Marion teaches as Professor at the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University. She is the author of highly influential books, including “Food Politics: How The Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health,” “Safe Food: The Politics of Food Safety” and “How to Eat.”
Ten Years of “Food Politics”
I can hardly believe it’s been over ten years since the University of California Press first published my book “Food Politics.” My goal in writing this book was to point out that food choices are political as well as personal. Initial reactions to this idea ranged from “You have to be kidding” to “How dare anyone suggest that food choices could be anything other than matters of personal responsibility?” How times have changed.
Go to Article »
The Horsemeat Scandal – A Lesson in Food Politics
The unfolding drama around Europe’s horsemeat scandal is a case study in food politics and the politics of cultural identity. Why cultural identity? There are people who eat horsemeat. We don’t. Most Americans are appalled by the very idea and oppose raising horses for food or slaughtering horses for any reason. But that leaves us with some little known dilemmas.
Go to Article »
Food Companies Change Their Tune on GMO Labeling
A group of food companies, among them several that put millions of dollars into opposing California’s Proposition 37 last November, now favor labeling of genetically modified foods (GMOs). Some of these companies are now changing their tune because of costs and potential backlashes elsewhere. As the political landscape shifts, so do strategies to stay abreast of the growing “right to know” movement.
Go to Article »
Predictions for 2013 in Food Politics
Food issues are invariably controversial, and anyone could see that nothing would get done about them during an election year. Looking ahead in 2013, expect more to happen. Here are some predictions by guest writer Marion Nestle, PhD, professor for nutrition and food studies at New York University.
Go to Article »
The Election Is Over – What’s Next?
My post-hurricane Manhattan apartment still does not have telephone-, internet-, or television service, so I followed the election results on Twitter. I knew that President Obama had been reelected when the Empire State Building turned on blue lights. What’s ahead for food politics?
Go to Article »
Surprise! Kids Who Don’t Eat Junk Food in School Don’t Gain as Much Weight
I love the new study reported in the journal Pediatrics. It confirms just what I have long expected. If you don’t expose kids to junk foods and sodas, they won’t eat as much and they won’t put on as much fat. The study found that kids who go to schools where lots of junk foods are sold are heavier than those who go to schools in states with strict standards about the nutritional quality of snacks and drinks.
Go to Article »
Soda Taxes and Other Measures Designed to Fight Obesity
Municipalities try to tell us what to eat or drink through taxes or outright bans (e.g. eliminating super-size soft drinks, proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York). Far from being silly attempts to manipulate consumers’ behavior, these are serious attempts to address the health problems caused by obesity through “environmental change,” which is changing the context in which we make food choices.
Go to Article »
“Weight of the Nation” – The New “Hunger in America”?
I watched all four hours of HBO’s “Weight of the Nation.” This documentary makes crystal clear how scary the obesity crisis really is. Still, food companies can do what they want and the government lets them.
Go to Article »
What’s Up with Mad Cow Disease?
You have to feel sorry for the beef industry. First pink slime, now a mad cow. Mad cow is the common name for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a fatal disease caused by abnormal proteins (prions) in the brain and nervous system. Here’s what we know about the latest mad cow scare.
Go to Article »
Low-Income Families Want to Eat Healthy Too
I was invited to a press event to announce the results of a survey conducted by Share Our Strength’s “Cooking Matters” program. The program and the survey, “It’s Dinnertime – A Report on Low-Income Families’ Efforts to Plan, Shop for and Cook Healthy Meals,” were sponsored by the ConAgra Foods Foundation.
Go to Article »
Looking Ahead — Food Politics in 2012
What’s on the food politics agenda for 2012? Can we expect anything good to happen? By “good,” I mean actions that make our food system safer and healthier for consumers, farmers, farm workers and the planet. Ordinarily, I am optimistic about such things. This year? Not so much. The crystal ball is cloudy.
Go to Article »
“Let’s Move” Campaign Gives Up on Healthy Diets for Kids
In what “Obama Foodorama” calls “a fundamental shift in the Let’s Move campaign,” Michelle Obama announced in a speech last week that she will now focus on getting kids to be more active. Apparently, she has given up on encouraging food companies to make healthier products and stop marketing junk foods to kids. This shift is troubling.
Go to Article »
What to Do About Food Chemicals Eaten in Tiny Amounts?
I don’t understand why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not ban aspartame, food colors, BPA, pesticides and all those other nasty chemicals in food. I can’t believe they are good for us.
Go to Article »
Good News at Last? Chocolate Is Good for You – Maybe
In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, the British Medical Journal offers some cheery news. A review and analysis of studies on chocolate and health concludes that the flavonol antioxidants in chocolate reduce the risk for cardiometabolic disorders such as heart disease and stroke – by a whopping one-third. But that’s only part of the story.
Go to Article »
E. coli Outbreak in Germany: Should Americans Be Concerned?
There have been a lot of questions from readers about aspects of the devastating E. coli outbreak in Germany, and so I thought I might answer as many as possible in one article.
Go to Article »
Food Is Cheaper Because Costs Are “Externalized”
Food prices are going up for a number of reasons: Natural disasters, crop failures, commodity speculation, corn used for bio fuels, lack of research in agriculture, the declining value of the U.S. dollar and just plain greed. But we Americans still pay relatively less for food than anywhere else because so many of the costs of industrialized food production are “externalized.” We pay for them, but not at the grocery store.
Go at Article »
Sugary Drinks vs. Obesity: Power Politics in Action
It used to be that the “soda wars” referred to Coke vs. Pepsi. No more. Today’s soda wars are fought on the health front, as more and more evidence links sugary drinks to obesity and other health problems.
Go to Article »
The articles written by guest contributors are the sole responsibility of the individual writers in terms of factual accuracy and opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of this blog.
Connect with us on FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinked InYouTubeRSS