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Appetite for Profit: How the food industry undermines our health and how to fight back
The United States is currently embroiled in a national debate over the growing public health crisis caused by poor diet. People are starting to ask who is to blame and how can we fix the problem, especially among children. Major food companies are responding with a massive public relations campaign. These companies, including McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Kraft, and General Mills, are increasingly on the defensive. In response, they pretend to sell healthier food and otherwise position themselves as "part of the solution." Yet they continue to lobby against commonsense nutrition policies. Appetite for Profit exposes this hypocrisy and explains how to fight back by offering reliable resources. Readers will learn how to spot the PR and how to organize to improve food in schools and elsewhere. For the first time, author Michele Simon explains why we cannot trust food corporations to "do the right thing." She describes the local battles of going up against the powerful food lobbies and offers a comprehensive guide to the public relations, front groups, and lobbying tactics that food companies employ to trick the American public. Simon also provides an entertaining glossary that explains corporate rhetoric, including phrases like "better-for-you foods" and "frivolous lawsuit."
392 pages, Paperback
First published October 19, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
December 30, 2013
Written in 2006, this book is well-researched, and is presented in a clear and convincing way. I really liked that this book offered lots of great information about the food industry (mostly the Grocery Manufacturers Association). I selected this book because I'm interested in how the food industry has resisted labeling for decades. The most recent fights over labeling GMOs is a constant battle and as consumers gain strenth they chip away a little at a time, but industry has plenty of tricks and plenty of money to pour into lobbying against labels. It's now easy to recognize articles written by so-called experts to defend the status quo. The food industry labels the opposition "junk science," and rallys behind the cry of "personal responsibility and choice," claiming the "food cops" want to take that away from us. All of the industry's cringe-worthy tactics are presented here along with ideas for what the average person can do. It's an uphill fight and the outcome doesn't look pretty. I'm delighted that the author has a current blog that I can follow.
January 5, 2011
*snoooOOOOoooze* Oh I'm sorry, I feel asleep while reading "Appetite for Profit". While this book contains some interesting, even appauling and alarming, information about how the industrial food industry manipulates Americans, from government agencies, to consumers, to school children, Simon's chiding tone paired with the blatantly sarcastic refrains she serves up after every factoid were just too mentally draining to allow me to push on through. I think I made it through 4 chapters...
I think there's some really good, important information buried in here, but much of the text is very repetitive, and really Ms. Simon, lay off of the sarcasm. If someone is reading this book, it's probably because they already care about the food system. We're on your side, Michele! No need to beat us over the head with cheeky commentary...
I think there's some really good, important information buried in here, but much of the text is very repetitive, and really Ms. Simon, lay off of the sarcasm. If someone is reading this book, it's probably because they already care about the food system. We're on your side, Michele! No need to beat us over the head with cheeky commentary...
February 23, 2008
I found this at the library and thought it would be an interesting read. Not really.
Instead its a book-long rant about how the food industry has no interest in public health and in fact is working against public health often with the support of the government.
The title promises "how to fight back" but I couldn't find much, except for 2 pages at the end of the book listing places where you can talk about the problem (which doesn't seem like much of a fight back).
I can't disagree with her premise--she's probably right about a lot of it--but an entire book of ranting is too much. Would have made a good article.
Instead its a book-long rant about how the food industry has no interest in public health and in fact is working against public health often with the support of the government.
The title promises "how to fight back" but I couldn't find much, except for 2 pages at the end of the book listing places where you can talk about the problem (which doesn't seem like much of a fight back).
I can't disagree with her premise--she's probably right about a lot of it--but an entire book of ranting is too much. Would have made a good article.
