Diane Rehm- How Processed food took over the American Diet
 

On NPR in about 15 minutes. It should be interesting.

Processed foods account for roughly 70 percent of our nation's calories. Despite the growth of farmer's markets and availability of organic produce, food additives are nearly impossible to avoid. Diane and her guests talk about what goes into our food and how it affects our eating habits.

Guests
Melanie Warner -author of "Pandora's Lunchbox: How Processed Food Changed the American Meal."
Michael Moss -investigative reporter for The New York Times and author of "Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us."
J. Justin Wilson -senior research analyst at the Center for Consumer Freedom.

Thanks, I've ordered the Michael Moss book and hadn't heard of the Melanie Warner one. The Moss book is supposed to be released in audio book format in March 2013.

Is it safe to assume that they're going to post this online later? I definitely want to listen!

Thanks for the heads up! I'm listening to it now.

Just the other day I put Pandora's Lunchbox and the Salt, Sugar, Fat books on my Kindle wishlist. Today I received the Caltons' new book, Rich Food, Poor Food.

I am VERY passionate about these issues.

Sorry to threadjack here, but I'm curious about "Rich Food, Poor Food." I'm wondering whether people who are already eating basically paleo/primal, prepping food from scratch and shopping the perimeter of the market, would learn anything from this book. I read labels and won't buy anything with vegetable oils, sweeteners, and chemicals that I can't pronounce, and buy almost nothing in a box. Would someone like me get anything out of "Rich Food, Poor Food"? Or is it for people who want the best choices, given that they aren't going to be that hard-core about clean eating and want to buy some preprepared foods?

I'm listening to the interview now. Google "NPR Diane Rehm podcast" and you can pull up the website to listen to interviews today.

Unfortunately, one of the 3 guests is an apologist for big food, from an Institute that used to be an apologist for big tobacco. He is a distraction and an annoyance from what could otherwise have been an informative podcast.

That guy annoyed me, too! I was listening at work, and sputtering under my breath at some of the asinine comments that came out of his mouth.

I've had a little bit of time to skim Rich Food, Poor Food. I've been doing the primal/whole foods/clean eating plan for almost a year now, so there's a lot in there that I already know. I shop mostly farmer markets (at least during the spring/summer/fall), and now, during the winter months, we have a CSA home delivery of grass-fed meats from one of our local farmers. We also have our dairy/eggs home delivered from a locally owned company that acts as middle man for several farms in the tri-state area. I don't do a lot of grocery store shopping, but when I do I try to limit my shopping to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. But I still buy things like spices, condiments, coconut/almond milks and other lightly processed foods, so I think this book will be a great resource for that sort of thing. And one of my favorite features of the book (worth the price alone!) is that it tells you which foods contain GMO crap. I love the fact that they steer you towards (or away from) brand-name foods based on the quality of the ingredients. I would HIGHLY recommend the book to those starting out on a paleo/primal lifestyle.

Turns out one of our local creameries gets the thumbs up for their milk, yogurt and other dairy products. It was nice to see a familiar name that is not Big Brand.

Thanks, Flappa, that's very helpful. I buy mostly organic and local from a nearby food coop, but I too buy lightly processed foods like those you mentioned. I ordered the book.

Michael Moss was on Dr Oz this week talking about his book "Salt Sugar Fat". Have you seen it??? I watched it and was fascinated by his talk. I have the book info up on amazon, just waiting to buy it. Have you received the book yet?

No, I have ordered it but it hasn't arrived yet. You might also like David Kessler, "The End of Overeating," which seems to cover similar subject matter.

That one is on my nightstand. I wish I had time to read all I wanted to read :D

I just ordered all the books mentioned above. Thanks for the recommendations.

I would love to read them, too. Information is power, and the more we consumers have, the better. Thanks for the info.

I just finished reading Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss and the more I read about how proccessed-food manufacturers have mislead the public to pursue higher profits the sadder I get.

In chapter 14 the former chief scientist of Frito-Lay makes the comment "I feel so sorry for the public". :(