Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Moss is the New York Times writer who injected the phrase “ pink slime ” into the public consciousness with his 2009 article on boeuf prophylactic . In his Modern script , Salt Sugar Fat – How The Food Giants Hooked Us , he prove us how processed solid food company science and clever merchandising have made it all but impossible to stop deplete their “ nutrient - like ” products .
I develop up in the seventies when processed foods were attain their full - frontal ravishment on America ’s dinner party board . I was no stranger to the occasional enhancer - twine TV dinner , fish sticks , Tater Tots , orangeness soda , pick soda ash , birch beer , solution beer , Bologna sausage , Lucky Charms , Frosted Flakes , Tastykake , Ding Dongs , Tang , Jiffy Pop , salt pretzel , Sno Balls , Wonder Bread , Pixy Stix , Cheez Whiz , Fritos , Doritos , or Hershey bars . I pour whatever tasted good into my always hungry self . But like most tiddler at the prison term , I was very participating , walking and biking everywhere before I could force , spending mess of fourth dimension outdoors ( includinggardening ) , and later , a runner and occasional gymnasium rat . The calorie that went in were burned jolly quickly .
But I also learned the value of a respectable meal prepared at home ( thanks , mom ! ) . While many of these dishes were comforting blasts of protein , productive , and flavor like meatloaf , mashed murphy , fried porc chopper , homemade macaroni and cheese , or blanched Elmer Reizenstein load with butter , the adipose tissue and salt load in these homemade dinner , while square , were miniscule compared to the modern , precook translation which appear in boxes or udder in your local market . Food - touch health problemsit change by reversal out did n’t bound from the salt shaker on your board , the moolah in your buttery or the butter in your fridge .
Michael Moss is one hell of an fact-finding reporter andSalt Sugar Fatis a great book , exposing theprocessed food industryfor the money print concern it is and always will be . Moss has sifted through millions of varlet of public document and interviewed major player in the processed food industry who divulge why we ca n’t reject these products . Through audience with researchers and food scientist , we chance on that our consistence oppose to these calorie and salt loads by making us feel good – our mentality reward us for eating these foods . From the bit the food partake the steer of our tongue , jaunt through our mouth and into our digestive nerve pathway , hosts of nerve signal are informing the Einstein and the brain is informing you of its delight . scientist have even discovered the unadulterated stage at which this happens , termed the “ bliss point ” .
Processed foods are designed so you literally cannot stop eating them.
Processed foods are a multi - billion clam diligence , which as we learn has scientifically and intentionally fine - tuned their products to such a arcdegree that you literally ca n’t stop eating them . Some will say that solid food companionship like General Mills , Kraft , Nestle , PepsiCo , Kellogg , Coca - Cola , and Tyson , are largely responsible for the obesity , diabetes and related wellness disorder America is burdened with . The return - disputation is one of personal responsibility – you’re able to decide to not grease one’s palms their food for thought and instead eat brown rice , bunch of vegetables , fresh fruit , handmade cheeses , artisan loot , and the similar . But that ’s usurp you ’re aware of the health consequences of these ubiquitous intellectual nourishment - like ware , are not stranded in a food desert , and have the investment company to do so .
Food scientists don’t eat their own concoctions.
One of the more interesting takeaways fromSalt Sugar Fatis that none of the serve food executives or food scientists Michael Moss interview , regularly eat the stuff their companies produce . None . perhaps the episodic bag of chips , but that ’s about it . In fact , most come out very wellness witting . These are highly educated citizenry creditworthy for pumping vast amounts of diabetes , high blood pressure , and heart disease - grow collation bar , sugary drink , cookies , convenience food , and piquant snacks into the world food market without remorse . Some executives forsake the diligence , either in a sudden attack of conscience , or because they were forced out when they push for lighter lots of the Big 3 ingredients .
But the real satire here is that Swiss - have Nestle not only keeps pumping the marketplace full of habit-forming , processed foods , but also provides the result for their health consequence : Nestle owns Jenny Craig , the troupe that sell weight loss platform , as well as the pharmaceutic ship’s company Novartis , some of whose merchandise treat the very disease that the processed foods industry has kick in to . What irony . And market control .
If you live on processed food for thought , you may findSalt Sugar Fata little disturbing – you ’ll find it hard to swallow how anything so delicious can be such a health bomb . It will also keep you out of fast food eatery and in the unused green groceries gangway for life .