Salt Sugar Fat

How the Food Giants Hooked Us

“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) exposé, 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, Nestlé, 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

Includes a bonus PDF with endnotes from the book

Should be required reading.

I've been a label reader for years since I have food sensitivities, but I didn't realize the lengths to which food manufacturers, like the tobacco industry, have gone to addict us to foods that are best for their bottom line. A must read, good for a group who can discuss and disseminate the information.

Incredible

I thought I had heard it all when it comes to food and nutrition. I was wrong. This book is incredible. Mind blowing & as addictive as chips! As each chapter ends you'll find yourself ravenous to bite into the next. Shockingly amazing. Every minute the book isn't in your life is a disservice to yourself & your loved ones.

I have always wondered…

How sad to finally realize that the common people have been duped into believing that the processed food is good for you and that the government, while trying to act the part of watchdog is culpable. Excellently written and very well researched. The parting words that we as consumers are ultimately responsible is well worth noting. It helps to be informed.

Amazing book

If you are curious at all about what goes into your body you should ready this. We are drones and we can do so much more to make ourselves healthy.

Buy food at a supermarket? then a must read!

If you could sum up Salt Sugar Fat in three words, what would they be?

The new food groups: SSF

What was one of the most memorable moments of Salt Sugar Fat?

The forethought that food companies have given to snare the unsuspecting customer into becoming "obese".

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

n/a

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

What not to eat and where not to shop for my food.