Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions

In this latest work, investigative journalist Moss, author of the best seller Salt Sugar Fat, offers a critical look at the food industry, and how political interests have manipulated and manufactured our eating habits. Ranging from human evolution of nutritional preferences and digestion, to the science behind addiction, to marketing and law, Moss deftly covers the complex landscape behind the convenience of fast food and its hold over consumers. The author brings his expertise as an investigative reporter to list how mass food production impacts our lives in ways we might not even realize, from additives (such as new chemical compounds), conveniences (packaging that consumers can hold in one hand and place in a cup holder) and marketing (commercials, colors, and phrasing) intended to drive consumers to purchase more and more. Along the way, he highlights several of the legal, social, and public health concerns surrounding these unseemly industry practices and makes the case that the workings of the food industry are intertwined with our declining public health.