Kid Food

Book excerpt: It has never been so difficult to raise a healthy eater in America.Along with the picky eating and public tantrums that have forever tested the limits of parental patience, today's parents also fend off sophisticated assaults from outside their kitchens: unhealthy food-marketing campaigns aimed at kids; misleading product labels aimed at parents; and a school-foodprogram so starved for cash that it sells name-brand junk food to grade school students.In Kid Food, nationally recognized food writer Bettina Elias Siegel (New York Times, The Lunch Tray) explores the cultural delusions and industry deceptions that have made it all but impossible to raise a healthy eater in America. Combining first-person reporting with the hard-won understanding of afood advocate and parent, it presents a startling portrayal of the current food landscape for children - and the role of parents in navigating it.Siegel also lifts the curtain on shadowy food industry front-groups, including clever marketing techniques that intentionally confuse parents about a product's nutritional value. (Did you know that "made with real fruit" may mean a product is less healthy?) What emerges is the industry'sdivide-and-conquer strategy, one that stokes kids' desire for junk food while breaking down parents' ability to act as responsible gatekeepers.For anyone who frets over what their child is eating, Kid Food offers both essential reading and a deeper understanding of the factors at play in their child's food environment. Written in the same engaging and relatable voice that has made The Lunch Tray a trusted resource for parents for almost adecade, Kid Food offers a well of compassion - and expertise - for those fighting the good fight at home.