Real food fake food
"You've seen the headlines: Parmesan cheese made from wood pulp. Lobster rolls containing no lobster at all. Extra-virgin olive oil that isn't. So many fake foods are in our supermarkets, our restaurants, and our kitchen cabinets that it's hard to know what we're eating anymore. In Real Food/Fake Food, award-winning journalist Larry Olmsted convinces us why real food matters and empowers consumers to make smarter choices. Olmsted brings readers into the unregulated food industry, revealing the shocking deception that extends from high-end foods like olive oil, wine, and Kobe beef to everyday staples such as coffee, honey, juice, and cheese. It's a massive bait and switch in which counterfeiting is rampant and in which the consumer ultimately pays the price. But Olmstead does more than show us what foods to avoid. A bona fide gourmand, he travels to the sources of the real stuff to help us recognize what to look for, eat, and savor: genuine Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy, fresh-caught grouper from Florida, authentic port from Portugal. Real foods that are grown, raised, produced, and prepared with care by masters of their craft. Part cautionary tale, part culinary crusade, Real Food/Fake Food is addictively readable, mouth-wateringly enjoyable, and utterly relevant."
Stats for nerds
5recommend
10mentions
8people
2018–2023years
70% recommend30% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Nobody is prohibited from using the name "parmesan," which is a relatively recent term. That's why you can buy powdered "parmesan" from your grocery store that's up to 8% cellulose and made in the US.
People are prohibited from using the name "Parmigiano Reggiano," which for centuries was not a general term, but the name of the specific regional cheese.
What tends to happen is that a name that gets famous for some high-quality regional food is then used by someone else making a lower-quality food that's cheaper to produce, which does mislead consumers. This is exactly the sort of thing trademarks are for.
A great book on all this is Real Food, Fake Food.
- > contained peanuts and not sawdust.
It is incredible (in the strict sense: hard to believe) to discover that many foods are "fake", or contain things that are not supposed to be there.
I suggest a few readings:
0) the book "Real Food / Fake Food" [0]. This is just amazing. Highly recommend it.
1) the book "extra virginity" [1]
2) article about "truffle fraud" [2]
3) article about "fish fraud" [3]
The list could be almost infinite, of course.
[0]: https://www.amazon.com/Real-Food-Fake-Youre-Eating/dp/161620...
[1]: https://www.amazon.com/Extra-Virginity-Sublime-Scandalous-Wo...
[2]: https://www.eater.com/2019/5/28/18638762/truffle-fraud-fake-...
[3]: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/15/revealed...
- The fake fish situation is well documented in the book Real Food/Fake Food
http://www.realfoodfakefood.com/real-food-fake-food-book-by-...
- I'd guess most of you don't know that "parmesan" (in the US, and elsewhere) is nothing like the real "parmigiano reggiano". It's tens of times cheaper to produce, and I'd venture to say that it might as well be several times less healthy than the original.
Same thing for "grana padano".
If you don't know anything about wood pulp in the parmesan, or fake olive oil, I suggest you read "real food, fake food" [0]. It opened my eyes.
I guess the reason why the Italian consortium sent this (otherwise stupid) cease-and-desist to this poor Australian guy, is because they're desperately trying to defend the real stuff from the fakes.
I sympathize with the guy, but it's a global battle; and organizations that are supposed to defend the consumer are doing next to nothing (expecially in the US). This is not about protecting a "brand"; it's about the fact that when you buy grana padano in the US and it's made of sh*t, you as a consumer should be able to tell.
[0]: https://www.amazon.com/Real-Food-Fake-Youre-Eating/dp/161620...
- “Real Food, Fake Food” was absolutely critical in getting me into a mindset of caring about the quality of my food. That mindset shift has led to 100+lbs of weight loss.
- Real Food/Fake Food by Larry Olmsted taught me to care about the quality and source of the food I eat.
Just caring about that has helped me lose 94lbs, and changed my life forever. Thank you Larry.
Related
Real Food/Fake Food Why You Don't Know What You're Eating and What You Can Do About It
1 recommend · 2
On food and cooking
67 recommend · 121
In Defense of Food
40 recommend · 83
Real fast food
3 recommend · 4
Good Eats
9 recommend · 12
Eat to live
14 recommend · 29
Fast Food Nation
recommend · 35
