Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us

by Michael Moss
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us cover
Good Books rating 4.5
Technical:
  • ID: 949
  • Added: 2025-09-23
  • Updated: 2025-09-23
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
goodreads.com · Unknown · 2025-09-25
eye-opening 4.50

The book reveals how food companies manipulate ingredients to create addictive products, highlighting the unethical practices of the food industry. It's a shocking expose that makes you question what you eat.

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us is a revealing look into the tactics used by major food corporations to make their products irresistible. The author delves into the science behind addiction and how companies exploit this to keep consumers hooked. It's a bit dense at times, but the information is eye-opening and makes you rethink your food choices. The book doesn't just criticize; it also offers insights into how to make better decisions about what we eat.

Quick quotes

    The food industry has figured out how to seduce us by learning to speak to our inner lizard brain

    The public and the food manufacturers have a fundamentally different view of what food is for

    The food industry has turned us into a nation of junk food junkies.

blog.iwfs.org · Unknown · 2016-08-12
intriguing 4.50

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss explores the role of salt, sugar, and fat in the food industry and their impact on public health. The book reveals how food companies use these ingredients to create addictive products, often targeting children and busy parents, while navigating government regulations and consumer perceptions.

Michael Moss's Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us delves into the history and science behind the food industry's use of salt, sugar, and fat to create highly addictive products. The book highlights how these ingredients are meticulously engineered to appeal to our tastes, often at the expense of our health. Moss provides a behind-the-scenes look at the food industry, revealing how companies like Kraft and General Foods have become powerhouses by capitalizing on our cravings for these elements. The book also explores the role of government regulation and the challenges faced by consumers trying to make healthier choices in a market dominated by processed foods. Overall, Moss's work is a compelling and eye-opening examination of the food industry and its impact on public health.

Quick quotes

    This is not some big corporate plot to fatten up kids. This is what kids want. There are very few kids out there who will eat rice cakes and tofu.

    Pleasure from food is not a diffuse concept … it can be measured just as the physical, chemical and nutritional factors can be measured.

    When you have kids, the question becomes, What can I buy that won’t cost much, that the kids will eat, and that won’t take long to prepare?

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · Unknown · 2013-06-18
compelling 4.50

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss is a compelling expose on the processed food industry, revealing how salt, sugar, and fat are used to manipulate consumer cravings and contribute to obesity and health issues. The book is praised for its thorough investigation and eye-opening insights.

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss is a must-read for anyone concerned about the state of the American diet. The book delves into the tactics used by the processed food industry to make their products irresistibly addictive, highlighting the role of salt, sugar, and fat in driving overconsumption. Moss's investigative journalism uncovers how these ingredients are engineered to override our dietary self-control, leading to widespread obesity and related health problems. The book also touches on the personal and societal impact of these practices, making a strong case for greater awareness and regulation. It's a wake-up call that underscores the importance of understanding what we eat and how it affects our health.

Quick quotes

    They should read the #1 New York Times best seller Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss, a Pulitzer Prize — winning investigative journalist for The New York Times.

    Salt, sugar, and fat are “the three pillars of processed food”.

    A weighty, grave indictment of processed foods, those foods that have great amounts of salt, sugar, and fat added, arises from the fact that many leading executives in the processed food industry with vigilance and diligence avoid eating the products of their own companies.

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