Food Politics is a book by US nutritionist and food writer Marion Nestle. It examines in considerable detail US food laws, their regulatory agencies, and all of the politicking and horse trading that goes along with it.
The basic overall picture that the book paints is of the awesome power that the major food industries wield, thus the title Food Politics. The major weapon of these food industries is basically to be as litigious as possible.
Some good examples of this are of course the famous McLibel case against McDonalds, and the beef industry trying to sue Oprah Winfrey for some off the cuff comments she made about beef on her show when she was discussing mad cow disease.
The Power of the Food Industries
Marion Nestle lifts the veil to show the consumer the ugly machinations that the powerful food industries use to get the most favourable outcomes. They fight tooth and nail to make sure that official dietary advice does not dissuade people from eating their foods, they employ aggressive PR campaigns and, as mentioned above, vexatious litigation. They also exploit children through aggressive advertising and create a Frankenstein’s monster with their "techno-foods," fat-free fat Olestra and vitamin-enriched gummy bears.
The book provides many interesting financial tables that illustrate the millions of dollars that are poured into advertising campaigns. An individual lolly, for example, its ingredients just sugar and artificial flavours, can have millions of dollars backing up the product in advertising. So when you buy an Oreo biscuit, you’re also buying the advertising.
The Dietary Supplements Industry
There is also a fascinating section on the dietary supplements industry, which is virtually unregulated in the US. Nestle describes how there are two camps with regards to the efficacy of these products: the science based group, who wants to see the claims of these products verified by stringent testing and then there is the belief-based group, who have "faith" that these products work.
Nestle describes how when agencies tried to regulate these dietary supplements, there was an uproar followed by the most extraordinary PR campaign - a very effective one, it should be added. The campaign went along the lines of "this is America, we have a right to freedom of choice. If we believe these supplements work, then these regulatory bodies should get out of our face and let us continue to use them."
All sorts of silly claims were made, stating the supplements saved the health industry millions of dollars. Mix this with a population that doesn’t trust, in fact is almost hostile to science and regular medicine, and you get this strange mix.
As Nestle shows using studies done with placebos, if people believe something is good for their health, then they will feel better after taking it. However, all nutritionists advise the vitamins you need are available from everyday food.
Food Politics is a valuable study of a food industry that is more concerned with power and money, and has little regard for public health and nutrition.
Source:
Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition, and Health, by Marion Nestle. Published by University of California Press; 2 edition (October 15, 2007). ISBN-10: 0520254031
Chris Saliba - Chris Saliba is a freelance writer. Read more of his workplace articles at chrissalibafreelancewriter.blogspot.com
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