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http://nyti.m s/11T O oS R M a ga zin e T h e E x t r a o r d i n a r y S c i e n c e o f A d d i c t i v e J u n k F o o d B y M IC H A E L M O SS F E B . 20 , 20 13 O n th e even in g of A pril 8 , 1999, a lon g lin e of T ow n C ars an d taxis pu lled u p to th e M in n eapolis h eadqu arters of P illsbu ry an d disch arged 11 m en w h o con trolled A m erica’s largest food com pan ies. N estlé w as in atten dan ce, as w ere K raft an d N abisco, G en eral M ills an d P rocter & G am ble, C oca-C ola an d M ars. R ivals an y oth er day, th e C .E .O .’s an d com pan y presiden ts h ad com e togeth er for a rare, private m eetin g. O n th e agen da w as on e item : th e em ergin g obesity epidem ic an d h ow to deal w ith it. W h ile th e atm osph ere w as cordial, th e m en assem bled w ere h ardly frien ds. T h eir statu re w as defin ed by th eir skill in figh tin g on e an oth er for w h at th ey called “stom ach sh are” — th e am ou n t of digestive space th at an y on e com pan y’s bran d can grab from th e com petition . Jam es B eh n ke, a 55-year-old execu tive at P illsbu ry, greeted th e m en as th ey arrived. H e w as an xiou s bu t also h opefu l abou t th e plan th at h e an d a few oth er food-com pan y execu tives h ad devised to en gage th e C .E .O .’s on A m erica’s grow in g w eigh t problem . “W e w ere very con cern ed, an d righ tfu lly so, th at obesity w as becom in g a m ajor issu e,” B eh n ke recalled. “P eople w ere startin g to talk abou t su gar taxes, an d th ere w as a lot of pressu re on food com pan ies.” G ettin g th e com pan y ch iefs in th e sam e room to talk abou t an yth in g, m u ch less a sen sitive issu e like th is, w as a tricky bu sin ess, so B eh n ke an d h is fellow organ izers h ad scripted th e m eetin g carefu lly, h on in g th e m essage to its barest essen tials. “C .E .O .’s in th e food in du stry are typically n ot tech n ical gu ys, an d th ey’re u n com fortable goin g to m eetin gs w h ere tech n ical people talk in tech n ical term s abou t tech n ical th in gs,” B eh n ke said. “T h ey don ’t w an t to be em barrassed. T h ey don ’t w an t to m ake com m itm en ts. T h ey w an t to m ain tain th eir aloofn ess an d au ton om y.” A ch em ist by train in g w ith a doctoral degree in food scien ce, B eh n ke becam e P illsbu ry’s ch ief tech n ical officer in 1979 an d w as in stru m en tal in creatin g a lon g lin e of h it produ cts, in clu din g m icrow aveable popcorn . H e deeply adm ired P illsbu ry bu t in recen t years h ad grow n trou bled by pictu res of obese ch ildren su fferin g from diabetes an d th e earliest sign s of h yperten sion an d h eart disease. In th e m on th s leadin g u p to th e C .E .O . m eetin g, h e w as en gaged in con versation w ith a grou p of food- scien ce experts w h o w ere pain tin g an in creasin gly grim pictu re of th e pu blic’s ability to cope w ith th e in du stry’s form u lation s — from th e body’s fragile con trols on overeatin g to th e h idden pow er of som e processed foods to m ake people feel h u n grier still. It w as tim e, h e an d a h an dfu l of oth ers felt, to w arn th e C .E .O .’s th at th eir com pan ies m ay h ave gon e too far in creatin g an d m arketin g produ cts th at posed th e greatest h ealth con cern s. T h e discu ssion took place in P illsbu ry’s au ditoriu m . T h e first speaker w as a vice presiden t of K raft n am ed M ich ael M u dd. “I very m u ch appreciate th is opportu n ity to talk to you abou t ch ildh ood obesity an d th e grow in g ch allen ge it presen ts for u s all,” M u dd began . “L et m e say righ t at th e start, th is is n ot an easy su bject. T h ere are n o easy an sw ers — for w h at th e pu blic h ealth com m u n ity m u st do to brin g th is problem u n der con trol or for w h at th e in du stry sh ou ld do as oth ers seek to h old it accou n table for w h at h as h appen ed. B u t th is m u ch is clear: F or th ose of u s w h o’ve looked h ard at th is issu e, w h eth er th ey’re pu blic h ealth profession als or staff specialists in you r ow n com pan ies, w e feel su re th at th e on e th in g w e sh ou ldn ’t do is n oth in g.” A s h e spoke, M u dd clicked th rou gh a deck of slides — 114 in all — projected on a large screen beh in d h im . T h e figu res w ere staggerin g. M ore th an h alf of A m erican adu lts w ere n ow con sidered overw eigh t, w ith n early on e-qu arter of th e adu lt popu lation — 40 m illion people — clin ically defin ed as obese. A m on g ch ildren , th e rates h ad m ore th an dou bled sin ce 198 0 , an d th e n u m ber of kids con sidered obese h ad sh ot past 12 m illion . (T h is w as still on ly 1999; th e n ation ’s obesity rates w ou ld clim b m u ch h igh er.) F ood m an u factu rers w ere n ow bein g blam ed for th e problem from all sides — academ ia, th e C en ters for D isease C on trol an d P reven tion , th e A m erican H eart A ssociation an d th e A m erican C an cer Society. T h e secretary of agricu ltu re, over w h om th e in du stry h ad lon g h eld sw ay, h ad recen tly called obesity a “n ation al epidem ic.” M u dd th en did th e u n th in kable. H e drew a con n ection to th e last th in g in th e w orld th e C .E .O .’s w an ted lin ked to th eir produ cts: cigarettes. F irst cam e a qu ote from a Y ale U n iversity professor of psych ology an d pu blic h ealth , K elly B row n ell, w h o w as an especially vocal propon en t of th e view