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An eye opener to the world of food Jun 1, 2006 (46 of 49 found this helpful)
Wow! What a Book!
In my quest to eat better and find the true meaning behind food companies claims of how healthy their products are I found Marion Nestle's book `Food Politics', while it was interesting my eyes started to glaze over (I'm not really fond of politics or boring text-book books). I gained a little knowledge that food companies could not be trusted in what they preach about their products because their sole purpose is to sell their products not for the consumer's health.
Then I found she had a new book coming, `What to Eat'. I already knew that Nestle had years of experience as a nutritionist and was more impartial to a person's health than promoting something. You can pretty much bet she wasn't on a payroll of a food company or work for the government, though she was on a national committee a while back, since she really dressed them down for irresponsibility to the public.
I am surprised and saddened to find that the government who is supposed to watch out for the welfare of their people take contributions in the millions to `look the other way' while corporations are allowed to throw out claims that sugary, over processed, artificially colored and flavored foods are whole grain and healthy for a balanced diet.
This is one of the reasons I read this book. Artificial sweeteners give me headaches but when I looked on the internet about them I read from one end of the pendulum in `it's healthy and good for you' to the other `its cancer forming and bad for you'. Who do you believe? You know a good share of these websites are the producers of the products and their competition.
Nestle goes through the entire store telling you what she's learned in her own quest to find the truth about what we buy, why we buy it, and what it all means to eating better. I liked that it wasn't as dry as `Food Politics', at least for me, it was simple and easy to read and told me what she knew that made it a really interesting.
I also learned that food corporations pay supermarkets for `prime real estate' on shelves, at the front of the store, by the check-outs so that you will see their products and be more apt to buy them, while things that are more healthy for you are in the `bad real estate section' because they don't sell as well.
Nestle's motto is `eat less, move more, and eat lots of fruit and vegetables', it's good advice though it's easier said than done and she admits that it is without a bit of effort because prepared/processed foods are easier to use in our hectic world. Nestle does admit that junk food is okay to eat, she tells of her fondness for Oreos, but they should be eaten on a rare occasion and in moderation, I mean... no one can eat just one... right?
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WOW This is a must read for anyone interested in food Jun 1, 2006 (283 of 327 found this helpful)
Every now and then a book or two comes along that makes me want to get on the phone to friends or email friends to tell them they must read the book. This happened this past week when What to Eat by Marion Nestle and Gone Tomorrow the Hidden Life of Garbage by Heather Rogers arrived at my cottage.
Starting with this book 'What to Eat' the author does an excellent job of explaining the psychology of food from its invention (since so much is man made or processed), to the thousand mile journey it makes, even if organic, to most grocery stores, and the vast amount of waste that is involved in getting even organic fruits and vegetables to your local grocer. And that local grown fruits and vegetables are often turned down for local sale in grocery stores, but packed and shipped across country, all as part of a man made game plan. As is the label game and how many label issues are voluntary and not mandated like for genetically modified foods.
Her section on dairy is good. Personally I buy organic milk from here in northern California and no matter where we have lived I have sought out locals who would allow me to make a 'donation' for their raw milk, since I prefer to make my own yogurt, butter, cheese etc. The taste of regular homogenized milk from the store tastes horrid to me. Probably because its altered so much to allow for weeks on the grocery shelf. How I wish people would demand that their grocer carry dairy products from humane farms that are also whole and healthy.
Her section on meat is equally interesting. As she notes well, those who cull (kill, slaughter) the meat Americans eat work for low wages in very dangerous conditions, with the buyer all to willing to ignore just what happens to get that piece of meat on ones dinner table or fast food meal. Page 139 'Raising cattle also consumes vast amounts of nonrenewable energy. According to figures in the June 2004 National Geographic, it takes more than 200 gallons of fuel oil to raise a 1,200 pound steer on a feedlot. ... You pay the costs of loss of environmental quality in taxes, not at the grocery store.' What is interesting to me is I come from a family where we hunted in the fall and wasted little of any animal we got. We did eat some beef, chicken etc but this was home grown either by us or friends. But when I did my own homework and found out what the local slaughter house near a town we lived in, I knew how unhealthy commercially raised meat can be. And having a son who has worked in the grocery business I admit I wasn't surprised when he told me that the clean cold cases that you buy your meat from are called meat coffins in the business.
Her section on eggs is good and basic but I also urge people to read up on humane egg production because the fact is, most eggs are from hens crammed into cages, beaks clipped to prevent hurting other chickens, and eggs not laid in straw nests but on a slopped cage floor that allows them to coast down an egg gutter where workers come by every few hours and collect them. No matter where we have lived, even in suburbia Dublin CA in the 70's, and now in the Sierras we have had a few free range laying hens, for eggs, not meat. I think its inhumane to buy eggs from caged animals.
I also agree with her frozen food section, that if you cannot buy fresh fruits and vegetables, then buy frozen. But as she notes, you still need to read labels and buy only those items that have a single ingredient i.e. frozen beans, whole strawberries. Rather than whole strawberries in sugar.
I smiled when I read on page 356 'The huge SG Superstore in San Gabriel, California, caters to a largely Chinese speaking immigrant community. The store prints all its signs in Chinese characters as well as English, and the one over aisle 14B says: SPEAR ASPARAGUS, MUSHROOMS, COOKIES, CANNED FISH, and --get this-- JUNK FOOD.' Honest advertising to say the least.
