"Everyone knows how hard it can be to maintain a healthy diet. But what if some of the decisions we make about what to eat are beyond our control? Is it possible that processed food is addictive, like drugs or alcohol? Motivated by these questions, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Michael Moss began searching for answers, to find the true peril in our food. In Hooked, Moss explores the science of addiction and uncovers what the scientific...

Like most Americans, Steve Ettlinger eats processed foods. And, like most consumers, he often reads the ingredients label-without a clue as to what most of it means. So when his young daughter asked, "Daddy, what's polysorbate 60?" he was at a loss-and determined to find out. From the phosphate mines in Idaho to the corn fields in Iowa, from gypsum mines in Oklahoma to the vanilla harvest in Madagascar, Twinkie, Deconstructed is a fascinating, thoroughly...

By the close of the Industrial Revolution, the American food supply was tainted--by frauds, fakes, and legions of new, untested chemicals--all threatening the health of consumers across the country. Based on the critically acclaimed book by Deborah Blum, it tells the story of crusading government chemist Harvey Washington Wiley, the man who led the pure food movement against the food manufacturing industry in the early years of the twentieth century,...

Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley set out to ensure food safety. He selected food tasters to test various food additives and preservatives, letting them know that the substances could be harmful or deadly. The tasters were recognized for their courage, and became known as the poison squad. "By the end of the nineteenth century, food in America was increasingly dangerous--lethal, even. Milk and meat were routinely preserved with formaldehyde, a practice...