Don't Eat This Book

I wrote this review for my college paper. Morgan Spurlock's "Don't Eat This Book" may make many of its' readers change their minds next time they want to grab a quick meal at a fast food restaurant. Spurlock, who many people know from his Oscar-nominated documentary "Super Size Me," chose a different medium this time for his findings about the food industry. The book offers much detailed information that could not be included to the documentary. Written in an easy-to-read manner, the book is injected with humor. That Spurlock is not an author by profession is noticeable in his writing, which could use some improvement. His casual tone makes for an easy read but by trying to shock his readers with wild remarks here and there, the facts he states sound less believable. Spurlock's writing style is somewhat like Michael Moore. He makes quirk remarks and his picks on only a few mega corporations. His book could be seen more as a rant than an objective researched journal. On the other hand, the tone of the book, the introduction and book cover make it all pretty clear what the reader can expect. He writes what the impact is of advertising on adults but mainly young children. This book is less about the poor quality of the food and focuses more on the marketing behind it. He interviewed Jared, of Subway diet fame. He discovers that it was not so much Subway's food that caused Jared's weight loss, but his increased exercise routine and his diet overhaul, from pigging-out to eating a few lean sandwiches only. I was surprised that Spurlock criticized Subway for, in his opinion misleading advertising, and not Jared, who gets well paid for promoting them. Spurlock researched what makes certain foods addictive, what ingredients make you come back for more. Expert in this field, Dr. Barnard, is interviewed who explains the reaction of our bodies to certain foods. I like that Spurlock included input from experts, which makes him trustworthy. The book focuses for a large part on the effect of advertising of food on children. He researched the trend of food companies marketing to children, so that the children will ask their parents to buy a particular food. May it be selling a burger by associating it with a clown, who by the way is never seen eating it himself, or hiding a toy on the bottom of a sugary cereal. And all the marketing works, as I found out myself. Simply because of a Batman picture my six year old was convinced he had to have that certain can of soup. He had no clue what kind of soup it was, but hey, it was Batman, so it must be cool. Spurlock warns about the poor quality of school lunches and the influence large food companies have on schools. Fast food chains offer funds to schools in exchange for branding and advertising opportunities. In several cases, fast food chains have even set up shop inside school cafeterias. Even local libraries offer "Food for Reading" programs, like the San Diego County Libraries offer currently. Schools and

Morgan Spurlock's book was an absolute wake up call for an individual that hadn't given serious thought to the dangers of fast food... ME I had heard of Mr. Spurlock's documentary "Super Size Me" when it came out over a year ago and remembered seeing the trailers on television showing an individual (the author of this book) that ate McDonald's food (and ONLY McDonald's food) for a month. I remembered seeing him turn from a lean young adult into a man with a bulge in his tummy, and I remembered how towards the end of the trailer he didn't look like a very lively person any longer. When I saw the trailer I immediately wanted to see this film but then it was out of the theaters and didn't get the opportunity to finally watch this entertaining story until recently (and after I finished reading "Don't Eat This Book"). For anyone that has seen "Super Size Me", I think "Don't Eat This Book" is even better. As is usual, the book form is able to go into even greater detail than what you see in the documentary, and Mr. Spurlock adds information such as: Lab test results of McDonald's food and how the #s compare to the ones the big M advertises (hint: they are worse than what the company states) A list of all the food companies that cigarette companies own but don't want you to know about (the # of companies and brands is shocking) My personal favorite being how long McDonald's food will last if left out in the open to rot like regular organic matter should (hint: we're not talking hours or days or even weeks here people, try YEARS) I would estimate that over my lifetime I have probably drank over 20,000 soft drinks (I wish I was kidding) and that comes out to probably somewhere around over 3 MILLION CALORIES (from sodas alone)!!! The entire time I knew that I was drinking sugar and water but it wasn't until I read this book that I learned about the hideous difference between the regular Domino sugar packets that people put in their coffee and the evil that is High Fructose Corn Syrup. As I continued reading this book, I learned about the Frankenstein nature of HFCS and how it's not just sugar, but more like sugar on super steroids. I became sickened as I truly understood the parallels that these food/soft drink companies have with cigarette manufacturers, and I was/am very angry. After thousands upon thousands of Mountain Dews, it was like a light bulb turned on in my head and I felt used. My first trip to the supermarket saw me look at label after label as I began to find the label for "High Fructose Corn Syrup" in things I would have never expected, even things like Wheat Thins. Why in the world does HFCS belong in a cracker?!?!?!? Needless to say, this book was a true eye opener for me, and I have begun to read some other books regarding the corporate fast food industry and how it has ruined countless Americans lives. I am trying to watch what I eat right now (I hope this behavior lasts long term), and I now better understand that the b