th at th e processed-food in du stry sh ou ld be seen as a pu blic h ealth m en ace: “A s a cu ltu re, w e’ve becom e u pset by th e tobacco com pan ies advertisin g to ch ildren , bu t w e sit idly by w h ile th e food com pan ies do th e very sam e th in g. A n d w e cou ld m ake a claim th at th e toll taken on th e pu blic h ealth by a poor diet rivals th at taken by tobacco.” “If an yon e in th e food in du stry ever dou bted th ere w as a slippery slope ou t th ere,” M u dd said, “I im agin e th ey are begin n in g to experien ce a distin ct slidin g sen sation righ t abou t n ow .” M u dd th en presen ted th e plan h e an d oth ers h ad devised to address th e obesity problem . M erely gettin g th e execu tives to ackn ow ledge som e cu lpability w as an im portan t first step, h e kn ew , so h is plan w ou ld start off w ith a sm all bu t cru cial m ove: th e in du stry sh ou ld u se th e expertise of scien tists — its ow n an d oth ers — to gain a deeper u n derstan din g of w h at w as drivin g A m erican s to overeat. O n ce th is w as ach ieved, th e effort cou ld u n fold on several fron ts. T o be su re, th ere w ou ld be n o gettin g arou n d th e role th at packaged foods an d drin ks play in overcon su m ption . T h ey w ou ld h ave to pu ll back on th eir u se of salt, su gar an d fat, perh aps by im posin g in du stryw ide lim its. B u t it w asn ’t ju st a m atter of th ese th ree in gredien ts; th e sch em es th ey u sed to advertise an d m arket th eir produ cts w ere critical, too. M u dd proposed creatin g a “code to gu ide th e n u trition al aspects of food m arketin g, especially to ch ildren .” “W e are sayin g th at th e in du stry sh ou ld m ake a sin cere effort to be part of th e solu tion ,” M u dd con clu ded. “A n d th at by doin g so, w e can h elp to defu se th e criticism th at’s bu ildin g again st u s.” W h at h appen ed n ext w as n ot w ritten dow n . B u t accordin g to th ree participan ts, w h en M u dd stopped talkin g, th e on e C .E .O . w h ose recen t exploits in th e grocery store h ad aw ed th e rest of th e in du stry stood u p to speak. H is n am e w as Steph en San ger, an d h e w as also th e person — as h ead of G en eral M ills — w h o h ad th e m ost to lose w h en it cam e to dealin g w ith obesity. U n der h is leadersh ip, G en eral M ills h ad overtaken n ot ju st th e cereal aisle bu t oth er section s of th e grocery store. T h e com pan y’s Y oplait bran d h ad tran sform ed tradition al u n sw eeten ed breakfast yogu rt in to a veritable dessert. It n ow h ad tw ice as m u ch su gar per servin g as G en eral M ills’ m arsh m allow cereal L u cky C h arm s. A n d yet, becau se of yogu rt’s w ell-ten ded im age as a w h olesom e sn ack, sales of Y oplait w ere soarin g, w ith an n u al reven u e toppin g $ 50 0 m illion . E m bolden ed by th e su ccess, th e com pan y’s developm en t w in g pu sh ed even h arder, in ven tin g a Y oplait variation th at cam e in a squ eezable tu be — perfect for kids. T h ey called it G o-G u rt an d rolled it ou t n ation ally in th e w eeks before th e C .E .O . m eetin g. (B y year’s en d, it w ou ld h it $ 10 0 m illion in sales.) A ccordin g to th e sou rces I spoke w ith , San ger began by rem in din g th e grou p th at con su m ers w ere “fickle.” (San ger declin ed to be in terview ed.) Som etim es th ey w orried abou t su gar, oth er tim es fat. G en eral M ills, h e said, acted respon sibly to both th e pu blic an d sh areh olders by offerin g produ cts to satisfy dieters an d oth er con cern ed sh oppers, from low su gar to added w h ole grain s. B u t m ost often , h e said, people bou gh t w h at th ey liked, an d th ey liked w h at tasted good. “D on ’t talk to m e abou t n u trition ,” h e reportedly said, takin g on th e voice of th e typical con su m er. “T alk to m e abou t taste, an d if th is stu ff tastes better, don ’t ru n arou n d tryin g to sell stu ff th at doesn ’t taste good.” T o react to th e critics, San ger said, w ou ld jeopardize th e san ctity of th e recipes th at h ad m ade h is produ cts so su ccessfu l. G en eral M ills w ou ld n ot pu ll back. H e w ou ld pu sh h is people on w ard, an d h e u rged h is peers to do th e sam e. San ger’s respon se effectively en ded th e m eetin g. “W h at can I say?” Jam es B eh n ke told m e years later. “It didn ’t w ork. T h ese gu ys w eren ’t as receptive as w e th ou gh t th ey w ou ld be.” B eh n ke ch ose h is w ords deliberately. H e w an ted to be fair. “San ger w as tryin g to say, ‘L ook, w e’re n ot goin g to screw arou n d w ith th e com pan y jew els h ere an d ch an ge th e form u lation s becau se a bu n ch of gu ys in w h ite coats are w orried abou t obesity.’ ” T h e m eetin g w as rem arkable, first, for th e in sider adm ission s of gu ilt. B u t I w as also stru ck by h ow prescien t th e organ izers of th e sit- dow n h ad been . T oday, on e in th ree adu lts is con sidered clin ically obese, alon g w ith on e in five kids, an d 24 m illion A m erican s are afflicted by type 2 diabetes, often cau sed by poor diet, w ith an oth er 79 m illion people h avin g pre-diabetes. E ven gou t, a pain fu l form of arth ritis on ce kn ow n as “th e rich m an ’s disease” for its association s w ith glu tton y, n ow afflicts eigh t m illion A m erican s. T h e pu blic an d th e food com pan ies h ave kn ow n for decades n ow — or at th e very least sin ce th is m eetin g — th at su gary, salty, fatty foods are n ot good for u s in th e qu an tities th at w e con su m e th em . So w h y are th e diabetes an d obesity an d h yperten sion n u m bers still spiralin g ou t of con trol? It’s n ot ju st a m atter of poor w illpow er on th e part of th e con su m er an d a give-th e-people-w h at-th ey-w an t attitu de on th e part of th e food m an u factu rers. W h at I fou n d, over fou r years of research an d reportin g, w as a con sciou s effort — takin g place in labs an d m arketin g m eetin gs an d grocery-store aisles — to get people h ooked on foods th at are con ven ien t an d in expen sive. I talked to m ore th an 30 0 people in or form erly em ployed by th e processed-food in du stry, from scien tists to m arketers to C .E .O .’s. Som e w ere w illin g w h istle-blow ers, w h ile oth ers spoke relu ctan tly w h en presen ted w ith som e of th e th ou san ds of pages of secret m em os th at I obtain ed from in side th e food in du stry’s operation s. W h at follow s is a series of sm all case stu dies of a h an dfu l of ch aracters w h ose w ork th en , an d perspective n ow , sh eds ligh t on h ow th e foods are created an d sold to people w h o, w h ile n ot pow erless, are extrem ely vu ln erable to th e in ten sity of th ese com pan ies’ in du strial form u lation s an d sellin g cam paign s. I. ‘In T h is F ield , I’m a G a m e C h a n ger.’ Joh n L en n on cou ldn ’t fin d it in E n glan d, so h e h ad cases of it sh ipped from N ew Y ork to fu el th e “Im agin e” session s. T h e B each B oys, Z Z T op an d C h er all stipu lated in th eir con tract riders th at it be pu t in th eir dressin g room s w h en th ey tou red. H illary C lin ton asked for it w h en sh e traveled as first lady, an d ever after h er h otel su ites w ere du tifu lly stocked. W h at th ey all w an ted w as D r P epper, w h ich u n til 20 0 1 occu pied a com fortable th ird-place spot in th e soda aisle beh in d C oca-C ola an d P epsi. B u t th en a flood of spin offs from th e tw o soda gian ts sh ow ed u p on th e sh elves — lem on s an d lim es, van illas an d coffees, raspberries an d oran ges, w h ites an d blu es an d clears — w h at in food-in du stry lin go are kn ow n as “lin e exten sion s,” an d D r P epper started to lose its m arket sh are.

R espon din g to th is pressu re, C adbu ry Sch w eppes created its first spin off, oth er th an a diet version , in th e soda’s 115-year h istory, a brigh t red soda w ith a very u n -D r P epper n am e: R ed F u sion . “If w e are to re- establish D r P epper back to its h istoric grow th rates, w e h ave to add m ore excitem en t,” th e com pan y’s presiden t, Jack K ildu ff, said. O n e particu larly prom isin g m arket, K ildu ff poin ted ou t, w as th e “rapidly grow in g H ispan ic an d A frican -A m erican com m u n ities.” B u t con su m ers h ated R ed F u sion . “D r P epper is m y all-tim e favorite drin k, so I w as cu riou s abou t th e R ed F u sion ,” a C aliforn ia m oth er of th ree w rote on a blog to w arn oth er P eppers aw ay. “It’s disgu stin g. G aggin g. N ever again .” Stu n g by th e rejection , C adbu ry Sch w eppes in 20 0 4 tu rn ed to a food-in du stry legen d n am ed H ow ard M oskow itz. M oskow itz, w h o stu died m ath em atics an d h olds a P h .D . in experim en tal psych ology from H arvard, ru n s a con su ltin g firm in W h ite P lain s, w h ere for m ore th an th ree decades h e h as “optim ized” a variety of produ cts for C am pbell Sou p, G en eral F oods, K raft an d P epsiC o. “I’ve optim ized sou ps,” M oskow itz told m e. “I’ve optim ized pizzas. I’ve optim ized salad dressin gs an d pickles. In th is field, I’m a gam e ch an ger.” In th e process of produ ct optim ization , food en gin eers alter a litan y of variables w ith th e sole in ten t of fin din g th e m ost perfect version (or version s) of a produ ct. O rdin ary con su m ers are paid to spen d h ou rs sittin g in room s w h ere th ey tou ch , feel, sip, sm ell, sw irl an d taste w h atever produ ct is in qu estion . T h eir opin ion s are du m ped in to a com pu ter, an d th e data are sifted an d sorted th rou gh a statistical m eth od called con join t an alysis, w h ich determ in es w h at featu res w ill be m ost attractive to con su m ers. M oskow itz likes to im agin e th at h is com pu ter is divided in to silos, in w h ich each of th e attribu tes is stacked. B u t it’s n ot sim ply a m atter of com parin g C olor 23 w ith C olor 24. In th e m ost com plicated projects, C olor 23 m u st be com bin ed w ith Syru p 11 an d P ackagin g 6, an d on an d on , in seem in gly in fin ite com bin ation s. E ven for jobs in w h ich th e on ly con cern is taste an d th e variables are lim ited to th e in gredien ts, en dless ch arts an d graph s w ill com e spew in g ou t of M oskow itz’s com pu ter. “T h e m ath em atical m odel m aps ou t th e in gredien ts to th e sen sory perception s th ese in gredien ts create,” h e told m e, “so I can ju st dial a n ew produ ct. T h is is th e en gin eerin g approach .” M oskow itz’s w ork on P rego spagh etti sau ce w as m em orialized in a 20 0 4 presen tation by th e au th or M alcolm G ladw ell at th e T E D con feren ce in M on terey, C alif.: “A fter . . . m on th s an d m on th s, h e h ad a m ou n tain of data abou t h ow th e A m erican people feel abou t spagh etti sau ce. . . . A n d su re en ou gh , if you sit dow n an d you an alyze all th is data on spagh etti sau ce, you realize th at all A m erican s fall in to on e of th ree grou ps. T h ere are people w h o like th eir spagh etti sau ce plain . T h ere are people w h o like th eir spagh etti sau ce spicy. A n d th ere are people w h o like it extra-ch u n ky. A n d of th ose th ree facts, th e th ird on e w as th e m ost sign ifican t, becau se at th e tim e, in th e early 198 0 s, if you w en t to a su perm arket, you w ou ld n ot fin d extra-ch u n ky spagh etti sau ce. A n d P rego tu rn ed to H ow ard, an d th ey said, ‘A re you tellin g m e th at on e- th ird of A m erican s crave extra-ch u n ky spagh etti sau ce, an d yet n o on e is servicin g th eir n eeds?’ A n d h e said, ‘Y es.’ A n d P rego th en w en t back an d com pletely reform u lated th eir spagh etti sau ce an d cam e ou t w ith a lin e of extra-ch u n ky th at im m ediately an d com pletely took over th e spagh etti-sau ce bu sin ess in th is cou n try. . . . T h at is H ow ard’s gift to th e A m erican people. . . . H e fu n dam en tally ch an ged th e w ay th e food in du stry th in ks abou t m akin g you h appy.” W ell, yes an d n o. O n e th in g G ladw ell didn ’t m en tion is th at th e food in du stry already kn ew som e th in gs abou t m akin g people h appy — an d it started w ith su gar. M an y of th e P rego sau ces — w h eth er ch eesy, ch u n ky or ligh t — h ave on e featu re in com m on : T h e largest in gredien t, after tom atoes, is su gar. A m ere h alf-cu p of P rego T radition al, for in stan ce, h as th e equ ivalen t of m ore th an tw o teaspoon s of su gar, as m u ch as tw o- plu s O reo cookies. It also delivers on e-th ird of th e sodiu m recom m en ded for a m ajority of A m erican adu lts for an en tire day. In m akin g th ese sau ces, C am pbell su pplied th e in gredien ts, in clu din g th e salt, su gar an d, for som e version s, fat, w h ile M oskow itz su pplied th e optim ization . “M ore is n ot n ecessarily better,” M oskow itz w rote in h is ow n accou n t of th e P rego project. “A s th e sen sory in ten sity (say, of sw eetn ess) in creases, con su m ers first say th at th ey like th e produ ct m ore, bu t even tu ally, w ith a m iddle level of sw eetn ess, con su m ers like th e produ ct th e m ost (th is is th eir optim u m , or ‘bliss,’ poin t).” I first m et M o sk o w itz on a crisp day in th e sprin g of 20 10 at th e H arvard C lu b in M idtow n M an h attan . A s w e talked, h e m ade clear th at w h ile h e h as w orked on n u m erou s projects aim ed at creatin g m ore h ealth fu l foods an d in sists th e in du stry cou ld be doin g far m ore to cu rb obesity, h e h ad n o qu alm s abou t h is ow n pion eerin g w ork on discoverin g w h at in du stry in siders n ow regu larly refer to as “th e bliss poin t” or an y of th e oth er system s th at h elped food com pan ies create th e greatest am ou n t of crave. “T h ere’s n o m oral issu e for m e,” h e said. “I did th e best scien ce I cou ld. I w as stru gglin g to su rvive an d didn ’t h ave th e lu xu ry of bein g a m oral creatu re. A s a research er, I w as ah ead of m y tim e.” M oskow itz’s path to m asterin g th e bliss poin t began in earn est n ot at H arvard bu t a few m on th s after gradu ation , 16 m iles from C am bridge, in th e tow n of N atick, w h ere th e U .S. A rm y h ired h im to w ork in its research labs. T h e m ilitary h as lon g been in a pecu liar bin d w h en it com es to food: h ow to get soldiers to eat m ore ration s w h en th ey are in th e field. T h ey kn ow th at over tim e, soldiers w ou ld gradu ally fin d th eir m eals-ready-to-eat so borin g th at th ey w ou ld toss th em aw ay, h alf- eaten , an d n ot get all th e calories th ey n eeded. B u t w h at w as cau sin g th is M .R .E .-fatigu e w as a m ystery. “So I started askin g soldiers h ow frequ en tly th ey w ou ld like to eat th is or th at, tryin g to figu re ou t w h ich produ cts th ey w ou ld fin d borin g,” M oskow itz said. T h e an sw ers h e got w ere in con sisten t. “T h ey liked flavorfu l foods like tu rkey tetrazzin i, bu t on ly at first; th ey qu ickly grew tired of th em . O n th e oth er h an d, m u n dan e foods like w h ite bread w ou ld n ever get th em too excited, bu t th ey cou ld eat lots an d lots of it w ith ou t feelin g th ey’d h ad en ou gh .” T h is con tradiction is kn ow n as “sen sory-specific satiety.” In lay term s, it is th e ten den cy for big, distin ct flavors to overw h elm th e brain , w h ich respon ds by depressin g you r desire to h ave m ore. Sen sory-specific satiety also becam e a gu idin g prin ciple for th e processed-food in du stry. T h e biggest h its — be th ey C oca-C ola or D oritos — ow e th eir su ccess to com plex form u las th at piqu e th e taste bu ds en ou gh to be allu rin g bu t don ’t h ave a distin ct, overridin g sin gle flavor th at tells th e brain to stop eatin g. T h irty-tw o years after h e began experim en tin g w ith th e bliss poin t, M oskow itz got th e call from C adbu ry Sch w eppes askin g h im to create a good lin e exten sion for D r P epper. I spen t an aftern oon in h is W h ite P lain s offices as h e an d h is vice presiden t for research , M ich ele R eisn er, w alked m e th rou gh th e D r P epper cam paign . C adbu ry w an ted its n ew flavor to h ave ch erry an d van illa on top of th e basic D r P epper taste. T h u s, th ere w ere th ree m ain com pon en ts to play w ith . A sw eet ch erry flavorin g, a sw eet van illa flavorin g an d a sw eet syru p kn ow n as “D r P epper flavorin g.” F in din g th e bliss poin t requ ired th e