Food and Nutrition Controversies Today: A Reference Guide

by Myrna Chandler Goldstein MA, Mark A. Goldstein MD

Overview

Is any food safe? Will mad cow disease kill us all? How many calories are really in your restaurant Caesar salad? Modern consumers are besieged with conflicting messages about food and nutrition, making it difficult for the lay person to know what to believe. This no-nonsense resource explores the latest controversies in the field of food and nutrition, presenting readers with the varying opinions and underlying facts that fuel these debates. Fifteen chapters focus on hot topics like organic food, bottled water, and deadly bacterial outbreaks as well as lesser known issues such as food irradiation, vitamin supplementation, animal growth hormones, and more.

One of the few resources of its kind, this informative reference is perfect for high school and college students and the conscientious consumer. Since most books on food and diet approach the issues with a clear agenda, this work's unbiased tone and evenhanded treatment of information make it a particularly valuable tool. Features include a detailed index, 20 black and white illustrations, and a rich and deep bibliography of print and electronic materials useful for further research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313354021
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/30/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Myrna Chandler Goldstein has been a freelance writer and independent scholar for two decades. Her website is Doing Good, While Doing Business: Support Socially Responsible Companies (www.changethemold.com). She is the author of Boys into Men, Controversies in Food and Nutrition and Controversies in the Practice of Medicine with Greenwood Press.

Mark A. Goldstein, MD, is Chief, Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Chief of Adolescent Programs at Newton Wellesley Hospital.

Table of Contents

Dedication
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Antioxidants
Bottled Water
Fast Food
Fats
Fish
Food Labeling
Genetically Engineered Dairy Products
Genetically Modified Foods
Hidden Ingredients
Imported Food
Life-Enhancing/Life-Threatening Foods
Not Just Cows Milk
Organic Foods
Popular Diets
Raw Food
Vegetarian and Vegan Diets

Editorial Reviews

This is an unbiased, evenhanded introductory discussion of 16 food-related subjects—ranging from antioxidants, various diets, and fats to food labeling, genetically modified/engineered foods, and life-enhancing/life-threatening foods.” —Library Jourbanal

“This reference guide for general readers, students and scholars of food and nutrition studies concentrates on 16 controversies that range from the relationship between food inspection standards and food poisoning outbreaks to reaching a consensus about healthy diets. Myrna Goldstein, an author who specializes in health issues, has teamed with Mark Goldstein (Chief, Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital) to investigate all viewpoints for such nutrition-related topics as the value of antioxidants, the dangers of fast food, food labeling and the effectiveness of many popular diets. Each chapter includes a conclusion from the authors, topics for further discussion and extensive reference and resources.” —SciTech Book News

From the Publisher

This is an unbiased, evenhanded introductory discussion of 16 food-related subjects—ranging from antioxidants, various diets, and fats to food labeling, genetically modified/engineered foods, and life-enhancing/life-threatening foods. While accurate and current, this title would have been more useful had the authors expanded coverage of such issues as Vitamin D, calcium, and Mad Cow Disease rather than simply updating and reprinting some of the chapters from their 2002 book of the same name. Although there is no indication that this is a second edition of the earlier work, both books have striking similarities when it comes to coverage, format, and organization. The authors have previously collaborated on Controversies in the Practice of Medicine. BOTTOM LINE A few typographical errors aside (e.g., "whine" is used for wine), this is likely to be of interest to high school, public, and junior college libraries that do not already own the 2002 title. Purchase where needed.—Laurie Selwyn, formerly Grayson Cty. Law Lib., Sherman, TX

Library Journal