March 26, 2022
O livro é pensado para e na realidade norte-americana, onde uma parte substancial da população alimenta-se de forma sistemática, para não dizer exclusiva, de comida fast-food. A autora é uma das mais conhecidas vozes de denúncia quer dos motivos subjacentes a esta opção, quer dos seus perigos. Na verdade, mais do que uma questão de conveniência ou gosto pessoal (ideias que a autora desmonta com facilidade) estão questões de fundo relacionadas com desigualdade social e justiça alimentar. Esta última traduz-se na capacidade de um cidadão ou cidadã poder escolher determinado tipo de alimentos mais saudáveis (como os vegetais, frutos, cereais não adulterados por quantidades insanas de açúcar) ou efectivamente não ter essa possibilidade. Por não ter meios para fazer tais compras, por esses produtos não se venderem nos locais que frequenta e também porque a publicidade e pressão das grandes empresas alimentares o/a leva a concluir, de forma enganadora, que ao comprar o produto x ou y está a seguir uma opção saudável para si ou para a sua família. Michele Simon leva-nos numa viagem a agências de publicidade, meandros do sistema de ensino e patrocínios a pseudo investigações científicas. Embora a realidade que nos apresenta seja norte-americana, algumas das questões são transponíveis para o nosso país, por exemplo, ideias de responsabilidade social de empresas e de auto-regulação (sobre as quais é bastante céptica), bem como a magna questão da alimentação escolar. Uma leitura interessante, até pelas questões sociais e políticas que também levanta. O que comemos está longe de ser um gesto inócuo e este livro deixa claras as ligações entre o que levamos à boca e outras dimensões da nossa vida (as nossas capacidades económicas, estilo de vida, nível sócio-cultural e... a nossa saúde).
February 15, 2012
This is a disturbing and discouraging book about the many ways that the food industry pushes highly processed, profitable, foods on us and our children. Food companies preach personal responsibility but fight legislation to put nutrition information on menus so that people can make informed choices. Soda companies sponsor exercise programs in schools as if that is a relevant counter response to selling sugary drinks to children in schools who are increasingly susceptible to “adult-onset” diabetes. The food industry clamors for consumer choice and then gives us a vast array of salt, fat, and sugars to choose from.
Much of this information was not new to me, although seeing it all together produced a more effective kick in the gut than the piecemeal exposure I had received previously.
One thing that was new was learning that the food industry is proposing, and getting, legislation that bans suing food companies over obesity—even though there is no rush to the courts on this issue. This is scary because all that stuff we learned about the addictiveness of tobacco and how the tobacco companies knew it years before the general public came from the discovery phase of lawsuits. What if the food industry knows about addictive properties of certain processed foods and manipulates that? I’m not saying that they are, but this is cutting off the most effective way of finding out.
Here’s my favorite paragraph from the book (page 43):
“One of the main goals of nutrition policy should be to shift the focus from individual blame to a broader societal outlook. As I mentioned before, for decades, nutritionists have focused on an education-based model for behavioural change. However, it has become painfully clear that education alone does not work. A new movement is taking hold aimed at policy changes to help people make better decisions about diet and health. The idea is for healthy eating to be the default instead of constantly being the more challenging way to live.”
I was acutely aware while reading this book that there is much that smaller-government, tea party advocates would object to. And, I can’t really argue that personal responsibility doesn’t work. After all, I have lost weight. However, to do it, I had to largely check out of the American food system. Probably 80% of my food dollar goes to local farmers. 95% of what goes in my mouth was prepared from scratch in my kitchen. My new normal looks weird in my society. How do we survive as a species if healthy eating is the more challenging way?
Much of this information was not new to me, although seeing it all together produced a more effective kick in the gut than the piecemeal exposure I had received previously.
One thing that was new was learning that the food industry is proposing, and getting, legislation that bans suing food companies over obesity—even though there is no rush to the courts on this issue. This is scary because all that stuff we learned about the addictiveness of tobacco and how the tobacco companies knew it years before the general public came from the discovery phase of lawsuits. What if the food industry knows about addictive properties of certain processed foods and manipulates that? I’m not saying that they are, but this is cutting off the most effective way of finding out.
Here’s my favorite paragraph from the book (page 43):
“One of the main goals of nutrition policy should be to shift the focus from individual blame to a broader societal outlook. As I mentioned before, for decades, nutritionists have focused on an education-based model for behavioural change. However, it has become painfully clear that education alone does not work. A new movement is taking hold aimed at policy changes to help people make better decisions about diet and health. The idea is for healthy eating to be the default instead of constantly being the more challenging way to live.”