preparation of 61 su btly distin ct form u las — 31 for th e regu lar version an d 30 for diet. T h e form u las w ere th en su bjected to 3,90 4 tastin gs organ ized in L os A n geles, D allas, C h icago an d P h iladelph ia. T h e D r P epper tasters began w orkin g th rou gh th eir sam ples, restin g five m in u tes betw een each sip to restore th eir taste bu ds. A fter each sam ple, th ey gave n u m erically ran ked an sw ers to a set of qu estion s: H ow m u ch did th ey like it overall? H ow stron g is th e taste? H ow do th ey feel abou t th e taste? H ow w ou ld th ey describe th e qu ality of th is produ ct? H ow likely w ou ld th ey be to pu rch ase th is produ ct? M oskow itz’s data — com piled in a 135-page report for th e soda m aker — is trem en dou sly fin e-grain ed, sh ow in g h ow differen t people an d grou ps of people feel abou t a stron g van illa taste versu s w eak, variou s aspects of arom a an d th e pow erfu l sen sory force th at food scien tists call “m ou th feel.” T h is is th e w ay a produ ct in teracts w ith th e m ou th , as defin ed m ore specifically by a h ost of related sen sation s, from dryn ess to gu m m in ess to m oistu re release. T h ese are term s m ore fam iliar to som m eliers, bu t th e m ou th feel of soda an d m an y oth er food item s, especially th ose h igh in fat, is secon d on ly to th e bliss poin t in its ability to predict h ow m u ch cravin g a produ ct w ill in du ce. In addition to taste, th e con su m ers w ere also tested on th eir respon se to color, w h ich proved to be h igh ly sen sitive. “W h en w e in creased th e level of th e D r P epper flavorin g, it gets darker an d likin g goes off,” R eisn er said. T h ese preferen ces can also be cross-referen ced by age, sex an d race. O n P age 8 3 of th e report, a th in blu e lin e represen ts th e am ou n t of D r P epper flavorin g n eeded to gen erate m axim u m appeal. T h e lin e is sh aped like an u pside-dow n U , ju st like th e bliss-poin t cu rve th at M oskow itz stu died 30 years earlier in h is A rm y lab. A n d at th e top of th e arc, th ere is n ot a sin gle sw eet spot bu t in stead a sw eet ran ge, w ith in w h ich “bliss” w as ach ievable. T h is m ean t th at C adbu ry cou ld edge back on its key in gredien t, th e su gary D r P epper syru p, w ith ou t fallin g ou t of th e ran ge an d losin g th e bliss. In stead of u sin g 2 m illiliters of th e flavorin g, for in stan ce, th ey cou ld u se 1.69 m illiliters an d ach ieve th e sam e effect. T h e poten tial savin gs is m erely a few percen tage poin ts, an d it w on ’t m ean m u ch to in dividu al con su m ers w h o are cou n tin g calories or gram s of su gar. B u t for D r P epper, it adds u p to colossal savin gs. “T h at looks like n oth in g,” R eisn er said. “B u t it’s a lot of m on ey. A lot of m on ey. M illion s.” T h e soda th at em erged from all of M oskow itz’s variation s becam e kn ow n as C h erry V an illa D r P epper, an d it proved su ccessfu l beyon d an yth in g C adbu ry im agin ed. In 20 0 8 , C adbu ry split off its soft-drin ks bu sin ess, w h ich in clu ded Sn apple an d 7-U p. T h e D r P epper Sn apple G rou p h as sin ce been valu ed in excess of $ 11 billion . II. ‘L u n ch tim e Is A ll Y o u rs’ Som etim es in n ovation s w ith in th e food in du stry h appen in th e lab, w ith scien tists dialin g in specific in gredien ts to ach ieve th e greatest allu re. A n d som etim es, as in th e case of O scar M ayer’s bologn a crisis, th e in n ovation in volves pu ttin g old produ cts in n ew packages. T h e 198 0 s w ere tou gh tim es for O scar M ayer. R ed-m eat con su m ption fell m ore th an 10 percen t as fat becam e syn on ym ou s w ith ch olesterol, clogged arteries, h eart attacks an d strokes. A n xiety set in at th e com pan y’s h eadqu arters in M adison , W is., w h ere execu tives w orried abou t th eir fu tu re an d th e pressu re th ey faced from th eir n ew bosses at P h ilip M orris. B ob D ran e w as th e com pan y’s vice presiden t for n ew bu sin ess strategy an d developm en t w h en O scar M ayer tapped h im to try to fin d som e w ay to reposition bologn a an d oth er trou bled m eats th at w ere declin in g in popu larity an d sales. I m et D ran e at h is h om e in M adison an d w en t th rou gh th e records h e h ad kept on th e birth of w h at w ou ld becom e m u ch m ore th an h is solu tion to th e com pan y’s m eat problem . In 198 5, w h en D ran e began w orkin g on th e project, h is orders w ere to “figu re ou t h ow to con tem porize w h at w e’ve got.” D ran e’s first m ove w as to try to zero in n ot on w h at A m erican s felt abou t processed m eat bu t on w h at A m erican s felt abou t lu n ch . H e organ ized focu s-grou p session s w ith th e people m ost respon sible for bu yin g bologn a — m oth ers — an d as th ey talked, h e realized th e m ost pressin g issu e for th em w as tim e. W orkin g m om s strove to provide h ealth fu l food, of cou rse, bu t th ey spoke w ith real passion an d at len gth abou t th e m orn in g cru sh , th at n igh tm arish dash to get breakfast on th e table an d lu n ch packed an d kids ou t th e door. H e su m m ed u p th eir rem arks for m e like th is: “It’s aw fu l. I am scram blin g arou n d. M y kids are askin g m e for stu ff. I’m tryin g to get m yself ready to go to th e office. I go to pack th ese lu n ch es, an d I don ’t kn ow w h at I’ve got.” W h at th e m om s revealed to h im , D ran e said, w as “a gold m