{"product_id":"swindled-bee-wilson-9780691138206","title":"Swindled: The Dark History of Food Fraud, from Poisoned Candy to Counterfeit Coffee","description":"\u003cp\u003eBad food has a history. \u003ci\u003eSwindled\u003c\/i\u003e tells it. Through a fascinating mixture of cultural and scientific history, food politics, and culinary detective work, Bee Wilson uncovers the many ways swindlers have cheapened, falsified, and even poisoned our food throughout history. In the hands of people and corporations who have prized profits above the health of consumers, food and drink have been tampered with in often horrifying ways--padded, diluted, contaminated, substituted, mislabeled, misnamed, or otherwise faked. \u003ci\u003eSwindled\u003c\/i\u003e gives a panoramic view of this history, from the leaded wine of the ancient Romans to today's food frauds--such as fake organics and the scandal of Chinese babies being fed bogus milk powder. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Wilson pays special attention to nineteenth- and twentieth-century America and England and their roles in developing both industrial-scale food adulteration and the scientific ability to combat it. As \u003ci\u003eSwindled\u003c\/i\u003e reveals, modern science has both helped and hindered food fraudsters--increasing the sophistication of scams but also the means to detect them. The big breakthrough came in Victorian England when a scientist first put food under the microscope and found that much of what was sold as \"genuine coffee\" was anything but--and that you couldn't buy pure mustard in all of London. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Arguing that industrialization, laissez-faire politics, and globalization have all hurt the quality of food, but also that food swindlers have always been helped by consumer ignorance, \u003ci\u003eSwindled\u003c\/i\u003e ultimately calls for both governments and individuals to be more vigilant. In fact, Wilson suggests, one of our best protections is simply to reeducate ourselves about the joys of food and cooking.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Bee Wilson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691138206\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691138206\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/28\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 6.30w x 1.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChronicle of Higher Education\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/05\/2008 pg. 17\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew Yorker (The)\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/24\/2008 pg. 121\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2009","brand":"Bee Wilson","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43981099892991,"sku":"9780691138206","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_1b1feb01-afd8-48d3-9f14-fe5763e75358.jpg?v=1683253654","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/swindled-bee-wilson-9780691138206","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}