Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters

Here are Michael Pollan's "Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters", from his new book, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto".

As Pollan writes on his website: "Food. There's plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it?

Because most of what we're consuming today is not food, and how we're consuming it -- in the car, in front of the TV, and increasingly alone -- is not really eating."

So how do we assure we are eating real food and past that, really eating - not just consuming? Read on:

1. "Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."

2. "Avoid foods containing ingredients you can't pronounce."

3. "Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot."

4. "Avoid food products that carry health claims."

5. "Shop the peripheries of the supermarket; stay out of the middle."

6. "Better yet, buy food somewhere else: the farmers' market or CSA."

7. "Pay more, eat less."

8. "Eat a wide variety of species."

9. "Eat food from animals that eat grass."

10. "Cook, and if you can, grow some of your own food."

11. "Eat meals and eat them only at tables."

12. "Eat deliberately, with other people whenever possible, and always with pleasure."

What are your reactions?

I have my own thoughts which I'll save for another time. I want you to have a chance to react to what Pollan has written without my framing to interfere or distract.

As always Pollan is a provocative read. Whatever you might think of his "commandments" - he has certainly cooked up some serious food for thought.