Nutritionism is a pejorative concept accredited to the sociologist Gyorgy Scrinis and popularized by the food writer Michael Pollan. Nutritionism describes the paradigm whereby foods are reduced to nutrients and appraised by their nutrient content as opposed to a qualitative predictor, such as whole versus processed food. The nutritionism approach to food, eating, and health belies and convolutes simpler advice to eat less processed and more plant-based foods. It has become the salient means by which experts communicate messages about food and health to the public; nutritionism is the dominant framework for public health efforts and government-endorsed dietary advice. The food industry has capitalized on nutritionism as a mechanism for promoting and marketing functional foods, thereby rendering nutrition-conscious consumers susceptible to their efforts.

This entry examines ...