We all witness, in advertising and on supermarket shelves, the fierce competition for our food dollars. In this engrossing expose, Marion Nestle go...
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Jul 24, 2011
NJMetal
rated it: 
Food Politics as a fairly deep study of the politics of the food industry in the Unite States. The book can best be catagorized as text book caliber in both look and feel. Despite the in depth research, the author, Marion Nestle (no relation to the food corporation), does her best to make the information accesabile and understandable to both the professional and the casual reader alike.
To be fair, you shouldn't read this book casually. I am not a food professional but I have read on the More...
To be fair, you shouldn't read this book casually. I am not a food professional but I have read on the More...
Apr 05, 2011
Irene
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I actually didn't finish this book, which for me is a very rare thing. I got about 3/4 of the way through but then had to stop and return the book to the school library, where it was about 3 months overdue already! One of the reasons I checked the book out was because no one else ever had, though, so I doubt the book was missed. I thought the beginning was very good and everything was explained in terms simple enough to understand, but by the end my interest was dragging. Also, I had those AP En
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Nov 13, 2010
Trevor
rated it: 
There is really only one thing driving the food industry – the hunger for more profit. This is such an obvious fact that it hardly needs to be restated, however, it is best to keep obvious facts at front of your mind. This particular fact tells us a lot about what is wrong with food today.
As hard as it is to believe food is incredibly simple. We need food to give us energy and to provide us with nutrients. So, if we were to be rational in our eating we would eat food that is balan More...
As hard as it is to believe food is incredibly simple. We need food to give us energy and to provide us with nutrients. So, if we were to be rational in our eating we would eat food that is balan More...
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Apr 08, 2010
David
rated it: 
Food is indeed political. At least this is a message that I’m being hit with a lot recently. Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on TV, a show that takes on America’s bad eating habits and tries to change them, also documents an incredible amount of resistance to this change. “We don’t wanna sit around and eat lettuce all day!” says the local radio show host in Huntington, West Virginia (a city which, according to the Centers for Disease Control, is the unhealthiest city in America). It seems tha
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Jul 10, 2009
AJ
rated it:
I wasn't expecting to learn much from this book, having already poured through books like Fast Food Nation, The Omnivore's Dilemma, School Lunch Politics The Surprising History of America's Favorite Welfare Program, Organic, Inc. Natural Foods and How They Grew and Toxic Sludge is Good For You Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry, but I feel that this book has a lot to offer above and beyond what other books discuss about food politics.
Although at times the book can g More...
Although at times the book can g More...
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Jul 03, 2010
Bryan
rated it:
If only more could read this book: This book touches upon issues that everyone is aware of but chooses to ignore. The author makes this obvious but in an non-condescending way which is much appreciated. He ties the biases of the food industry in with other industries such as the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries. Drawing the connections between these three and the governmental regulatory agencies that work with/against them respectively (USDA, FDA, ATF), the author illustrates just how much
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Aug 21, 2011
Kathy
rated it:
Ben, who works at the Farmer's Market at HeadHouse Square, lent this book to me, following a discussion we had on books about food politics.
This book approached food politics from the perspective of food advertising and governmental influence. I knew fairly little about these arenas, and Nestle's writing, in addition to her personal experiences with oversight committees, enlightened me on the myriad ways in which the food industry has influenced dietary advice in nuanced ways.
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This book approached food politics from the perspective of food advertising and governmental influence. I knew fairly little about these arenas, and Nestle's writing, in addition to her personal experiences with oversight committees, enlightened me on the myriad ways in which the food industry has influenced dietary advice in nuanced ways.
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Feb 05, 2011
"Marion Nestle’s entire book Food Politics was basically a reaction to her experiences with the USDA and the FDA, and how the food industry was able to manipulate all the recommendations to send the message that people should be eating more, especially eating more meat, dairy, and refined foods. The only thing the government got past these powerful lobbies were recommendations to eat sugar and fat sparingly; the meat industry felt they could take advantage of those particular recommendation
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Dec 30, 2008
Elizabeth
rated it:
I can honestly say that this book changed my life, even though I didn't finish it.
Flash back to late April 2008. Shane and I are in the car en route home from Harrisonburg, where we've been visiting friends. It's a gorgeous spring day in Virginia, and I decide to pass the time driving home reading about the food industry. I make it about five pages in, then slam the book shut and tell Shane that the food industry pisses me off.
