Consumed: Why Americans Love, Hate, and Fear Food

By Michelle Stacey

Book Overview

Something has happened to food in America. It is no longer simply food-- filling, good-tasting, life-sustaining. Rather, it is "fat free" or "high in fiber" or "loaded with calories"-- it is an enemy that will steal life away, or a savior that will prolong it. In this provocative and entertaining look at the uniquely American obsession with food, Michelle Stacey chronicles the psychological and cultural forces that have transformed oat bran and broccoli into magical totems, and steak, butter, and eggs into killers. Stacey takes us on a revealing journey through the landscape of American food paranoia-- from supermarkets, to restaurant kitchens, to research labs-- and ultimately suggests a new answer to our fears, one that takes into account our ancient and abiding love for eating. Perceptive and original, "Consumed" will change the way you think about food.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671767542
• ISBN13: 9780671767549
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 237 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Good primer on anti-diet thought

An interesting book-length essay on the politics of food science and culture in the United States. Stacy looks at the weird ways Americans are altering their diets in order to measure up to some imagined nutritional ideal. She interviews several scientists, chefs and food writers who claim that the result is a pathological and cultural fear of food that brings about the very problems that these altered diets were meant to avoid. Along the way, the book pauses to talk with the inventor of Olestra, the fat substitute that failed abysmally in the marketplace, and with the head of the nation's leading vegetarian advocacy group. This is a good companion volume to the last few chapters of Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking, and a necessary waystation for anyone contemplating a radical change in diet.

Consumed: Why Americans Love, Hate and Fear Food

Excellent, wonderful book. Cuts through all the garbage and clearly shows us why we, as Americans, are so fat. Thought provoking,intelligently written, a must read for anyone who wonders why there are so many conflicting reports on weight loss. Completely freed me of my many food obsessions and enabled me to lose (forever) 40 pounds,while ONLY eating foods I enjoy. I can't thank the author enough.