This book tells you why, exactly why, real food matters and why we should always pay attention of what's on our table.
A very interesting book, worth reading.

This book made me feel sick (about the garbage we are fed without even knowing) and mad about the fact that food is faked like this)!

This was a well-written, well-researched book based on the food industry and regarding food fraud. I appreciated learning more about the subject matter as well as the information provided to help the reader source high-quality foods.

It was interesting to read. It is always interesting when looking at the ingredient list on a product to see everything that is in it so it was great to read a book that further discusses this.

Perhaps I was not the target for this book. I agree with Olmsted about the horrors of the modern olive oil trade, seafood markets, and the awful things many foods are cut with but I also, kind of knew it already? (Spend enough time in Mediterranean countries and you learn /a.lot/. about olive oil and my family background includes literal fishermen...) But that aside, I deeply disagree with Olmsted's snobbishness surrounding the denomination debate. I am all for the preservation of the traditional origins and practices but I also struggle with the environmental impacts as well as the impacts on my wallet. Obviously while in Greece, I exclusively bought feta I watched being made even if it was a little more expensive but to demand that same product thousands of miles away is to ignore the carbon footprints (one of the major issues of the seafood markets) as well as accepting a decline of quality (that same feta cannot be kept as fresh after a week's travel) while also positing a world where only the elite are allowed to have delicious foreign products (as was the case in other centuries). I would've been happier if Olmsted acknowledged the contradictions in his dual arguments.

Did you ever wonder where Parmesan cheese came from? Or suspect that the stuff in the green can wasn't the real thing? Read this! For the true foodie!

After hearing a news story about Parmesan cheese being made from sawdust (ewwww.) I was interested to read Real Food/Fake Food. A lot of the info was common knowledge but the book did stay with me (especially when I order at a restaurant!)