Down to Earth Blog

A Belated Look at a Great Guide to Food Shopping:  I read Marion Nestle's 'What to Eat: An Aisle-by-Aisle Guide to Savvy Food Choices and Good Eating' much earlier this year and did not find time to write about it until now. It was a great read, but I guess daunting to review because of its 524 pages (plus appendix and notes) and the fact that it covers all of the food you find in a typical grocery store. Where to begin?

First, Nestle is a nutrition professor at New York University and the author of two other books. 'What to Eat' was published in 2006 and is now available in paperback.

I enjoyed this book. Nestle writes it as if she is accompanying you on a trip through the grocery store, from the produce section at the front to the dairy, meat and frozen food sections along the sides and the high-profit aisles in the center.

Each chapter covers a different section, which makes it a great reference book because you can easily zip to the part you want.

She describes how the store is trying to get you to buy more food in each section -- that after all is the goal of a supermarket. For example, stores put dairy and meat in the back so that you have to walk past hundreds of other products on the way to get what you need.

Throughout this grocery tour, Nestle injects humor and a straightforward, tell-it-like-it-is attitude. She combines food science with her informed opinions by citing numerous government and private studies in each section. She is critical of both food companies and the government.

In terms of environmental issues, Nestle discusses organic food standards, genetically-modified foods, irradiated foods, organic meat vs."natural" meat, mercury in fish, sustainable fisheries and tea and coffee eco-labels.

She explains what the "certified organic" seal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) means and why she buys organic foods. That seal is given to foods that contain 95-100 percent organic ingredients, and most importantly to her, have been inspected by a USDA-accredited inspector, who verified that the food producer followed the USDA's Organic Standards -- which include not using sewage sludge or prohibited synthetic fertilizers or pesticides for at least three years. (See the standards at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop). She recommends organic foods because their production causes fewer pesticides and fertilizers to go into the soil and our waterways.

I also learned that:

- " ... even the best 'natural' meat is not the same as organic meat. Producers who want their meats certified as organic have to adhere to stringent criteria that producers of 'natural' meat do not." She explains that meat labeled "natural" can meet some criteria, but not others, while organic meat has met them all (fed only organic feed, animals not treated with antibiotics or horomones, animals have access to the outdoors, cattle have access to pasture, etc)

- All seafood is contaminated with methyl  mercury, she explains, "a toxic substance that is dangerous for developing fetuses -- especially during the early months of pregnancy." She goes on to say it is a good idea to avoid eating the most contaminated kinds of fish and includes a chart that shows FDA and EPA guidelines about how often pregnant women should eat certain types of fish (shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish fall into the "never eat" category).

- Dietary supplement makers do not have to prove the safety or efficacy of their products.

Nestle ends the book by saying that your food choices are important and can affect your future and that of your children. Vote with your wallet: If you want fewer pesticides in the ground and in our rivers and oceans, buy organic food. Speak out, too: If you don't want more mercury in your seafood, advocate for cleaner power plants

It's an enjoyable, illuminating read. I know a lot more about food and its marketing and I'm glad to have the book around as a reference for the next time I wonder about what to buy. (Watch video clips of Marion Nestle talking about food on AOL here, http://coaches.aol.com/diet/marion-nestle/organic-food). She also has a "What to Eat" Blog here, http://www.whattoeatbook.com/.

Post your comments about this book and food issues!

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