John Verlinden
Photo: Eric Hess
By: John Verlinden*/TRT Columnist—
Book Review: Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
My nominee for this year’s list of great summertime reading is Michael Moss’s new book, Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. While it may not exactly qualify as a “beach read,” it is a gripping, true story page-turner full of diabolical intrigue, and it certainly give us lots of information we can use to help us fit into our swimsuits.
Moss takes us on a journey inside the processed foods industry, and what an enlightening and scary trip it is. Sugar, fat and salt are the stars of this expose. It explores the biology and chemistry involved in our bodies’ natural attraction to these ingredients, how they each enhance the appearance, flavor, mouth-feel and shelf-life of products, and how food manufacturers use them to keep production costs low and profits high. It delves into how these products are marketed to us and our children, how government policies have supported rather than controlled our ever-expanding appetites for them, and how our consumption of them is affecting our nation’s health.
Impeccably well researched, Moss reviewed thousands of documents and interviewed dozens of industry insiders including current and former company executives, product developers, marketing specialists, and food scientists. From his sources, we learn how these three cheap and abundant “foods” became the lifeblood of the industry, and why it is so hard for them to change course.
Food manufacturers have gotten the message that consumers want healthier choices, but progress remains slow. There are encouraging signs; a well-known soda company launched a new series of ads on obesity awareness and other manufacturers are making incremental changes to their food formulas, but all are cautious. Competition within the industry is cut-throat: if competitors don’t do it, why should we take the risk? Stockholders will still expect higher earnings through increased sales every year, and making changes to formulas for best sellers aren’t easy. People won’t buy it if it doesn’t have the same great taste. Are consumers willing to pay more for products with leaner cuts of meat seasoned with more herbs and spices and less sugar and salt? [pullquote]Do you think food manufacturers have culpability for their products that we voluntarily consume?[/pullquote]
Do you think food manufacturers have culpability for their products that we voluntarily consume? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
*Share your family’s experience, ask a question or suggest a topic for a future article – contact me: john@muchogusto.com or visit www.muchogusto.com and join our Latin food forum. Until next time – ¡Mucho Gusto!, ¡Muchas Gracias! y ¡Buen Provecho!