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Practical and easy to read May 9, 2006 (66 of 76 found this helpful)
This is a great book for anyone who eats. That would mean all of us, because the choices we come upon at the grocery store, restaurant, farmers markets etc. are immense, and Marion Nestle's book informs the average person (organic vs. nonorganic; how far did the blueberries in your grocery store travel to get there and what can you guess about their freshness, how the soil they are grown on is doing ...).
This book is sure to make you think about how and why your local supermarket places things where they do and how you can make educated choices for eating in your family.
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Fascinating Tome on Food and Nutrition Industry and Manipulation Mar 30, 2007 (24 of 26 found this helpful)
This is an excellent and well researched work on the wares sold in most supermarkets (and drug stores, in the case of supplements). I consider myself pretty well versed in most of the topics covered by Marion Nestle, but I learned A LOT from this text. As a researcher and nutritionist, Nestle certainly has the background to treat this subject and her writing flows easily. In short, this book is quite easy to read (and there's no need to read it in order--I skipped from chapter to chapter, reading whatever I was interested in at the moment). Although I, as well as another reviewer, found her "surprise" at supermarkets a bit silly and the format of the book (based on the aisles of a supermarket) a little contrived, I am still glad I purchased and read this book. The chapters on fish, especially, are superb, as are those on dairy and supplements. (NOTE: I have not read her "Food Politics", so I don't know how much she's already covered in that text). This is an excellent source of food-related information and a welcome addition to the library of anyone interested in what he or she eats.
That said, I'm only giving it 4 stars instead of 5. I find no fault with the book's factual material. However, when Ms. Nestle starts venturing into food criticism (telling the reader what tastes "best"--uh, "best" is a highly subjective term and Ms. Nestle is a nutritionist, not a restaurant reviewer or food critic). She does have a tendency to come across condescendingly or as a know-it-all (which she surely does if the topic is industry manipulation and nutrition). Also (earth to Marion, come in Marion), we don't all live in Manhattan and we may not have access to all-organic, hearth-baked, TRUE artisanal bread. And readers would be better served if she offered suggestions for people who may have to make food choices based on financial considerations (e.g. would it be better to buy organic fruits and vegetables, but forgo the organic pastas and breads if one's budget doesn't allow for both). One gets the sense that she's really writing for the privileged.
Still (and I suppose I am one of the privileged, because I can largely afford many organics, etc.) I would recommend this book to others, even in light of my criticisms of it. This book is solidly packed with good information.
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An easy way to go about changing what you eat and why Jun 17, 2007 (18 of 19 found this helpful)
Ms. Nestle is a public health nutritionist, professor, and self-proclaimed lover of food who has written several other books about our food supply and nutrition. This is her most recent book and an effort to provide some well-needed information and considerations about what we eat and why. With this book, she joins other authors who have written similar books about the same topic in the last few years--but What To Eat is different in that Ms. Nestle offers her own ideas about what she eats--and why.
While at times a bit too proscriptive in her at times outright "This is what you want to eat if you have the choice," it is helpful to know the kinds of food choices she makes for herself based on what she knows about the nutritional value of different foods, the politics and science behind the ways food is regulated and evaluated ("nutritional quality" and claims made by food manufacturers), and the different options available for the same kinds of foods (white bread, "whole wheat" bread, and true whole grain-high fiber breads--indeed, what are the differences between them and how do they matter to your health/diet?).
Ms. Nestle's book is organized according to the general layout of most markets (there is a reason why your market is spatially organized as it is, do you know what that reason is--and how it profoundly affects your shopping experience?). The section and chapters headings are helpful in knowing what you will learn about food.
The Produce Section
Fruits and vegetables; what organic means and doesn't; safety; genetically modified, irradiated, and politicized.
The Dairy Section
Milk; dairy foods; yogurt as food or desssert
Dairy Substitutes
Margarine; soy milk, panacea or just another food
The Meat Section
Issues around meat manufacturing; questions of safety; organic versus "natural" (Did you even notice that more and more manufacturers are putting the claim of "natural" on their products, hoping that you'll think that's the same as organic? It's not! Learn the distnctions and how they can impact your diet.)
The Fish Counter
The dilemmas and quandaries about fish "production"; methylmercury contamination; the problems with fish-farming; fish-labeling; more seafood dilemmas with safety and sustainability (A very important chapter, as more of us contemplate eating fish for its health benefits.)
The Center Aisles: Cool and Frozen
Eggs: the truth beyond the hype; the Salmonella problem; frozen foods and what they're made out of; calories and diets; understanding the nutrition facts of frozen foods
The Center Aisles: Processed
Wheat flour and the glycemic index; sugar(s); cereals; packaged foods and their endorsements from well-known entities; snack foods; foods just for kids (really just a myth); oils
The Beverage Aisles
Water; "healthy" drinks, sugared and artifically sweetened; teas and coffees, what the eco-labels mean
The Special Sections
Infant formula and baby food; supplements and health food; bread; prepared foods
And you don't have to read the entire book or in order! While it's easy enough to read at 524 pages, you can also pick any section or chapter in the book and just read that.
I have noticed a few drawbacks to What To Eat that include a complete lack of consideration for people who don't have the income necessary to buy truly wholesome, eco-friendly, high-quality food or have places nearby where they can buy these very items. Her considerations assume that you have enough money (and access) to buy organic produce, for example. Her nutritional advice also covers the diet needs of people who aren't recreational or professional athletes; I am a long-distance runner, so my diet needs necessitate (at least from my experience with my own performance) Gatorade, a higher lev