I was acutely aware while reading this book that there is much that smaller-government, tea party advocates would object to. And, I can’t really argue that personal responsibility doesn’t work. After all, I have lost weight. However, to do it, I had to largely check out of the American food system. Probably 80% of my food dollar goes to local farmers. 95% of what goes in my mouth was prepared from scratch in my kitchen. My new normal looks weird in my society. How do we survive as a species if healthy eating is the more challenging way?
April 22, 2010
This book delves into the food industry and the political side of how things in our food system have gotten so out of control. I found it really interesting because communications/politics is what I got my degree in.
I really enjoyed the way she broke down all the industry lines from personal responsibility to the consumer's freedom of choice to their God given right to consume food well over the daily caloric limit.
It was a good refresher on evaluating PR and advertising ploys by industry. I also learned a lot about several expert groups, think tanks, scientific research groups, and lobbying organizations that are getting big bucks from Big Food to basically confuse consumers and politicians and stop the passage of legislation that would clean up our food system.
However, the book was published sometime in 2006 so a few things are now a bit out of date.
I really enjoyed the way she broke down all the industry lines from personal responsibility to the consumer's freedom of choice to their God given right to consume food well over the daily caloric limit.
It was a good refresher on evaluating PR and advertising ploys by industry. I also learned a lot about several expert groups, think tanks, scientific research groups, and lobbying organizations that are getting big bucks from Big Food to basically confuse consumers and politicians and stop the passage of legislation that would clean up our food system.
However, the book was published sometime in 2006 so a few things are now a bit out of date.
July 8, 2012
Public health attorney Michele Simon describes how the food industry uses junk science, spin doctoring, lobbying, deep pockets, and outright threats to hobble government regulators and deceive the public. One example: the use of “free speech” arguments to defend manipulative advertising of junk food to children (but of course industry doesn’t like free speech to be exercised by organic growers). She also debunks myths and offers a hilarious “anti-glossary” of corporate spin words.
May 29, 2012
High on passion and interesting stories of the two-faced food industry. Unfortunately there was a good deal of verbage that didn't add much to the book which makes it hard to recommend. I did, however, leave with a better understanding of the games the food industry plays with PR and language to make themselves sound like they are part of the solution to obesity without hurting their bottom line.
December 15, 2013
"But while the dietary guidelines purport to be a 'primary source of dietary health information for policy makers, nutrition educators, and health providers,' they really reflect how much more closely aligned the federal government is with industry than with the general public" p. 144 - I am riveted. MyPyramid is a hoax? How? What?
December 11, 2014
As the author says this book could come across as depressing. Fighting a losing fight. But the parallels to the tobacco industry ring true for me. It's a sobering eye opening book. One most people I suspect will unfortunately ignore.
February 21, 2012
Couldn't finish it. Tedious read. Loved the topic and the info regarding big food's nasty habits, but difficult to follow and stay absorbed in the author's writing style.
November 5, 2013
A intense look into how the business and special interest money goes in direct opposition to our public health interest.
August 30, 2019
No solution in sight
I agree with Michelle Simon that
(1) we cannot believe anything the corporate food giants tell us
(2) they haven't the slightest interest in promoting healthy eating habits, not even for our children
(3) they are in it for profit, pure and simple
(4) they are in part responsible for the obesity epidemic that is sweeping the country
(5) their reaction to criticism is to spin, not to change.
What I don't agree with is that they are to be condemned for their practices any more than corporations in other industries. As Simon points out in the first chapter, "Anatomy of a Food Corporation: Why We Can't Trust Them," their officers have a fiduciary responsibility under the law to look out for the interests of their stock holders. In making this point Simon is following Joel Bakan whose excellent book (and film documentary) The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (2004), made it clear that corporations are, effectively speaking, pathological entities that externalize the costs of doing business whenever possible. Just as coal mining companies prefer not to clean up the mess they make, food companies prefer not to pay for the medical and other costs associated with the food they produce and sell.
I emphatically agree that it would be wonderful if there were some way we could make MacDonald's, PepsiCo, etc. foot some of the bills for obesity-related diseases. But that would require an enlightened Congress and White House, something we don't have, and are not likely to have for the foreseeable future.
