Overview

If a piece of individually wrapped cheese retains its shape, color, and texture for years, what does it say about the food we eat and feed our children? Former New York Times reporter and mother Melanie Warner decided to explore that question when she observed the phenomenon of the indestructible cheese. She began an investigative journey that took her to research labs, food science departments, and factories around the country. What she discovered provides a rare, eye-opening--and sometimes disturbing--account of what we're really eating. Warner looks at how decades of food science have resulted in the cheapest, most abundant, most addictive, and most nutritionally devastating food in the world, and she uncovers startling evidence about the profound health implications of the packaged and fast foods that we eat on a daily basis. From breakfast cereal to chicken subs to nutrition bars, processed foods account for roughly seventy percent of our nation's calories. Despite the growing presence of farmers' markets and organic produce, strange food additives are nearly impossible to avoid. Combining meticulous research, vivid writing, and cultural analysis, Warner blows the lid off the largely undocumented--and lightly regulated--world of chemically treated and processed foods and lays bare the potential price we may pay for consuming even so-called healthy foods.

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"Warner's thought-provoking study does an excellent job presenting the facts without sensationalizing, and offering common sense solutions to those seeking to make better food choices.-- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""Pandora's Lunchbox is a brilliant and fascinating exploration of how our food gets processed, its powerful effects on our health, and what we can do about it. Highly recommended!"" -- ""Dean Ornish MD, author of Eat More, Weigh Less"" ""In Pandora's Lunchbox, Melanie Warner has produced an engaging account of how today's 'food processing industrial complex' replaced real foods with the inventions of food science. Her history of how this happened and who benefits from these inventions should be enough to inspire everyone to get back into the kitchen and start cooking."" -- ""Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University"" ""In the tradition of Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore's Dilemma is a fascinating and cutting-edge look at the scary truth about what really goes into our food."" -- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""So much fun that you might forget how depressing it all is... There are more Holy Cow! moments here than even someone who thinks he or she knows what's going on in food production could predict."" -- ""New York Times"""

Author Information

Melanie Warner is a freelance writer for various publications, including the New York Times, Fast Company, Men's Journal, and CBSNews.com. A former senior writer at Fortune magazine, she has also covered the food industry as a staff writer for the New York Times. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband and two young boys. Ann Marie Lee is a seven-time winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award for narration. She is a Los Angeles-based actress with television credits that include ER, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Nip/Tuck. Her stage performances for Broadway National Tours and regional theater include Peter Pan, As You Like It, Heartbreak House, and The Cherry Orchard.

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