Stuffed: An Insider's Look at Who's (Really) Making America Fat [Hardcover]

Hank Cardello (Author), Doug Garr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 2009

For more than thirty years, Hank Cardello was an executive and adviser to some of the largest food and beverage corporations in the world. For more than thirty years, he watched as corporate profits-and America′s waistlines-ballooned: fattening consumers meant fattening profits. Now, in this fascinating and timely book, Cardello offers a behind-the-scenes look at the business of food,

providing an insider′s account of food company practices, failed government regulations, and misleading media coverage that have combined to place us in the middle of a national obesity epidemic.

With insights culled from Cardello′s time in the food industry, Stuffed explores how food companies have spent the last fifty years largely ignoring healthier fare in the name of their bottom lines while pushing consumers toward "convenience" food and supersize portions without considering the health consequences. From grocery aisles to restaurant booths to boardrooms, Cardello reveals the hidden forces that have long shaped your supermarket purchases and menu selections. He examines the black-and-white mind-set that has produced the carefully targeted marketing strategies that have maximized profits for the food industry and led to weight gain for you.

But Cardello makes clear that the food companies should not take all the blame. They are merely a cog in a larger system that′s broken, and here Cardello illustrates how the government and the media have only made it harder for Americans to make nutritious choices. Highlighting both bit players and high-profile voices of change, Cardello explains the fundamental risks to one-size-fits-all regulatory solutions and the bigger dangers posed by letting the food pundits confuse the health conversation.

More than simply a chronicle of how we got here, Stuffed also puts forth a groundbreaking blueprint for the future of the food industry. In debunking the common myth that "healthier" has to mean higher costs and unpalatable tastes, Cardello provides novel but concrete steps that food companies can take to fatten their profits and slim down their customers. In addition, he stresses the realistic role that consumers must play in America′s new health equation, explaining that unless they demand healthier food with their wallets, America will continue to tip the scales for years to come.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Cardello, a former food and beverage executive, was initially diagnosed with leukemia (lab tests later disproved it), he began looking closely at the relationship between public health and corporate health. The obesity epidemic in particular, he argues, is connected to food businesses that control almost everything the average American eats. Drawing substantially on his professional knowledge, he examines such factors as marketing and product packaging, the recent controversies involving branded school snacks and beverages, the use of trans fat in restaurants, and the various food lobbies. Cardello believes that bottom-line thinking makes it difficult for Americans to eat well. While agreeing that the basic agenda of corporations and consumers alike is more—more profit, more product—he argues that the industries long-range interests are directly entwined with public health and that with their substantial economic power and overpackaged goods, supermarket and restaurant industries could redirect consumption and wellness in novel ways. Although the tone ranges from finger-wagging polemic to reformist optimism, the author does sketch out several solutions to get around obstacles like entrenched corporate and consumer thinking, and he himself cohosted a 2007 summit between industry leaders and obesity researchers. (Feb.)
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Review

“Thought-provoking...informative and filled with clever ideas, [Stuffed] will certainly get people talking and thinking.” (Forbes.com )

“Former food-industry executive and current anti-obesity advocate Cardello calls on his erstwhile colleagues to become custodians of their customers’ well-being. . . . The point zings home: The food industry knows how to sell; now it has to sell the right thing.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“Food companies would be more profitable and keep their customers longer if they adopted the ideas in Stuffed.” (Tom Ryan, former Chief Concept Officer of McDonald’s Corporation )

“Anyone who is interested in their health and thinks they’re educated about nutrition needs to read this book.” (Bookbrowse.com )

“An interesting look into the psychological world of the ‘Big Food’ business. . . . Stuffed is a great book because it is honest, and Cardello does not mince words when it comes to the reality of our nation’s misguided obsession with food.” (Eats.com )

“Straightforward and sobering. We all know the food industry is big business, but Cardello shows in clear terms just how big it is—with suppliers all over the world—and why this makes it so slow to improve.” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Ecco (January 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061363863
• ISBN-13: 978-0061363863
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,089,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Henry J. (Hank) Cardello is chief executive officer of 27North, a consulting firm which addresses societal issues that businesses play the largest role in solving. For over two decades, Hank was an executive at some of the world's largest food and beverage companies, including positions as President of Sunkist Soft Drinks, Inc., Vice President of Marketing for Canada Dry, Director of Marketing for Coca-Cola USA, and Brand Manager for Anheuser-Busch and General Mills. Most recently, Mr. Cardello has served as Chief Executive Officer for several nutritional food ingredient companies. In 2000, Mr. Cardello was identified as a "Top 10 Innovator" in the Nutritional Foods industry. He has advised or partnered with several major food, beverage and nutrition corporations such as Coca-Cola, Campbell Soup, Hormel Foods, Nestle, Pillsbury, Quaker Oats, and Tropicana.

Hank concurrently serves as Chairman of the annual Global Obesity Business Forum, an initiative sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Forum brings together senior food industry executives and world renowned nutrition scientists to advance solutions regarding the obesity crisis. Among the major global food and beverage companies participating include the Campbell Soup Company, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper-Snapple, Group Danone, General Mills, Kellogg's, Kraft Foods, Nestle, McDonald's and Unilever.

Mr. Cardello is the author of Stuffed: An Insider's Look at Who's (Really) Making America Fat out in January, 2009 from HarperCollins. The book provides novel viewpoints regarding how to solve the obesity crisis by highlighting how various constituencies contribute to the problem and by demonstrating how the food industry can profitably do the right thing for their customer's health.

Hank has been a featured speaker at several new business and industry forums and has served as an Executive Fellow for the American Marketing Association. He currently sits on the Board of Hormel Health Technology LLC and acts as Chairman for Source Food Technology, Inc. He has been a director for both the National Executive Committee of the Wharton Alumni Association and the Wharton Club of Atlanta. More recently, he has sat on the Boards of Legacy Securities Corporation, an investment banking firm, and the College of Business at James Madison University.

