The source text is comprised of excerpts from Michael Pollan's book, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto," which critiques the modern "Western diet" and the accompanying ideology of "nutritionism." Pollan argues that the focus on individual nutrients, often driven by the food industry, government guidelines, and flawed science, has led to widespread confusion and a decline in public health, despite a national obsession with eating "healthily." He suggests that highly processed, industrial "food products" have replaced whole, traditional "foods", leading to a spike in chronic "diseases of civilization," such as obesity and diabetes. Ultimately, the text advocates for a return to simple, cultural, and ecological principles of eating, advising readers to simply "eat food" and to avoid the ultra-processed items designed by food science.

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