The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

INSIDE SKEPTIC

in this issue

Are You Eating Fake Food?

• the invention and nature of fraud
• the global problem of food fraud
• ancient food fraud
• medieval food fraud and laws
• trade guilds enforce standards
• life during the industrial revolution
• exposing the corrupt food system
• science fights back
• the long fight for change
• the limits of food regulation
• food laws can make some things worse

from the Introduction

Hello!

Everybody eats food. Along with air, water, and shelter, food is a basic human need. Food is the most important thing we buy, and we can’t choose not to. We can’t survive without food! Almost no one in our culture is able to grow or forage for all of their own food. Even people who live on farms still buy ingredients for cooking and baking. Foods such as flour, sugar, and cheese need to be processed. Other foods come from far away places, such as tropical fruit, seafood, salt, spices, coffee, or tea. That means we have to rely on products sold in stores. But what happens when people sell food that isn’t what it’s supposed to be? Let’s find out!