What food corporations have is the power to invade our consciousnesses with their advertising. Because virtually all media is under corporate control, its central message to consumers and the public at large, like a pit inside a peach, is "Conform your behavior in a way that benefits the corporation." Corporations not only get us to eat what we shouldn't eat, and to eat more than we should, but they get us to vote for people we shouldn't vote for. The advertising is paid for by the corporations. The politicians are beholden to the corporations.
What we are experiencing is the power of the mass media on a mass population. No one could predict just how awesome that power would be. People are more easily indoctrinated than, say, Washington or Jefferson could have imagined. We live in a democracy by capitalism. An individual's vote is nearly meaningless compared to the votes that can be bought through advertising. Most Americans are too busy making a living and dealing with the day-to-day events of their lives to become knowledgeable about the secret agendas of the corporations and their servants in the Congress, and so few people know what is right and what is wrong regarding any complex issue.
Only education--knowledge about what is really going on--is going to change the direction in which this country is headed. It's going to take a sustained effort at the grass roots level over generations to stem the tide. One result of education would be to change the legal status of corporations to make them responsible for what are now "externalized" costs of doing business. If--and only if--that were done would they behave more nearly in the public interest.
However what knowledge and education are up against is the nearly irresistible lure of products--sugar, fats, salt, easily consumed and easily digested--that were prize products in the prehistory when our ingrained appetites were forged. Big Food is seducing the primordial human in all of us, and the seduction begins at an early age and never lets up.
So there are no easy solutions. The battle against the bulge, as it used to be called, is being fought in all industrialized societies and it is being lost. For myself and many of the people I know, it is not being lost because, like Michelle Simon, we know how to eat properly and how to avoid (most!) of the temptations. The problem is how to get that message to a greater percentage of the population.
Simon's book is a step in the right direction, but only a step. She focuses on the deceptions and lies of the food industry giants, how they spin the news, how they attack opponents, etc., and she gives a lot of information on just who the spinners and liars are, and she describes the tricks they use. But as for a solution... Well, if the knowledge in this book could somehow reach all Americans through their schools and religious organizations, that would be a giant step toward a solution.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”
I agree with Michelle Simon that
(1) we cannot believe anything the corporate food giants tell us
(2) they haven't the slightest interest in promoting healthy eating habits, not even for our children
(3) they are in it for profit, pure and simple
(4) they are in part responsible for the obesity epidemic that is sweeping the country
(5) their reaction to criticism is to spin, not to change.
What I don't agree with is that they are to be condemned for their practices any more than corporations in other industries. As Simon points out in the first chapter, "Anatomy of a Food Corporation: Why We Can't Trust Them," their officers have a fiduciary responsibility under the law to look out for the interests of their stock holders. In making this point Simon is following Joel Bakan whose excellent book (and film documentary) The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (2004), made it clear that corporations are, effectively speaking, pathological entities that externalize the costs of doing business whenever possible. Just as coal mining companies prefer not to clean up the mess they make, food companies prefer not to pay for the medical and other costs associated with the food they produce and sell.
I emphatically agree that it would be wonderful if there were some way we could make MacDonald's, PepsiCo, etc. foot some of the bills for obesity-related diseases. But that would require an enlightened Congress and White House, something we don't have, and are not likely to have for the foreseeable future.
What food corporations have is the power to invade our consciousnesses with their advertising. Because virtually all media is under corporate control, its central message to consumers and the public at large, like a pit inside a peach, is "Conform your behavior in a way that benefits the corporation." Corporations not only get us to eat what we shouldn't eat, and to eat more than we should, but they get us to vote for people we shouldn't vote for. The advertising is paid for by the corporations. The politicians are beholden to the corporations.
What we are experiencing is the power of the mass media on a mass population. No one could predict just how awesome that power would be. People are more easily indoctrinated than, say, Washington or Jefferson could have imagined. We live in a democracy by capitalism. An individual's vote is nearly meaningless compared to the votes that can be bought through advertising. Most Americans are too busy making a living and dealing with the day-to-day events of their lives to become knowledgeable about the secret agendas of the corporations and their servants in the Congress, and so few people know what is right and what is wrong regarding any complex issue.
