Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions

From the author of Salt Sugar Fat, this investigative work examines how the processed food industry exploits evolutionary instincts, emotional associations with food, and legal loopholes to prioritize profit over public health. Moss investigates whether some eating decisions are beyond our control and explores the addictive properties of food. Using research on addiction, he reveals what scientific, medical, and food manufacturing communities know: that food can be more addictive than alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Food giants have developed fifty-six types of sugar for their products, capitalizing on our biological preference for sweets. Similarly, they leverage our evolved preference for fast, convenient meals through ready-to-eat foods. Moss documents how major companies including Nestlé, Mars, and Kellogg's have not only concealed the addictive nature of their products but actively exploited it. In response to dieting trends, manufacturers created "diet" foods barely different from their original counterparts. As obesity rates rise, companies now claim to add ingredients that can address compulsive eating. The book details legal battles, marketing campaigns, and food science practices that have contributed to the current public health crisis, showing how the food industry deepens consumer addictions.