From the person behind the documentary Supersize Me, this book looks at the fast food industry in America. He explores the ways in which fast food is marketed to children, the supersizing of the fast food menu and the accompanying rise in conditions like obesity, heart disease and diabetes, even among children. The average school cafeteria has replaced its food with sugary and sweet items like pizza and soda, that is, if the cafeteria hasn't actually been turned into a food court. Cash-strapped schools are obligated to let soda and candy vending machines in school, for a cut of the money, while physical education is being eliminated. Diabetes is supposed to be an "adult" disease; in the last few years, it has started to show up in children under 10 years old. Most nutritionists recommend limiting fast food to no more than once a month. How many people, or families, can honestly say that they can do that? In 2005, obesity related diseases will come close to smoking as the biggest killer of Americans; the estimate is that 400,000 people will die from such diseases. As an experiment, put a plate of McDonald's fries under glass, for several months. What will happen to the fries? The answer is: basically nothing. They might start to smell, but there will be little or no decomposition to the fries. One can only wonder what is in the fries or the vegetable oil to cause this to happen. Part of this book is also a chronicle of his 30 days on the "McDonald's Diet" for the film. He got three different doctors to independently keep an eye on his health, which basically fell apart. He suffered bad headaches and chest pains, he couldn't focus mentally and his cholesterol and blood pressure rose dramatically. Oh, and he also gained more than 24 pounds. A measure of liver function is the presence of an enzyme in the blood called serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT). During his month of McDonald's food, his number rose from 20 to 290; under 40 is normal. Another enzyme to measure liver function is alanine transaminase (ALT); his number skyrocketed from 17 to 471, before settling at 240. Again, under 40 is normal. Is it any wonder that a child born in 2000 has a 1 in 3 chance of developing diabetes from poor dietary habits? This is a gem of a book. Filled with lots of information for all Americans, it is very easy to read, and is helped with bits of humor that Spurlock spreads all over the book. This is very highly recommended.

Morgan Spurlock is back with a well-needed follow up to his thirty day fast food diet that hit the DVD market as `Supersize Me'. In his DVD, Morgan took us on a journey with him as he proved that fast food is not, in any way, shape or form, nutritious. Regardless of how fast food may flaunt nutritive additives, a meal it does not make. I am extremely pleased to have read, and be able to recommend, this book. There are many sources out there for those of us who have already been aware of the horribly detrimental effects fast food is having on our health, but Morgan has captured the attention of the people, and now brings the facts into print with a well written, easy to read, and factual book. Morgan challenges us to do only the logical steps to understand what he is speaking about, like taking that burger out of the bun and actually looking at it. It's gray and flaccid, industrialized meat product. He exposes the lies of the industry, like the years long delay McDonald's made on its promise to change out the unhealthy oil they use. He investigates the impact of McDonalds in other countries and collects varied opinions of them. He provides disgusting information on the meat industry. He points out the ties between government lobbyist's and the all powerful food companies, including Sodexho, who provides your children's lunches. Most importantly, he points out the obvious connection between fast food and diseases that are sweeping our nation, like type 2 diabetes. It's true that the people themselves are the ones ultimately responsible for what they shove into their pieholes, but the fast food industry is notoriously lax on providing truthful information to the masses. McDonald's nutritional charts are up to thirty percent inaccurate (in their favor) according to the lab results Spurlock obtained from an independent lab. It's true that most issues are skimmed in this book, it is a fairly thin novel, but the pertinent facts are there and are backed up by other media and written materials. Spurlock makes several references to Fat Land, by Greg Critser, I book I have also read, which goes into far more detail than Don't Eat This Book, but never got the media attention that Spurlock has latched onto. This is definitely a great, easy-to-read, and informative book that deserves a great deal of attention. Also recommended: Fat Land by Greg Critser Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser Slaughterhouse by Gail A. Eisnitz These three books will round out and confirm what Spurlock has brought up in this follow up book to his thirty days of hell in fast food heaven. Enjoy!

Being a fan of the film "Super Size Me", when walking through a book store, I stumbled across this (having not known it was on its way) and picked up a copy. Had some time to read it. While I suspect it will stand alone reasonably well, this is in reality a companion piece to the movie "Super Size Me"-- it makes a number of references to the movie, and pretty much assumes you've seen it. Essentially, Spurlock discusses his impetus to go on the project-- 30 days of nothing but McDonald's food and decreasing his physical activity to match that of an "average" American. The results are astounding-- I won't ruin the movie (or the book) by discussing it in depth, but suffice to say that the increased consumption of saturated fats, calories, and lack of nutrients has an overt negative effect. Spurlock also discusses the difficulty he had afterwards with shedding the excess weight he gained. But perhaps more importantly-- Spurlock discusses nutrition and fitness, in our homes, in our school systems. He discusses what makes a successful lifestyle change (and note that he doesn't really talk about diets per se-- his comment is that any diet is invariably doomed to failure due to the temporary nature of it). He also evaluates any number of fad diets, including a good slam at the low carb craze and Atkins diet (which caused me to be confused as to why a previous reviewer seemed to indicate he was advocating a low carb lifestyle). He also discusses Jared and the Subway diet and really analyzes why Jared lost so much weight-- the conclusions are what most people trying to lose weight doesn't want to hear-- the only way to lose weight is to eat better and exercise more. But really its the school system bit thats most interesting, about how fast food/junk food companies are taking over our school systems by offering funding that the schools desparately need to get in the door and then turning out generation of brand-imprinted kids. And he points out how the junk food dealerspush personal responsibility onto the eight year olds ("the parents need to teach good choices" as though any parent will convince an eight year old that carrots are a better idea than Oreos....). Spurlock also doesn't leave anyone out to dry-- his book is full of suggestions for lifestyle changes, and contact information for model school systems and driving change in our own environments. Most importantly, Spurlock presents this in an easy to read manner injected with humor and wit, and the book is a fun read. And yeah, it is pretty goofy his diet, but I think it made its point pretty well. For anyone interested in nutrition, and certainly for anyone whose seem "Super Size Me", this is essential. Oh, and if you haven't seen "Super Size Me"-- go out and rent it! You won't regret it!