Only education--knowledge about what is really going on--is going to change the direction in which this country is headed. It's going to take a sustained effort at the grass roots level over generations to stem the tide. One result of education would be to change the legal status of corporations to make them responsible for what are now "externalized" costs of doing business. If--and only if--that were done would they behave more nearly in the public interest.
However what knowledge and education are up against is the nearly irresistible lure of products--sugar, fats, salt, easily consumed and easily digested--that were prize products in the prehistory when our ingrained appetites were forged. Big Food is seducing the primordial human in all of us, and the seduction begins at an early age and never lets up.
So there are no easy solutions. The battle against the bulge, as it used to be called, is being fought in all industrialized societies and it is being lost. For myself and many of the people I know, it is not being lost because, like Michelle Simon, we know how to eat properly and how to avoid (most!) of the temptations. The problem is how to get that message to a greater percentage of the population.
Simon's book is a step in the right direction, but only a step. She focuses on the deceptions and lies of the food industry giants, how they spin the news, how they attack opponents, etc., and she gives a lot of information on just who the spinners and liars are, and she describes the tricks they use. But as for a solution... Well, if the knowledge in this book could somehow reach all Americans through their schools and religious organizations, that would be a giant step toward a solution.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”
February 10, 2024
Another book I had to read for my class. A very discouraging book about all the ways that the food industry pushes unhealthy, highly processed, profitable, foods on our children and all the things we are completely unaware of. Lots of info on the politics and how our food system has gotten completely out of control.
February 7, 2018
Good overview of the disgusting tactics of Big Food. I appreciated the "how to fight back" features at the end of most chapters, which made it significantly less depressing.
Probably could use updating and a bit repetitive at times, but recommended for anyone involved in fighting the industry.
Probably could use updating and a bit repetitive at times, but recommended for anyone involved in fighting the industry.
September 26, 2018
another eye opening book
March 28, 2012
This was a really long winded book. She probably could have made her case in half the amount of pages since she repeats a lot of information. She does go through many topics including soft drinks and processed food in schools, how food companies can't be trusted to self regulate for the good of society, and the rather weak arguments that personal responsibility and freedom of choice are myths. The book contains a fair amount of "leftist" propaganda. I could tell she wrote this book to persuade people to dislike the food industry or "Big Food". She is not as objective about her information as I expected. She does not go into enough detail about how our elected representatives in government (federal and state) are allowing themselves to become "puppet politicians" for the food industry (she does explain how some seem to be reading off a script the food industry gave them).
The book does highlight various problems with the food system, such as the lack of credible information the public gets from the media (which she does not explain that much; I would have liked to see more information on the media's role in providing health information), researchers being paid by the food industry to produce industry friendly studies (she also doesn't explain how much of this goes on), and the lack of government regulation of truly dangerous food substances because of food industry lobbying. However, she gives no tips on how to change any of this. The book ends with her opinion that we need to change the entire food system and we need to start talking to each other about possible solutions. This is a rather weak (and frustrating) ending as the title is suppose to tell you how to fight back.
The book does highlight various problems with the food system, such as the lack of credible information the public gets from the media (which she does not explain that much; I would have liked to see more information on the media's role in providing health information), researchers being paid by the food industry to produce industry friendly studies (she also doesn't explain how much of this goes on), and the lack of government regulation of truly dangerous food substances because of food industry lobbying. However, she gives no tips on how to change any of this. The book ends with her opinion that we need to change the entire food system and we need to start talking to each other about possible solutions. This is a rather weak (and frustrating) ending as the title is suppose to tell you how to fight back.
December 27, 2013
"We must begin to ask should questions rather than simply settle for crumbs left over from political compromises. What should we be feeding our kids? What should our food system look like? What's the just and moral outcome? How will we ever create a truly better world unless we first figure out what that should be? We need to take a giant step back and ask, what kind of world do we want to live in?"
"According to Richard Daynard, the cigarette industry also tried to claim for years that marketing restrictions had no impact. That ruse was put to rest when in 1999 the World Bank conducted a definitive study showing that tobacco ad bans really did reduce smoking. The research concluded that "bans on advertising and promotion prove effective, but only if they are comprehensive, covering all media and all uses of brand names and logos." Indeed, the evidence suggests the need to impose more, not fewer, restrictions on reckless corporate marketing to protect public health."
