Real Food/Fake Food: Why You Don't Know What You're Eating and What You Can Do About It Paperback – October 3, 2017

After reading a few pages, I was disappointed by Mr. Olmsted's considerable attention to detail in reporting his gourmet food fests in different countries. But soon, I realized my gross error.In the last couple of years, I have learned how difficult it is to shop for healthy foods in the United States. Too much confusion--trickery--and unhealthy products on the market."Real Food/ Fake Food" is a wonderful text. It more than meets my objective of learning to shop for healthy foods. True, I had to exercise a bit of patience in weaving through Mr. Olmsted's very detailed explanations of the underpinnings of healthy and gourmet foods in the United States and in other countries. But soon, even those explanations began to interest me. (The chapters on evaluating and buying health meats, alone, makes this text an excellent buy.)An entire chapter on parmesan cheese? . . . Oh well. But I have a keen sense of taste, and I soon found that I was also learning quite a lot about certain foods that "do" interest me--simply because of their superior taste. For instance, I was very interested in the chapters on cheese and wine. My guess is that you will likely find one or more chapters on Mr. Olmsted's gourmet approach to and histories of specific foods that also interests you.Thank-you, thank-you, Mr. Olmstead. In recent months, I have bought half a dozen books on healthy foods. But, surprisingly, yours is the most informative.

Very informative, An eye opener

Our household is very careful about the food we buy, which is why I was quite interested in this book by Mr. Olmstead. I was fortunate to hear the interview of him on the Diane Rehm show as well. However, I found this book to be rather frustrating, though it does contain a wealth of interesting and, at times, compelling information. We tend to buy organic whenever possible, and constantly struggle with the budget challenges that presents. So I was hopeful this book would not only provide a sort of guide map for selecting high quality foods, but would also either reassure me that the organic brand is worth while, or dissuade me from spending the extra cash on organic labeled products.Regarding the organic brand, it is never directly addressed. There are many comments that cast significant doubt on the organic label, and others that suggest you look for the label. Certainly, it depends on the food under consideration. In some cases, such as seafood, there is no organic standard. However, in others Mr. Olmstead presents the picture of a defined standard that is not enforced. I'm left pretty much where I started - choose organic when possible, even if it isn't 100% accurate. Further, it always pays to have some idea of the 'provenance' of the product - country of origin, farm, etc... even if that can be faked.I was also a little surprised to see two entire chapters devoted to meat, an entire chapter on Champagne and Scotch, an entire chapter on wines. As a book on 'food', it is really a book about seafood, olive oils, kobe beef, wine and spirits, and cheese. Not much else. I think this book speaks more to the food preferences of Mr. Olmstead than a more comprehensive treatment of the thousands of food products you'll find in a typical grocery store. What he left out could fill volumes. His often long ramblings about regional culture, specific farms and villages, his travels and his food experiences tended to obscure what I was looking for based on the title of the book. A better title might have been: "Larry's World of Food" or something like that.Bottom line - excellent information, but for a limited set of foods and beverages.

This is a fantastic review of how as a country, we have let the food makers degrade and sometimes even poison our food. It should be read by every American who cares about what they buy, cook, and eat. I do however take issue with the accuracy of the seafood section. On page 52 he states that "..red snapper...is both rare and..." It is hardly a rare fish where millions of pounds are harvested from the Gulf of Mexico yearly. I have no doubt that it may be "rare" in restaurants due to fraudulent swapping, but less than 6%? I find that hard to believe. For if true, then were does the millions of pounds go to? China? Furthermore there is a way to buy fresh red snapper from your fishmonger-buy the fish whole! Or let them fillet it after you have picked it out. If you can't trust your fishmonger then buy a gulf of Mexico identification book for less than $10 or better yet go to another vendor. I almost never buy fillets unless I trust the dealer.There were numerous facts I was not aware of despite being an avid fisherman and cook. This book is an eye-opener and well written. It is strongly recommended.