Melody N. (Snick) reviewed on 7/11/2007 + 27 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

An interesting book, but not particularly well-researched. The author is a sociologist, not a scientist, and I'm afraid that it shows. He picks apart studies that he doesn't agree with (sometimes for very logical reasons), but doesn't present any contradictory studies or empiric data; his arguments mostly rely on conjecture and personal opinion. So-called "experts" that he agrees with go along unchallenged, and those that he disagrees with are vilified. I laughed out loud at one point, a flavor technologist is talking about how silly he finds Americans' views about natural flavors v. artificial ones, and how (this is a direct quote) "vanilla, which comes from an extract of the orchid bean, and vanillin, which tastes the same and is nearly identical chemically, but is made from wood pulp..." Huh?? Anyone who contends that real vanilla and artificial vanilla flavoring taste the same must have had their tongue seared off in an industrial accident.

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