"Here's another line of reasoning I hear a lot: well, people are going to eat processed food anyway, so we should encourage companies to make those foods better. Such cynical reasoning doesn't cut it for me either. As nutrition advocates, it's our job to be honest about what is optimally healthy, rather than meekly acquiesce to industry-supported definitions. The argument that people aren't going to eat whole unprocessed foods becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy that is both condescending and immoral. Imagine if tobacco-control advocates argued that it's pointless to urge people to quit smoking because, well, they won't. Why is it any different when it comes to our expectations around getting people to change how they eat?"
"According to Richard Daynard, the cigarette industry also tried to claim for years that marketing restrictions had no impact. That ruse was put to rest when in 1999 the World Bank conducted a definitive study showing that tobacco ad bans really did reduce smoking. The research concluded that "bans on advertising and promotion prove effective, but only if they are comprehensive, covering all media and all uses of brand names and logos." Indeed, the evidence suggests the need to impose more, not fewer, restrictions on reckless corporate marketing to protect public health."
"Here's another line of reasoning I hear a lot: well, people are going to eat processed food anyway, so we should encourage companies to make those foods better. Such cynical reasoning doesn't cut it for me either. As nutrition advocates, it's our job to be honest about what is optimally healthy, rather than meekly acquiesce to industry-supported definitions. The argument that people aren't going to eat whole unprocessed foods becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy that is both condescending and immoral. Imagine if tobacco-control advocates argued that it's pointless to urge people to quit smoking because, well, they won't. Why is it any different when it comes to our expectations around getting people to change how they eat?"
January 29, 2019
While the author does present a reasonable case for Big Food’s responsibility in our current wellness crisis, she boldly endorses large government oversight and regulation of industry. She repeatedly downplays the role of individual choice in obesity and advocates government control to solve the problem. She presented some good information. I did like the chapters about deception in advertising, the buying and selling of nutritional research, and corporate reluctance to provide factual nutritional information. I just don’t think it’s a corporation’s job to make healthy choices on my behalf. I also think the obesity crisis has as much to do with Americans’ emotional attachment to foods as it does Big Food’s efforts to keep us attached.
November 7, 2010
Not all of this will be new information if you've read Marion Nestle's Food Politics or if you keep up on food policy news generally. Simon's book is particularly illuminating on the many ways that food companies fight attempts to regulate them, from fake consumer interest groups like the Center for Consumer Freedom to adopting voluntary guidelines that can be disregarded as soon as the political heat is off. (See recent reports about soda vending machines being ubiquitous in elementary schools, despite voluntary soda industry guidelines about not marketing to children.) Simon analyzes how, just as companies engage in greenwashing to make themselves seem more environmentally friendly than they are, food companies engage in "nutriwashing" to make their products seem more nutritious than they really are. It will definitely make you read the next feel-good press release from Pepsi or McDonalds about how they are encouraging "balanced lifestyles" with more skepticism.
December 25, 2011
Some of the issues were a bit out of date, while others were still very relevant. The author did a great job of pointing out the flaws in some of the most commonly used arguments against better regulation of the processed food industry. However, without meaning to, she also showed exactly why regulation can be problematic: While most would agree that heavily processed foods should be avoided (or at least minimized), there is much dispute in the nutritional science communities about the relative merits of certain whole foods like meat, eggs, and dairy. Simon clearly approaches nutritional arguments from a veg'n perspective and demonstrates the problems in allowing one group of people to dictate nutritional mandates to all. I think this would have been a much better book if she had stuck entirely to the obviously problematic processed foods and didn't try to denigrate certain whole foods as well.
The book did get a bit screed-y at times, but that didn't really bother me much since it was clearly coming from the author's genuine passion about the topic.
The book did get a bit screed-y at times, but that didn't really bother me much since it was clearly coming from the author's genuine passion about the topic.
January 8, 2009
Wow, this book was an unfortunate reminder in the new year about the politics and motivation of food corporations: money.
