Real Food / Fake Food ─ Why You Don Know What Youe Eating & What You Can Do About It

When you buy a bottle of Champagne, do you assume it’s made in France? When you order Kobe beef, do you believe you’re paying that premium price for beef raised in Japan? When you pick up sushi at the market, do you think the tuna has been swapped for a less expensive fish? Or that the words extra virgin on your olive oil mean something? They don’t in the United States.

In Real Food, Fake Food, award-winning food writer Larry Olmsted takes us on a journey that is by turns delicious and frightening. First he travels to see where the real stuff comes from—Parmigiano-Reggiano in Italy, fresh-caught grouper in Florida, maple syrup in Vermont, Port in Portugal—foods grown and produced in their properterroir and highly regulated to ensure top quality from masters of their craft; and then he looks at their fake counterparts, which never taste as delicious and can sometimes be dangerous. Finally he turns his attention to the American food industry and the government that colludes in misleading the public about the origins of our groceries.

In the United States, foods are largely unregulated, lacking the kinds of copyright and trademark protections that shield movies and software from piracy. So whether you buy a $5 bottle of extra virgin olive oil in the supermarket or a $35 bottle in a gourmet store, there’s a good chance that neither contains real olive oil. And it’s entirely possible that a 100% pure beef hot dog is not made from beef at all. Books likeThe Omnivore’s Dilemma and Fast Food Nation have made us aware of whatnot to eat. Real Food, Fake Food shows consumers how to sort through all the confusion to find the foods weshould eat.