Real Food/Fake Food Why You Don't Know What You're Eating and What You Can Do About It

Factual and fun, learned a ton about food industry. The end section covering the FDA was astonishing. I'm raising my son to appreciate Real Food, hoping it stays with him life long. I know I'm in. Great book.

Great read for anyone that really wants to know what they're getting when they go out to a restaurant or the market. Mr Olmsted gets into how certain foods are really made and faked. Must read for all true foodies.

The information in this book is a real eye opener. However, it made me angry in many ways. The lack of oversight in the food industry is no suprise. That said, I had no idea that it was legal in the US for restaurants to completely misrepresent/ lie about food products on their menu, or the fact that many ingredients don't have to be listed on a label, etc. If you care about what you eat, read this book.

I was a little disappointed in the book. Olive oil gets a big part of it and the cheaper bottles are totally unacceptable to the author. Maybe they are mostly other oils but there was no help in finding less expensive brands that don't break the bank of an average family. It also dealt a great deal in finding high end beef that was advertised as a better grade than it actually was. Not much help unless you regularly go out to eat in high end restaurants.

This book should be read by everyone. It does bog down in the weeds a bit when it comes to Italian cheeses, but if you are a foody, it is great reading anyway. The book will make you change the way you look at food, how you buy food and what you eat. I would recommend it to others--in fact, I already have. :)

This book is okay and gets me thinking about where my food comes from, and to research claims about certain foods. However, the author pretty much limits the discussion to cheese, wine, fish, and olive oil. The book is okay for those people who cook and have a serious interest in food preparation. I would be satisfied with the pamphlet version, if there was one.

If this doesn't shock you into eating right, nothing will. Went into the grocery store the same day I read the first couple of chapters...Only say "fake" Parmesan! Thanks, Larry, for educating us on the very important topic.

This book is comprehensive yet not overwhelming. It is a realistic look at the problems, without cynicism. He gives the readers choices and options and affirms their power to easily find Real Food in their own community. Fake food hurts everyone, except the owners of the fake food company. It is time we listen to voices like these, and act with our dollars for our own health.

We've all heard about the potential problems with the authenticity of our food. Whether fish or olive oil or cheese, I want to know that I am buying is what is represented. I was taken in by the premise of this book, especially by "what you can do about it." Alas, Olmsted has overly long descriptions of how good really good food tastes, and how much fake food is out there, but does very little to let us know how to find the good stuff (and avoid the fake). I've seen the reports of fake stuff, but how do I find the real stuff? This book does not answer, and that's a disappointment. I feel I have wasted my money (and my time) on this book.

After reading this book I will now start baking too. I had no idea about all the dangerous stuff factories put in our food. I will get the paper edition and leave it on my kitchen counter for a reminder.

A more appropriate name for the book would be "Authentic Food/Inauthentic Food: How Too Much of What You Eat Isn’t Really What It Pretends To Be," but such a title probably would not have been a best seller. It is not until the very last chapter that Olmstead uses the term ‘real food’ to describe processed foods that are filled with unwanted chemicals and more than five ingredients. The main message of the book is that we associate certain names of foods, particularly those that take the name of a regional moniker with premium quality like Burgundy wine, Kobe beef, and Manchego cheese. Replacing one of these items with an inferior substitute is fraudulent. Although he tries to make a case that such substitutions are a threat to health, I suspect that the biggest impact of food fraud in America is economic—paying too much for a product or meal that is not what it claims to be. One of the reasons certain products should only come from certain locations is the concept of 'terroir,' but I wonder how significant that will continue to be in an era of rapid global climate change and urban sprawl. To buy into his argument we have to give up such common names as parmesan cheese, which should only be produced in Parma, Italy. He doesn’t seem to be concerned, however, about soy or almond milks or Vienna sausages. Although I have reservations about Real Food/Fake Food, I admire Larry Olmstead’s passion for food authenticity that comes through in this well-written book. Anyone who has ever wondered whether that very special dish served last night for an exorbitant price was the real thing needs to read this book.

Though having this new knowledge is now somewhat of a dilemma know that you're "in the know." Perhaps ignorance is bliss? And, btw, I don't recommend that you tell the waitress that truffle oil isn't Real Food - it can result in getting Fake Service.

Full disclosure: have only read the first chapter, but I regret buying the book. I think the information is good and useful, but the now familiar journalistic style of interweaving lovingly detailed personal restaurant and other food consuming stories is in my view just not interesting at all. I want to savor real food, not read about other people savoring it. I'll look for the shorter versions of his work in magazines and blogs.