Food Politics by Marion Nestle is a well-researched, expansive work of non-fiction that chronicles the interactions of Congress, federal regulatory agencies, lobbyists, marketers, and consumers in the last few decades, specifically regarding topics of food production, distribution, consumption, marketing, and regulations. The depth and breadth of the research is impressive, and as a nutritionist, educator, and former FDA adviser, Nestle is in a unique position to offer a critical view of food politics.
While the book is highly readable (you can tell Nestle's main work is in teaching) and interesting, I can't assume that anyone without a vested interest in the politics of food in the United States would bother to read it thoroughly and analyze it.
Growing food movements with various motivations and tactics should be proof enough that Americans ARE interested in what Nestle calls "voting with your fork", and I think this book is a good jumping on point for those who may be interested in the topic but aren't sure where to start. The vested interest in food politics requisite for enjoying a book like this is something I feel most, if not all, people should actively pursue. We should not be complacent about the current state of the food industry, in which consumers wield more power than they know - consumer demand and purchasing practices have more influence in this arena than government officials could ever hope to have. After all, many elected officials rely on campaign contributions from the agricultural/food industries, whereas the average citizen is beholden to no particular brand or type of food. Unfortunately, factors of education and wealth play a major part in how successfully any one person can avoid the nutritional quagmire that lurks in the aisle of every major grocery store, at most (if not all) restaurants, and in vending machines and convenience stores. The food "choices" we make are not made in a vacuum, and the era of "personal responsibility" rhetoric deliberately obscuring the legal and ethical irresponsibility of food producers needs to come to an end.
Nestle's book is split into five sections, each one dealing with a unique issue - all of which tie together, as they deal with what she calls an "eat more" environment that is promoted by the food industry to the detriment of our national health.
Part One deals with the undue influence food lobbies had over the creation of the Food Pyramid Guide.
Part Two deals with the ways in which the food industry gains such influence - lobbying, campaign contributions, co-opting doctors and other health professionals to endorse their message, utilizing the legal system to disarm and dissuade critics, and illegal tactics such as price fixing.
Part Three deals with the exploitation of children by food marketers, especially in regards to marketing efforts focused on grade schools, in which children are a captive, non-consenting audience.
Part Four deals with the deregulation of dietary supplements that was the result of a lengthy battle between supplement producers and the FDA, to the detriment of both public health (the ephedra scare is a good example of one consequence) and the regulatory ability of the FDA in regards to seemingly separate issues, such as allowing health claims on food items masquerading as dietary supplements.
Part Five deals with the invention, production, and distribution of "nutritionally enhanced" foods; specifically looked at is the development of products like Olestra, which are questionably described as "health" foods, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
Nestle's conclusion offers possible solutions to some of the problems facing food producers, government officials, and consumers, and also gives some ethical dilemmas that could result from those solutions. I think she does an excellent job thoroughly exploring the pros and cons of some of the prescribed fixes for an obviously ailing system. While being far from a definitive cure-all, Nestle's proposals at the very least merit discussion, analysis, and further debate.
Overall, I'd say this is an excellent book. The most recently updated version was printed in 2007, meaning some of the information is dated. However, the basis of research and knowledge underlying the basic tenets of the book still hold true, a decade beyond its original publication. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the food system.
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