Book cover of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health

Book description

We all witness, in advertising and on supermarket shelves, the fierce competition for our food dollars. In this engrossing expose, Marion Nestle goes behind the scenes to reveal how the competition really works and how it affects our health. The abundance of food in the United States - enough calories…

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Why read it?

3 authors picked Food Politics as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Food Politics is a compelling read about the tensions between economics and nutrition. Corporate food companies' strategic efforts to undermine sound nutrition for profit is one of the core themes. Government is petitioned and lobbied by corporations to weigh in on their side. Vegetarianism was not endorsed by the American Dietetics Association until 1987.

The meat industry is beginning to embrace and develop vegan products as a result of the consumer shift. It is a reminder to be vigilant and informed as to our food choices and the influence corporate food manufacturers have on your governments. In part due to…

I love it when the small Guy or Gal lands a punch on the rich and powerful. This book does just that and lands punch after punch. The book exposes how, behind the scenes, both the food industry and politicians have acted to dilute dietary advice. The result has been the marketing of unhealthy food, often to children whose immature brains are unable to understand what is happening.  

The book gave me great insight into the politics and shenanigans associated with food. It taught me that economics and politics, not science, health, ethics, or common sense, are important. You learn…

From David's list on understanding why you put on weight.

I didn’t know how much I didn’t know about food until reading this book.

Marion Nestle is a writer who doesn’t back down from a fight. She says exactly what she thinks. Nestle, a professor emerita at New York University, has been writing about the industry for decades and she understands deeply what food marketers are doing when they try to sell us junk food or when an academic study is funded by the very companies that benefit from “positive results” found in the study.

She helps readers (like me!) understand what we should be eating while simultaneously giving us…

From Larissa's list on people who love to eat (in the future).

If you love Food Politics...

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December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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