by Joanne ChenThe author goes through the history of humans' obsession with all things sweet. I thought this would be amusing and light, but Chen investigates the science behind "supertasters", to whom every taste is magnified, and the communication between stomach and brain.
The most interesting part to me was the cultural bias we have against poorer people "gorging" on gooey, cheap treats, versus richer people "indulging" in artfully designed edibles. The main example was two articles -- one trying to eliminate vending machines in a lower class school, while another celebrating a new "chocolate hot spot" for wealthy kids to party and enjoy. Her theory that fast, high calorie food is cheaper is relatively true, unless you are actually cooking for your family, and that people on food stamps don't buy fresh food. In my little world, people on food stamps don't cook anything that requires effort, even if they aren't working. The whole "they don't have time" reasoning is a little thin in the real world. An educator tried to expose lower class kids to more healthy eating, and even had the kids grow their own produce. Until having gardens is the norm again for everyone, poor kids are going to stay fat.
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