in e of disappoin tm en ts an d problem s.” H e assem bled a team of abou t 15 people w ith varied skills, from design to food scien ce to advertisin g, to create som eth in g com pletely n ew — a con ven ien t prepackaged lu n ch th at w ou ld h ave as its m ain bu ildin g block th e com pan y’s sliced bologn a an d h am . T h ey w an ted to add bread, n atu rally, becau se w h o ate bologn a w ith ou t it? B u t th is presen ted a problem : T h ere w as n o w ay bread cou ld stay fresh for th e tw o m on th s th eir produ ct n eeded to sit in w areh ou ses or in grocery coolers. C rackers, h ow ever, cou ld — so th ey added a h an dfu l of cracker rou n ds to th e package. U sin g ch eese w as th e n ext obviou s m ove, given its in creased presen ce in processed foods. B u t w h at kin d of ch eese w ou ld w ork? N atu ral C h eddar, w h ich th ey started off w ith , cru m bled an d didn ’t slice very w ell, so th ey m oved on to processed varieties, w h ich cou ld ben d an d be sliced an d w ou ld last forever, or th ey cou ld kn ock an oth er tw o cen ts off per u n it by u sin g an even lesser produ ct called “ch eese food,” w h ich h ad low er scores th an processed ch eese in taste tests. T h e cost dilem m a w as solved w h en O scar M ayer m erged w ith K raft in 198 9 an d th e com pan y didn ’t h ave to sh op for ch eese an ym ore; it got all th e processed ch eese it w an ted from its n ew sister com pan y, an d at cost. D ran e’s team m oved in to a n earby h otel, w h ere th ey set ou t to fin d th e righ t m ix of com pon en ts an d con tain er. T h ey gath ered arou n d tables w h ere bagfu ls of m eat, ch eese, crackers an d all sorts of w rappin g m aterial h ad been du m ped, an d th ey let th eir im agin ation s ru n . A fter sn ippin g an d tapin g th eir w ay th rou gh a h ost of failu res, th e m odel th ey fell back on w as th e A m erican T V din n er — an d after som e brain storm in g abou t n am es (L u n ch K its? G o-P acks? F u n M ealz?), L u n ch ables w ere born .

T h e trays flew off th e grocery-store sh elves. Sales h it a ph en om en al $ 218 m illion in th e first 12 m on th s, m ore th an an yon e w as prepared for. T h is on ly brou gh t D ran e h is n ext crisis. T h e produ ction costs w ere so h igh th at th ey w ere losin g m on ey w ith each tray th ey produ ced. So D ran e flew to N ew Y ork, w h ere h e m et w ith P h ilip M orris officials w h o prom ised to give h im th e m on ey h e n eeded to keep it goin g. “T h e h ard th in g is to figu re ou t som eth in g th at w ill sell,” h e w as told. “Y ou ’ll figu re ou t h ow to get th e cost righ t.” P rojected to lose $ 6 m illion in 1991, th e trays in stead broke even ; th e n ext year, th ey earn ed $ 8 m illion . W ith produ ction costs trim m ed an d profits com in g in , th e n ext qu estion w as h ow to expan d th e fran ch ise, w h ich th ey did by tu rn in g to on e of th e cardin al ru les in processed food: W h en in dou bt, add su gar. “L u n ch ables W ith D essert is a logical exten sion ,” an O scar M ayer official reported to P h ilip M orris execu tives in early 1991. T h e “target” rem ain ed th e sam e as it w as for regu lar L u n ch ables — “bu sy m oth ers” an d “w orkin g w om en ,” ages 25 to 49 — an d th e “en h an ced taste” w ou ld attract sh oppers w h o h ad grow n bored w ith th e cu rren t trays. A year later, th e dessert L u n ch able m orph ed in to th e F u n P ack, w h ich w ou ld com e w ith a Sn ickers bar, a package of M & M ’s or a R eese’s P ean u t B u tter C u p, as w ell as a su gary drin k. T h e L u n ch ables team started by u sin g K ool-A id an d cola an d th en C apri Su n after P h ilip M orris added th at drin k to its stable of bran ds. E ven tu ally, a lin e of th e trays, appropriately called M axed O u t, w as released th at h ad as m an y as n in e gram s of satu rated fat, or n early an en tire day’s recom m en ded m axim u m for kids, w ith u p to tw o-th irds of th e m ax for sodiu m an d 13 teaspoon s of su gar. W h en I asked G eoffrey B ible, form er C .E .O . of P h ilip M orris, abou t th is sh ift tow ard m ore salt, su gar an d fat in m eals for kids, h e sm iled an d n oted th at even in its earliest in carn ation , L u n ch ables w as h eld u p for criticism . “O n e article said som eth in g like, ‘If you take L u n ch ables apart, th e m ost h ealth y item in it is th e n apkin .’ ” W ell, th ey did h ave a good bit of fat, I offered. “Y ou bet,” h e said. “P lu s cookies.” T h e prevailin g attitu de am on g th e com pan y’s food m an agers — th rou gh th e 1990 s, at least, before obesity becam e a m ore pressin g con cern — w as on e of su pply an d dem an d. “P eople cou ld poin t to th ese th in gs an d say, ‘T h ey’ve got too m u ch su gar, th ey’ve got too m u ch salt,’ ” B ible said. “W ell, th at’s w h at th e con su m er w an ts, an d w e’re n ot pu ttin g a gu n to th eir h ead to eat it. T h at’s w h at th ey w an t. If w e give th em less, th ey’ll bu y less, an d th e com petitor w ill get ou r m arket. So you ’re sort of trapped.” (B ible w ou ld later press K raft to recon sider its relian ce on salt, su gar an d fat.) W h en it cam e to L u n ch ables, th ey did try to add m ore h ealth fu l in gredien ts. B ack at th e start, D ran e experim en ted w ith fresh carrots bu t qu ickly gave u p on th at, sin ce fresh com pon en ts didn ’t w ork w ith in th e con strain ts of th e processed-food system , w h ich typically requ ired w eeks or m on th s of tran sport an d storage before th e food arrived at th e grocery store. L ater, a low -fat version of th e trays w as developed, u sin g m eats an d ch eese an d crackers th at w ere form u lated w ith less fat, bu t it tasted in ferior, sold poorly an d w as qu ickly scrapped. W h en I m et w ith K raft officials in 20 11 to discu ss th eir produ cts an d policies on n u trition , th ey h ad dropped th e M axed O u t lin e an d w ere tryin g to im prove th e n u trition al profile of L u n ch ables th rou gh sm aller, in crem en tal ch an ges th at w ere less n oticeable to con su m ers. A cross th e L u n ch ables lin e, th ey said th ey h ad redu ced th e salt, su gar an d fat by abou t 10 percen t, an d n ew version s, featu rin g m an darin -oran ge an d pin eapple slices, w ere in developm en t. T h ese w ou ld be prom oted as m ore h ealth fu l version s, w ith “fresh fru it,” bu t th eir list of in gredien ts — con tain in g u pw ard of 70 item s, w ith su crose, corn syru p, h igh -fru ctose corn syru p an d fru it con cen trate all in th e sam e tray — h ave been m et w ith in ten se criticism from ou tside th e in du stry. O n e of th e com pan y’s respon ses to criticism is th at kids don ’t eat th e L u n ch ables every day — on top of w h ich , w h en it cam e to tryin g to feed th em m ore h ealth fu l foods, kids th em selves w ere u n reliable. W h en th eir paren ts packed fresh carrots, apples an d w ater, th ey cou ldn ’t be tru sted to eat th em . O n ce in sch ool, th ey often trash ed th e h ealth fu l stu ff in th eir brow n bags to get righ t to th e sw eets. T h is idea — th at kids are in con trol — w ou ld becom e a key con cept in th e evolvin g m arketin g cam paign s for th e trays. In w h at w ou ld prove to be th eir greatest ach ievem en t of all, th e L u n ch ables team w ou ld delve in to adolescen t psych ology to discover th at it w asn ’t th e food in th e trays th at excited th e kids; it w as th e feelin g of pow er it brou gh t to th eir lives. A s B ob E ckert, th en th e C .E .O . of K raft, pu t it in 1999: “L u n ch ables aren ’t abou t lu n ch . It’s abou t kids bein g able to pu t togeth er w h at th ey w an t to eat, an ytim e, an yw h ere.” K raft’s early L u n ch ables cam paign targeted m oth ers. T h ey m igh t be too distracted by w ork to m ake a lu n ch , bu t th ey loved th eir kids en ou gh to offer th em th is prepackaged gift. B u t as th e focu s sw u n g tow ard kids, Satu rday-m orn in g cartoon s started carryin g an ad th at offered a differen t m essage: “A ll day, you gotta do w h at th ey say,” th e ads said. “B u t lu n ch tim e is all you rs.” W ith th is m arketin g strategy in place an d pizza L u n ch ables — th e cru st in on e com partm en t, th e ch eese, pepperon i an d sau ce in oth ers — provin g to be a ru n aw ay su ccess, th e en tire w orld of fast food su dden ly open ed u p for K raft to pu rsu e. T h ey cam e ou t w ith a M exican -th em ed L u n ch ables called B eef T aco W raps; a M in i B u rgers L u n ch ables; a M in i H ot D og L u n ch able, w h ich also h appen ed to provide a w ay for O scar M ayer to sell its w ien ers. B y 1999, pan cakes — w h ich in clu ded syru p, icin g, L ifesavers can dy an d T an g, for a w h oppin g 76 gram s of su gar — an d w affles w ere, for a tim e, part of th e L u n ch ables fran ch ise as w ell. A n n u al sales kept clim bin g, past $ 50 0 m illion , past $ 8 0 0 m illion ; at last cou n t, in clu din g sales in B ritain , th ey w ere approach in g th e $ 1 billion m ark. L u n ch ables w as m ore th an a h it; it w as n ow its ow n category. E ven tu ally, m ore th an 60 varieties of L u n ch ables an d oth er bran ds of trays w ou ld sh ow u p in th e grocery stores. In 20 0 7, K raft even tried a L u n ch ables Jr. for 3- to 5-year-olds. In th e trove of records th at docu m en t th e rise of th e L u n ch ables an d th e sw eepin g ch an ge it brou gh t to lu n ch tim e h abits, I cam e across a ph otograph of B ob D ran e’s dau gh ter, w h ich h e h ad slipped in to th e L u n ch ables presen tation h e sh ow ed to food developers. T h e pictu re w as taken on M on ica D ran e’s w eddin g day in 198 9, an d sh e w as stan din g ou tside th e fam ily’s h om e in M adison , a beau tifu l bride in a w h ite w eddin g dress, h oldin g on e of th e bran d-n ew yellow trays. D u rin g th e cou rse of reportin g, I fin ally h ad a ch an ce to ask h er abou t it. W as sh e really th at m u ch of a fan ? “T h ere m u st h ave been som e in th e fridge,” sh e told m e. “I probably ju st took on e ou t before w e w en t to th e ch u rch . M y m om h ad joked th at it w as really like th eir fou rth ch ild, m y dad in vested so m u ch tim e an d en ergy on it.” M on ica D ran e h ad th ree of h er ow n ch ildren by th e tim e w e spoke, ages 10 , 14 an d 17. “I don ’t th in k m y kids h ave ever eaten a L u n ch able,” sh e told m e. “T h ey kn ow th ey exist an d th at G ran dpa B ob in ven ted th em . B u t w e eat very h ealth fu lly.” D ran e h im self pau sed on ly briefly w h en I asked h im if, lookin g back, h e w as prou d of creatin g th e trays. “L ots of th in gs are trade-offs,” h e said. “A n d I do believe it’s easy to ration alize an yth in g. In th e en d, I w ish th at th e n u trition al profile of th e th in g cou ld h ave been better, bu t I don ’t view th e en tire project as an yth in g bu t a positive con tribu tion to people’s lives.” T