Salt Sugar Fat

"If you had any doubt as to the food industry's complicity in our obesity epidemic, it will evaporate when you read this book."-- The Washington Post #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER - In this "propulsively written [and] persuasively argued" ( The Boston Globe ) expos?, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter uncovers an insidious truth: food companies are deliberately sacrificing our health to raise their own profits. Thirty-eight million Americans have diabetes. One in three adults and one in five kids is clinically obese. Why? Every year, the average American eats thirty-three pounds of cheese and seventy pounds of sugar. Every day, we ingest 8,500 milligrams of salt, double the recommended amount, almost none of which comes from the shakers on our table. It comes from processed food, an industry that hauls in $2 trillion in annual sales. In Salt Sugar Fat, Michael Moss shows how we ended up here. Featuring examples from Kraft, Coca-Cola, Lunchables, Frito-Lay, Nestl?, Oreos, Capri Sun, and many more, Moss's explosive, empowering narrative is grounded in meticulous, eye-opening research. He takes us into labs where scientists calculate the "bliss point" of sugary beverages or enhance the "mouthfeel" of fat by manipulating its chemical structure, unearths marketing techniques taken straight from tobacco company playbooks, and talks to concerned insiders who make startling confessions. Just as millions of "heavy users" are addicted to salt, sugar, and fat, so too are the companies that peddle them. You will never look at a nutrition label the same way again. A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Atlantic, HuffPost, Men's Journal, MSN, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly

The No.1 New York Times Bestseller In China, for the first time, the people who weigh too much now outnumber those who weigh too little. In Mexico, the obesity rate has tripled in the past three decades. In the UK over 60 per cent of adults and 30 per cent of children are overweight, while the United States remains the most obese country in the world. We are hooked on salt, sugar and fat. These three simple ingredients are used by the major food companies to achieve the greatest allure for the lowest possible cost. Here, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Michael Moss exposes the practices of some of the most recognisable (and profitable) companies and brands of the last half century. He takes us inside the labs where food scientists use cutting-edge technology to calculate the ‘bliss point’ of sugary drinks. He unearths marketing campaigns designed – in a technique adapted from the tobacco industry – to redirect concerns about the health risks of their products, and reveals how the makers of processed foods have chosen, time and again, to increase consumption and profits, while gambling with our health. Are you ready for the truth about what’s in your shopping basket?

"If you had any doubt as to the food industry's complicity in our obesity epidemic, it will evaporate when you read this book."-- The Washington Post #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER - In this "propulsively written [and] persuasively argued" ( The Boston Globe ) expos?, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter uncovers an insidious truth: food companies are deliberately sacrificing our health to raise their own profits. Thirty-eight million Americans have diabetes. One in three adults and one in five kids is clinically obese. Why? Every year, the average American eats thirty-three pounds of cheese and seventy pounds of sugar. Every day, we ingest 8,500 milligrams of salt, double the recommended amount, almost none of which comes from the shakers on our table. It comes from processed food, an industry that hauls in $2 trillion in annual sales. In Salt Sugar Fat, Michael Moss shows how we ended up here. Featuring examples from Kraft, Coca-Cola, Lunchables, Frito-Lay, Nestl?, Oreos, Capri Sun, and many more, Moss's explosive, empowering narrative is grounded in meticulous, eye-opening research. He takes us into labs where scientists calculate the "bliss point" of sugary beverages or enhance the "mouthfeel" of fat by manipulating its chemical structure, unearths marketing techniques taken straight from tobacco company playbooks, and talks to concerned insiders who make startling confessions. Just as millions of "heavy users" are addicted to salt, sugar, and fat, so too are the companies that peddle them. You will never look at a nutrition label the same way again. A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Atlantic, HuffPost, Men's Journal, MSN, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly

The No.1 New York Times Bestseller In China, for the first time, the people who weigh too much now outnumber those who weigh too little. In Mexico, the obesity rate has tripled in the past three decades. In the UK over 60 per cent of adults and 30 per cent of children are overweight, while the United States remains the most obese country in the world. We are hooked on salt, sugar and fat. These three simple ingredients are used by the major food companies to achieve the greatest allure for the lowest possible cost. Here, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Michael Moss exposes the practices of some of the most recognisable (and profitable) companies and brands of the last half century. He takes us inside the labs where food scientists use cutting-edge technology to calculate the ‘bliss point’ of sugary drinks. He unearths marketing campaigns designed – in a technique adapted from the tobacco industry – to redirect concerns about the health risks of their products, and reveals how the makers of processed foods have chosen, time and again, to increase consumption and profits, while gambling with our health. Are you ready for the truth about what’s in your shopping basket?