Mr. Cardello's undergraduate degree was awarded Magna Cum Laude in materials science and metallurgy from Lehigh University, and he holds an MBA in marketing from the Wharton Graduate School, University of Pennsylvania.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Where's the beef?, January 1, 2010

By 

Kara M. Jones (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stuffed: An Insider's Look at Who's (Really) Making America Fat (Hardcover)

The kernel of Cardello's book is that American obesity is caused by: "Too much high-caloric food that's marketed too effectively to too many who can't resist" (pg 144). The author is a former food industry executive, and his portrayal of obesity culprits is based primarily on his previous employment.

The biggest fault of "Stuffed" is that it is premised on a belief that an entire national health history hinges on fleeting cultural events like television ads or newspaper articles. Cardello makes a huge story-telling mistake in writing as if certain singular events (i.e., Wendy's beef commercials) were cardinal landmarks in creating high levels of American obesity. The actual effect of any of these events is never analyzed--i.e., Did more people get heart disease 20 years after Clara Peller starred in a Wendy's ad? Did more people even eat at Wendy's after this ad? We are just supposed to believe that we are fat, so anything that endorses unhealthy eating must have forced us to be this way. Oh, that human history were really so linear, self-explanatory, and uni-causal. Such a narrative also reveals how little research the author actually conducted. It leaves the reader unable to make an informed or justfied judgement about institutional or personal causes of obesity.

Each chapter loosely focuses on a different food market player, such as boxed goods companies, restaurants, consumers, and government officials. However, the relationships between different players are not explored. This is a major drawback, as the government's role in selectively providing food subsidies for unhealthy products is underrepresented. Cardello points the heaviest finger at food companies themselves, and most of his writing seems aimed at convincing General Mills and Kraft to make healthier products. I agree with other critical readers who note that the book's relevant content could be distilled into a 3-page magazine article.

"Ask the typical American what the four major food groups are and he's likely to answer, 'Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and Southern Fried'" (Cardello, pg 90). If this is what you'd answer, then perhaps "Stuffed" is for you. If not, I would recommend something that offers a more researched and systemic look at the health and safety of our national food production. "Food, Inc" is a movie that does so, Eric Schlosser's well-known "Fast Food Nation" takes on convenience food, and Naomi Klein's "No Logo" addresses the power and techniques of consumer marketing in general.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Different than the rest, September 16, 2009

By 

Burgundy Damsel (Albany, New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Stuffed: An Insider's Look at Who's (Really) Making America Fat (Hardcover)

I've read a lot of books about diet, obesity, fast food, etc. I have also worked in food service for a decade. Although the prose of this book is not as fluid or catchy as many of the similar books out there, it is quite readable and the information is unique. Along with the standard collection of statistics, there are anecdotes, case studies and interviews far outside the realm of normal recitation that bring a lot of depth and breadth to the discussion of this topic that one doesn't usually see. Definitely a keeper!

21 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Is this guy serious?, May 21, 2009

By 

A. B. Morris (Westchester, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stuffed: An Insider's Look at Who's (Really) Making America Fat (Hardcover)

Oh where to begin. The first half of this book is actually fairly interesting--through about chapter 9. The earlier chapters are the most interesting (or I may have given up in disgust!). Chapters 11-13 are horrible. Actually, they are frightening.

Essentially (without complete and total spoilers as to his arguments, which I find weak anyway), Cardello feels Americans are fat because marketers must be greedy (as per what their job is) and regular people are stupid. Regular people can't be expected to stand up to marketing geniuses and say "No! Don't Supersize my meal!" or to think "I am full now, so I will stop even though I have half a bag left." Regular people can't be expected to NOT order a Monster Thickburger with giant fries and drink because they are so yummy! Regular people are lemmings.

Because Americans are stupid and companies must make money, his solution is what he calls "Stealth Health"--corporations should be sneaking omega 3s into hot dogs and better oils into french fries and vitamins into soda. And Americans shouldn't be told about it. Just like cookbooks that advocate sneaking veggies into your kids in muffins and marinara. I don't believe in tricking my kids--and they LIKE veggies (some more than others). I want them to be adults who can happily eat veggies too, and not never eat them without someone pureeing spinach into chocolate muffins.

Even better, he advocates artificial sweeteners. Yes, the man thinks chemicals are the answer. Because Americans should be able to eat and drink however much of whatever they want whenever they want! But fabulous new low-cal artificial sweeteners and formulated oils that don't absorb will keep people healthy!

What a weirdo.

Personally, I think Americans are fat because 1) Americans are greedy. We are drowning in credit card debt, having homes foreclosed on because we cashed out to buy a boat or fabulous vacations or gambled on ARMs (and now want the gov't to "fix" it--are we going to bail out losers in Vegas too?), and are fat. It's all about greed. We want more than is good for our waistlines, more home than we can afford, and anything we see. We are all greedy--not just the marketers. All of us. And, 2) just like Americans don't understand compounding interest, don't get what rolling the rest of an old car loan into a new one means, don't get how when you supersize a meal, you aren't "saving" 40 cents, you are SPENDING 50 cents you weren't going to spend. It's NOT a great deal if you didn't need it (and no one does, unless you are actually splitting it in half with someone else--or maybe even 2 others).

All of this should be taught in 8th or 9th grade. Compounding interest, how credit cards work, how ARMs work, how marketers get us to spend extra money and make us think we're saving, how serving size is manipulated on packaging. Basic math. The math everyone needs way more than calculus.

On top of the content, the writing is odd (and he had a writer!). Reading this book is like reading a keynote address.

The best part of the book? The image on the cover. It's awesome.