Professional Documents
Culture Documents
HeidiSummerhays
Instructor:TamaraWebb
English1010
11March2015
FoodasThought:ResistingMoralizationofFood
Inthearticle
FoodasThought:ResistingMoralizationofFood
MaryMaxwellpointstothe
vastamountofadviceandplentifulopinionsofhealthexpertsasbeingthereasonwhywe
asasocietyconfusinglyequateoureatinghabitswithrightandwrongandindoingso
moralizefood.Maxwellobjectivelyprovidesopposingperspectivesoftheissueinher
critiqueofjournalistMichaelPollansarticle
EscapefromtheWesternDiet
latershiftingtothe
expressionofherownopinionthatsocietyoverthinkstheissue,continuallychangingtheir
eatinghabitstofollowthemostrecentfaddietornutritioniststudyfindings.
MaxwellincludesquotedmaterialsandstudiesofexpertslikemindedtoPollanwho
approachthedietdilemmaofwesternsocietyasifthatsocietyisincapableofthinkingfor
themselvesandmustbe
taught
howtoeat.Causingthereadertofullyrealizejusthowmany
ofthemtherearetoutingthisposition.
Exposureisalsogiveninherarticletoseveralexpertswhohaveopinionsontheother
sideofthespectrumfromPollans,expertswhofeelifwejuststopworryingaboutwhatwe
eatandtrustourselvestoeatwhatweneedwhenweneedtoeatitwedbefine.However
Maxwellclearlydoesnotsubscribetothislackadaisicalapproachtonutrition/eatingeither.
WhiletheseexpertsaregiventheirduetimeinherarticleMaxwelldoesntthinkthose
Summerhays2
nutritionalexpertshaveitrighteither.Quotingonesuchexpert(MichelleAllison,HAES)
therearealotofpressuresandbarriersinthisworldthatgetinourway,thatconfuseus,that
distractusandattempttocontrolusincounterproductiveways.Maxwellraisesissuewith
howthesecontentionsaretheonestogivemoralizationtothewholeideaofeating,statingIn
thiscontext,healthfunctionsmoralistically.
OneofMaxwellsappealsistooursenseofhumorbypointingoutthatAsaculture,
whenweimagineeatinglikeanimals,wevisualizeafeedingfrenzy.Bringingalittlegiggleto
themindofthereaderfollowedbyarealizationthatwedoinfactthinkthis.
AlthoughsheneveractuallystatesherownpositioninnouncertaintermsMaxwell
nonethelessdoesntactuallyplaceherselfinonecampovertheothereither.Ratherthan
aligningherselfwithoneopinionortheotheragreatdealoffocusinMaxwellsarticleisissue
shetakeswiththefactthatexpertslikePollanrelatehealthywithbeingthin.Maxwellsays,
Ourskewedviewsoffatnessthenfacilitateskewedviewsoffood.Expressingherconcerns
thathowsocietyfeelsaboutthemselvesandtheirbodytypeisbeingheavilyinfluencedbythe
rhetoricexpertscontinuallyspewandhowitleadstothebeliefthataskinnybodyisbest,
whilefatisjustfatal.
Maxwellsufficientlysummarizesthedifferentpointsofviews,providingexcerptsfrom
differentpublishedarticlesofexpertsfromPollanssideofthespectrumgivingareadera
senseoftheauthorityofeachexpert.Afterprovidingnumerousexamplesoftheexperts
claimsinregardtothehealthywaywe
shouldbe
consumingfoodandtheunhealthyway
whichwethinkaboutandapproachtheneedforfood.InthefinalparagraphfinallyMaxwell
Summerhays3
explainsherownopinionsonthematter,stating,Whenweattempttoriseaboveouranimal
naturethroughthemoralizationoffood,weunnecessarilycomplicatethepracticeofeating.
AndfurtherInherently,foodisethicallyneutralnotionsofgoodandbad,healthyand
unhealthyareprojectedontoitbyculture.Asafinalstatementsheclearlyassertherown
contentionwithherfinalthreesentences,TrustYourself.Trustyourbody.Meetyourneeds.
leavingthereaderthefeelingthatMaxwellbelieveswerelookingateatingallwrong,
overthinkingit,ifyouwill.Moralizingfoodbythinkingaboutittoomuch.Astrong,believable
argumentwhichhasmeritsallitsownevenifMaxwelldoesnthavetheapplicablecollege
degreesandyearsofscientificstudiestobackherclaim.