Pollan’s starting to sound like Giles Coren.

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6 Responses to “Michael Pollan Not In Defense Of Vegan Diet”

  1. Chuck Says:

    Veganism does take a bit of work in our society. Like, just finding ovo-lacto food can be a challenge in some places. Finding stuff that’s never been touched by any animal products but is more than a cracker is only slightly easier than catching a leprechaun. I think that’s what he’s talking about.

  2. Brent Says:

    I think being an extreme vegan when you worry about things like mono diglycerides and homocysteine from bird feathers in bread is hard when you’re outside your home.

    But at home, it’s easy to find products like these at Whole Foods, or in the health and veggie section at the grocery.

  3. philip Says:

    Living vegan is not extreme. To make the claim that a person who wishes not to contribute to violence and death is somehow extreme you have to have had your ethical intuitions blinded by delusional thinking.
    Michael Pollin may be smart but he has a huge problem with the arithmetic of eating animals. If 300 million US citizens all eat humane raised animals from small farms once or twice a day…we will have factory farming over night once again. He is in denial.
    I think what is extreme are people who claim they care about animals like Karen Dawn but continue to defend eating animals in happy ways…this is extreme. It’s extreme in their dishonesty of what that means to our planet and the animals. No one has to eat animals to live healthy or happy. Quite the opposite. Meat eating and using animals as necessary is a huge myth…and its been around as long and has been even more destructive than believing Jesus is coming back to earth to save the PEOPLE who believe in him and send to hell the non believers.
    INSANE!
    Leave the animals alone…is that really extreme?

  4. Julia Says:

    Living a compassionate, non-violent vegan life is not extreme.
    Participating in the torture and slaughter of defenseless animals for personal pleasure is extreme.

  5. Jack Says:

    I don’t think anyone who can’t always follow a vegan diet is not compassionate. You have to acknowledge that in this current world, especially in the U.S., it’s hard to be exact sometimes.

    Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try as hard as possible.

  6. Michael Pollan “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual” On Junk Food Says:

    […] Not a veg himself, he lost even more popularity points by calling the vegans neurotic. […]