“There’s something pathetic in that very American question, because the answer is already implicit in “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” and it should have been apparent even before readers discovered Pollan’s scintillating book — except, clearly, it wasn’t,” writes Salon.

“But then America is a gullible nation with a long-standing thirst for snake oil. How could we have resisted the blandishments of marketing departments and their lab-coated allies? We couldn’t, and as a result, Pollan writes, “Thirty years of nutritional advice have left us fatter, sicker, and more poorly nourished.”