This book will have you buying better food for your own sake as well as that of the unique artisans who make the real food. Olmstead's writing will have you salivating for Parmigiano Reggiano (not to be confused with the fake version of it, "Parmesan") and other real foods. I found the writing to be engaging and mouth-watering when describing real foods and scary and disheartening when describing the fake versions that are being sold in place of the real food.

The book was very informative!

You'll learn how to pick olive oil (try the Australian bottles), cheeses (pick ones that are from the proper country of origin, like Manchego a product of Spain), wine (Burgandy only comes from France), beef (Kobe and Wagyu are likely fakes in the US), and seafood (you may not want to eat seafood ever again in the US.) There are recommendations within the book on how and where to buy the real food. There are also recipes. Do not read or listen to this book when you are hungry! It impacted which olive oil I bought ever since I first had access to it.

You'll also learn that the FDA isn't doing much to protect the American consumer, nor is the US government being a good ally in the global market, and this was as of 2016.

My only criticism is that the book does get redundant.

I was originally given an advance readers copy of this back in 2016 via Netgalley and the publisher. I made it about halfway through reading it before my access expired. I just finished listening to the audiobook version. I will say that the narrator did a FABULOUS job reading the book! He pronounced all the non-English words with ease, did quotes in different accents, and generally was a delight.

This book tells you why, exactly why, real food matters and why we should always pay attention of what's on our table.
A very interesting book, worth reading.

This book made me feel sick (about the garbage we are fed without even knowing) and mad about the fact that food is faked like this)!

This was a well-written, well-researched book based on the food industry and regarding food fraud. I appreciated learning more about the subject matter as well as the information provided to help the reader source high-quality foods.

It was interesting to read. It is always interesting when looking at the ingredient list on a product to see everything that is in it so it was great to read a book that further discusses this.

Perhaps I was not the target for this book. I agree with Olmsted about the horrors of the modern olive oil trade, seafood markets, and the awful things many foods are cut with but I also, kind of knew it already? (Spend enough time in Mediterranean countries and you learn /a.lot/. about olive oil and my family background includes literal fishermen...) But that aside, I deeply disagree with Olmsted's snobbishness surrounding the denomination debate. I am all for the preservation of the traditional origins and practices but I also struggle with the environmental impacts as well as the impacts on my wallet. Obviously while in Greece, I exclusively bought feta I watched being made even if it was a little more expensive but to demand that same product thousands of miles away is to ignore the carbon footprints (one of the major issues of the seafood markets) as well as accepting a decline of quality (that same feta cannot be kept as fresh after a week's travel) while also positing a world where only the elite are allowed to have delicious foreign products (as was the case in other centuries). I would've been happier if Olmsted acknowledged the contradictions in his dual arguments.

Did you ever wonder where Parmesan cheese came from? Or suspect that the stuff in the green can wasn't the real thing? Read this! For the true foodie!

After hearing a news story about Parmesan cheese being made from sawdust (ewwww.) I was interested to read Real Food/Fake Food. A lot of the info was common knowledge but the book did stay with me (especially when I order at a restaurant!)