Very easy to read, simple language used. The beginning and the end were the best. I thought the middle section could have been slimmed down a bit, but lots of examples of the politics as usual of the food industry.
Also, while I haven't read the 'anti glossary' or looked at the supplemental info, I think including "how to fight back" as part of the title is maybe somewhat of an exaggeration since the book doesn't really offer a clear solution (and, honestly, I didn't expect it too). However, it does have some suggestions.
I think this book would be an excellent companion to Fast Food Nation which also chronicles the fast food restaurants.
Very easy to read, simple language used. The beginning and the end were the best. I thought the middle section could have been slimmed down a bit, but lots of examples of the politics as usual of the food industry.
Also, while I haven't read the 'anti glossary' or looked at the supplemental info, I think including "how to fight back" as part of the title is maybe somewhat of an exaggeration since the book doesn't really offer a clear solution (and, honestly, I didn't expect it too). However, it does have some suggestions.
I think this book would be an excellent companion to Fast Food Nation which also chronicles the fast food restaurants.
November 5, 2013
Very thought provoking book...opened my eyes to how deeply powerful our food industry TRULY is, and how it keeps the consumers relatively powerless. We are often told to "eat healthier, more organic fruits and vegetables". This is all good and well, but in our food situation in the U.S., most people cannot AFFORD to eat that way. That's why this author, Michele Simon, states that we "cannot improve the global situation one politically correct forkful at a time. [this healthful way of eating] is beyond the reach of much of the world's population. Rather, we must make a fundamental shift in how as a society we produce, transport, market, and sell food..." (p. 316). A daunting task, but truly important.
July 19, 2012
I do find the topic to very interesting in this book, I think its helpful if we are all more aware of how what we eat and what we want to eat is shaped by advertising and corporations. However, I don't really appreciate how much this book pushed some of its political agenda, I'd rather just be presented with the facts and left to come up with my own opinions. I don't believe all large corporations or people in them are evil. I do believe that it is ultimately in their best interest to be more transparent about what they put in their food and how they distribute food to the world.
Read
October 27, 2008Simon, a health policy expert and law professor, skewers the food industry for undermining the health of Americans with "nutrient deficient factory made pseudofoods." In lawyerly fashion, she explains the ABCs of the business imperative of "Big Food" (Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods and McDonald’s, among many others): make short-term profit without regard to the product’s nutritional value or societal effects.
February 6, 2015
It was well researched, thoughtful, and important- a real indictment of our American food industry.
Sadly, it was dull and dry, as well, and left little promise of how to fix it. The standard American diet makes us sick, our children sicker, and now the global players are taking it far and wide to gain even more big bucks.
Big Business wins and we are up against BB in trying to eat right and stay healthy
Sadly, it was dull and dry, as well, and left little promise of how to fix it. The standard American diet makes us sick, our children sicker, and now the global players are taking it far and wide to gain even more big bucks.
Big Business wins and we are up against BB in trying to eat right and stay healthy
September 16, 2007
The book had some good insight to the politics (school nutrition, pouring rights in schools, vending machines, lobbyists) and also the very powerful/influential food companies. I did think that the book was somewhat repetitive and soapbox-ish...could have been 3/4 or 2/3 of the size and made the same points.
August 10, 2009
This book was boring. I thought it would be a great read, but I found it tedious and boring. I didn't find that much new information either. I felt like I was reading a book by an activist who really really liked big business. Not that I think big business is the answer to anything, but I also felt like each chapter went over the same info with just a slightly different spin.
July 20, 2014
This book would be readable if she kept the opinion out of it. "One of the sorriest and most depressing events I attended in my entire ten years of covering nutrition policy was..." Or her apologizing for not having children.
The facts would speak for themselves but I find her constant interjections distracting.
The facts would speak for themselves but I find her constant interjections distracting.
February 18, 2016
I found Appetite for Profit very similar to the movie "Fed Up." I picked up the book soon after watching the movie and had to set it aside for weeks because it was too repetitive. "Fed Up" had more recent data and examples, and was focused on kids and schools, so there were some differences, but not a lot. I enjoyed the movie more than this book.
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