Michael Moss's look at "magical formulations of salt, sugar, and fat," as he so nicely phrases it, is not for the faint of heart. Salt, Sugar, Fat is no less than an expose on how Big Food has altered the diets of Americans (and increasingly those all over the world) since the heady days after World War II.
Although neither a quick nor light read, this is a book that makes the reader think seriously about the "food" we all consume. Moss provides an inside look at everything from marketing campaigns targeted at "heavy users" of cream cheese to the creation of Lunchables. Moss demystifies such innocuous seeming ingredients as fruit juice concentrate and potassium chloride.
Ultimately, Moss's conclusions mirror those of the authors of The Food of a Younger Land: if only we would eat only what would have been recognizable as food by our great-grandparents, we might all be a bit healthier - and slimmer. In any event, I challenge anyone who reads Salt, Sugar, Fat to not take a hard look at their current diet and find room for improvement. I've definitely banished a few "foods" from my shopping card.
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