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Michael Pollan: If You Can't Say It, Don't Eat It

Michael Pollan stands in his garden. Growing his own food is not only healthful, he says, but it's also cheap.
Michael Pollan stands in his garden. Growing his own food is not only healthful, he says, but it's also cheap.

If your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, then neither should you, award-winning writer Michael Pollan is wont to say. He shares additional tips on how to eat for a healthier body and planet, the focus of his latest book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

1.) Shop at the Fringes

Stay away from the middle aisles of the supermarket, which tend to be filled with ultra-processed food with labels like "trans fat-free," "low cholesterol" and "heart healthy."

2.) If You Can't Say It, Don't Eat It

Don't buy products with more than five ingredients or any ingredients you can't easily pronounce.

3.) Cultivate a Garden

Producing your own food not only saves money and reduces carbon emissions, but it also helps you stay in shape.

4.) Buy Local

Shop at farmers markets.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Alex Cohen is the reporter for NPR's fastest-growing daily news program, Day to Day where she has covered everything from homicides in New Orleans to the controversies swirling around the frosty dessert known as Pinkberry.