Those five pages were the first significan More...
Flash back to late April 2008. Shane and I are in the car en route home from Harrisonburg, where we've been visiting friends. It's a gorgeous spring day in Virginia, and I decide to pass the time driving home reading about the food industry. I make it about five pages in, then slam the book shut and tell Shane that the food industry pisses me off.
Those five pages were the first significan More...
Feb 11, 2009
Amy
rated it:
This information in this book is priceless. It is shocking how the food industry functions, and our society seriously needs to start thinking for themselves, instead of buying into all the propoganda the media is throwing our way, if we ever want to be healthier and prevent more obesity and chronic disease. HOWEVER...this book definitely reads like a text book. It is not an "easy" read. It is slow going for me, but I value everything I've read. I highly recommend Michael Pollan's
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Jul 06, 2008
Valerie
rated it:
I hold Marion Nestle is high regard, and Food Politics is my favorite of her books. Rereading it this week, I am reminded why: she is smart as can be, writes clean, tight prose, supports her arguments thoroughly, and never overstates her case. As science writers goes, she is virtually peerless.
And her case is an important one: Food Politics examines the enormous power of the food corporations to influence our govt regulatory agencies, nutrition advice, and our eating decisions.
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And her case is an important one: Food Politics examines the enormous power of the food corporations to influence our govt regulatory agencies, nutrition advice, and our eating decisions.
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Jan 02, 2008
I didn't actually finish this -- just had to return it to the library at last. It's pretty slow and repetitive, at least in the first half. I learned there pretty much what I already knew:
1. The gov't's advice to citizens about how to eat healthily is heavily influenced by food industry lobbying. Also, the food industry influences laws about food and nutrition. Duh. But she does give good examples in the book and shows it to be a serious problem considering North Americans serio More...
1. The gov't's advice to citizens about how to eat healthily is heavily influenced by food industry lobbying. Also, the food industry influences laws about food and nutrition. Duh. But she does give good examples in the book and shows it to be a serious problem considering North Americans serio More...
Jul 08, 2007
Gwen
rated it:
UPDATE: I finished the book. It's ok, but a bit dense for a casual reader, I think. If you're an academic really interested in how food companies affect public policy it's great, but if you're just reading it for fun, all the minute details of policy changes get a little boring. I skimmed a lot of the chapters and just read the most interesting parts. I found the chapters on marketing in schools to be the most interesting.
I'm only two chapters in but it's fascinating. Some of t More...
I'm only two chapters in but it's fascinating. Some of t More...
May 07, 2007
Sue
rated it:
It's really scary to realize that the government agencies that are supposed to protect us from contaminated food and dangerous food additives/supplements really have no power. While Food Politics is a little technical, it has plenty of charts, examples, and descriptions of historical battles over the regulation of food. It was amazing to see how food companies use their muscle to get away with so much. It's worth a browse, at least. I think food regulation (especially with last summer's Spin
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May 22, 2010
Harry
rated it:
The emphasis here is on the word "politics". There is a lot of discussion on how food corporations defend their interests in Washington with lobbyists and lawyers.
I turned to this book after reading books by Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan which I found fascinating. By comparison Food Politics reads like a graduate school textbook, no joke. There is some very important information delivered but I have to say it is a rough slog because the writing is dry and a little repetitive.
I turned to this book after reading books by Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan which I found fascinating. By comparison Food Politics reads like a graduate school textbook, no joke. There is some very important information delivered but I have to say it is a rough slog because the writing is dry and a little repetitive.
Mar 09, 2011
Tessa
rated it:
A very through and well cited book. It reads like a 400 page research paper which makes for a very dense and dry read, though incredibly informative. I found myself disagreeing several times with the author's point-of-view on food and some of her nutritional conclusions, but I considered them to be minor issues, though it makes me hesitant to recommend. The author very effectively illustrates how the food supply is primarily influenced and directed by the government to benefit big business, ins
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Dec 14, 2008
Yune
rated it:
A re-read which was just as depressing as the first time.
Industry interests (i.e., profit) trump ethical concerns about people's health, and Nestle demonstrates how the US government goes along with this.
Comprehensive and thick on details; probably not the most approachable because of it, but it's fascinating for anyone who has any interest in the subject in the first place.
