Best Before: The Evolution and Future of Processed Food

Science writer Temple (coauthor of Sorting the Beef from the Bull) condenses huge amounts of information about the history and evolution of processed food into a comprehensible overview of the food industrial complex. In chapters on cheese, bread, produce, and proteins, she explains how the food in grocery stores gets marketed (advertisements “showed rows... of carefully placed crackers with various topping glued on with Cheese Whiz”), shows how various advances in technology have influenced food production (irradiation in the 1950s “was established as a scientifically sound and safe method of preserving food”), and gives readers a glimpse of the evolution and purposes of food additives such as preservatives and emulsifiers (carrageenan, for instance, is derived from red seaweed and added to low-calorie ice cream for texture). A chapter on food applications of nanotechnology makes it clear that food processing companies are operating at the cutting edge of science, employing innovations such as nanoparticles that increase photosynthesis in plants. Temple asks throughout whether humans have moved too far from simple ingredients and traditional processes—especially considering the environmental impact of human food systems—but doesn’t come to a firm conclusion. This thoughtful, well-researched history makes a great companion to Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma. (Apr.)