Industry interests (i.e., profit) trump ethical concerns about people's health, and Nestle demonstrates how the US government goes along with this.
Comprehensive and thick on details; probably not the most approachable because of it, but it's fascinating for anyone who has any interest in the subject in the first place.
Feb 27, 2009
JM
rated it:
Marion Nestle knows her subject. This is a well-written, informative book about more than you ever thought you wanted to know about the food industry. I enjoy listening to her on public radio, as she's often the "expert" cited whenever a new policy is discussed. She won't disappoint - read and learn!
Mar 20, 2011
Kristina
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Before listening to this book I didn't realize how little I knew about how we got to this point in American food politics. I have a pretty good understanding of what is happening now but this book gives a great primer on how we got here. I found it very interesting and informative but didn't love the way it was organized. That is more of a matter of personal preference than anything else but I found some sections to be overkill with tiny details and case studies.
May 23, 2008
Andrew
rated it:
So far I've read the preface, second preface, intro, conclusion, afterward, and appendix.... It reads like a textbook, and while the information is interesting, I'm concerned about my ability to actually read the chapters.
That being said, the into in this book will open your eyes to the reasons that food culture is what it is in America. Read this book if you've ever been confused by the FDA's personalized pyramid recommendations and can't see why every food on the supermarket shelf More...
That being said, the into in this book will open your eyes to the reasons that food culture is what it is in America. Read this book if you've ever been confused by the FDA's personalized pyramid recommendations and can't see why every food on the supermarket shelf More...
Feb 18, 2009
Another continuing education book. Interesting (frustrating, dishearteniing) look at the laws behind what we see in the supermarkets, the education we recieve (my pyramid), and why there are so many health claims...that CHANGE it seems constantly.
Dec 16, 2009
Luisavides
rated it:
This book inspite of its extensive technical explanations offers a very interesting insight on:
a) lobbying and politics;
b) the nutrion agenda of corporations;
c) consumer deception.
You may be critical of the fact presentation and conclusions drawn from this book but nevertheless it explains how decisions are made and how important lobbying in Washington DC is in order to push a financial agenda.
It brings light into two very important things: Why are peopl More...
a) lobbying and politics;
b) the nutrion agenda of corporations;
c) consumer deception.
You may be critical of the fact presentation and conclusions drawn from this book but nevertheless it explains how decisions are made and how important lobbying in Washington DC is in order to push a financial agenda.
It brings light into two very important things: Why are peopl More...
Mar 01, 2009
Anna
rated it:
I read this for one of my sociology classes. It was really interesting to see how much of what we are told is healthy is modified by food lobbyists, etc. Not a total conspiracy theory book or anything but definitely eye opening.
Jun 30, 2009
Cherie
rated it: 
B Interesting background on how the food industry shapes what we eat, what we THINK is healthy, what we eat, and what gets pushed out there. Really informative abt how money controls everything, even preventing the truth from emerging.
Dec 28, 2010
Shaeda
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I never actually finnished this because I let my mom borrow it. She loved it so much that I'm giving it three stars. Besides, I would probably never get through the whole thing anyway. I just never make it through think political books on food.
Jul 14, 2011
Maritza
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This books is very thorough in its criticism of our food industry. It can be a little dry and redundant at times but this is crucial information that anyone who eats food (e.g. everyone!) should have.
Mar 09, 2009
Naomi
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I really like this book. It talks about all the stupid stuff (due to lobbyists) that goes into creating the food guide instead of the things that should. This book is very well written and fast read.
May 12, 2008
Ginny
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Published by the University of California press, this reads a lot more like a textbook than popular literature and it can be a little bit of a chore to plod through. But for anyone who wants to understand the politics behind nutrition advice, it is absolutely the best book to read. Nestle, who is well-known among health professionals for her experience and perspectives on the politics of food and nutrition, does an amazing job of covering the history of dietary guidance in the United States. She
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Jul 20, 2010
Lindsay
rated it:
A really in-depth look into how much the food industry controls the nutritional guidance we receive. Also, it details how strongly the food industry can and does fight regulation.
Jan 07, 2012
Emily
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I first read this in undergrad for an OSLEP class. Re-read it in public health school at Berkeley and am now re-skimming it for my second grad degree. It's just as amazing every time.