oday B ob D ran e is still talkin g to kids abou t w h at th ey like to eat, bu t h is approach h as ch an ged. H e volu n teers w ith a n on profit organ ization th at seeks to bu ild better com m u n ication s betw een sch ool kids an d th eir paren ts, an d righ t in th e m ix of th eir problem s, alon gside th e academ ic stru ggles, is ch ildh ood obesity. D ran e h as also prepared a précis on th e food in du stry th at h e u sed w ith m edical stu den ts at th e U n iversity of W iscon sin . A n d w h ile h e does n ot n am e h is L u n ch ables in th is docu m en t, an d cites n u m erou s cau ses for th e obesity epidem ic, h e h olds th e en tire in du stry accou n table. “W h at do U n iversity of W iscon sin M .B .A .’s learn abou t h ow to su cceed in m arketin g?” h is presen tation to th e m ed stu den ts asks. “D iscover w h at con su m ers w an t to bu y an d give it to th em w ith both barrels. Sell m ore, keep you r job! H ow do m arketers often tran slate th ese ‘ru les’ in to action on food? O u r lim bic brain s love su gar, fat, salt. . . . So form u late produ cts to deliver th ese. P erh aps add low -cost in gredien ts to boost profit m argin s. T h en ‘su persize’ to sell m ore. . . . A n d advertise/prom ote to lock in ‘h eavy u sers.’ P len ty of gu ilt to go arou n d h ere!” III. ‘It’s C a lled V a n ish in g C a lo ric D en sity.’ A t a sym posiu m for n u trition scien tists in L os A n geles on F eb. 15, 198 5, a professor of ph arm acology from H elsin ki n am ed H eikki K arppan en told th e rem arkable story of F in lan d’s effort to address its salt h abit. In th e late 1970 s, th e F in n s w ere con su m in g h u ge am ou n ts of sodiu m , eatin g on average m ore th an tw o teaspoon s of salt a day. A s a resu lt, th e cou n try h ad developed sign ifican t issu es w ith h igh blood pressu re, an d m en in th e eastern part of F in lan d h ad th e h igh est rate of fatal cardiovascu lar disease in th e w orld. R esearch sh ow ed th at th is plagu e w as n ot ju st a qu irk of gen etics or a resu lt of a seden tary lifestyle — it w as also ow in g to processed foods. So w h en F in n ish au th orities m oved to address th e problem , th ey w en t righ t after th e m an u factu rers. (T h e F in n ish respon se w orked. E very grocery item th at w as h eavy in salt w ou ld com e to be m arked prom in en tly w ith th e w arn in g “H igh Salt C on ten t.” B y 20 0 7, F in lan d’s per capita con su m ption of salt h ad dropped by a th ird, an d th is sh ift — alon g w ith im proved m edical care — w as accom pan ied by a 75 percen t to 8 0 percen t declin e in th e n u m ber of death s from strokes an d h eart disease.) K arppan en ’s presen tation w as m et w ith applau se, bu t on e m an in th e crow d seem ed particu larly in trigu ed by th e presen tation , an d as K arppan en left th e stage, th e m an in tercepted h im an d asked if th ey cou ld talk m ore over din n er. T h eir con versation later th at n igh t w as n ot at all w h at K arppan en w as expectin g. H is h ost did in deed h ave an in terest in salt, bu t from qu ite a differen t van tage poin t: th e m an ’s n am e w as R obert I-San L in , an d from 1974 to 198 2, h e w orked as th e ch ief scien tist for F rito-L ay, th e n early $ 3-billion -a-year m an u factu rer of L ay’s, D oritos, C h eetos an d F ritos. L in ’s tim e at F rito-L ay coin cided w ith th e first attacks by n u trition advocates on salty foods an d th e first calls for federal regu lators to reclassify salt as a “risky” food additive, w h ich cou ld h ave su bjected it to severe con trols. N o com pan y took th is th reat m ore seriou sly — or m ore person ally — th an F rito-L ay, L in explain ed to K arppan en over th eir din n er. T h ree years after h e left F rito-L ay, h e w as still an gu ish ed over h is in ability to effectively ch an ge th e com pan y’s recipes an d practices. B y ch an ce, I ran across a letter th at L in sen t to K arppan en th ree w eeks after th at din n er, bu ried in som e files to w h ich I h ad gain ed access. A ttach ed to th e letter w as a m em o w ritten w h en L in w as at F rito- L ay, w h ich detailed som e of th e com pan y’s efforts in defen din g salt. I tracked L in dow n in Irvin e, C alif., w h ere w e spen t several days goin g th rou gh th e in tern al com pan y m em os, strategy papers an d h an dw ritten n otes h e h ad kept. T h e docu m en ts w ere eviden ce of th e con cern th at L in h ad for con su m ers an d of th e com pan y’s in ten t on u sin g scien ce n ot to address th e h ealth con cern s bu t to th w art th em . W h ile at F rito-L ay, L in an d oth er com pan y scien tists spoke open ly abou t th e cou n try’s excessive con su m ption of sodiu m an d th e fact th at, as L in said to m e on m ore th an on e occasion , “people get addicted to salt.” N ot m u ch h ad ch an ged by 198 6, except F rito-L ay fou n d itself on a rare cold streak. T h e com pan y h ad in trodu ced a series of h igh -profile produ cts th at failed m iserably. T oppels, a cracker w ith ch eese toppin g; Stu ffers, a sh ell w ith a variety of fillin gs; R u m bles, a bite-size gran ola sn ack — th ey all cam e an d w en t in a blin k, an d th e com pan y took a $ 52 m illion h it. A rou n d th at tim e, th e m arketin g team w as join ed by D w igh t R iskey, an expert on cravin gs w h o h ad been a fellow at th e M on ell C h em ical Sen ses C en ter in P h iladelph ia, w h ere h e w as part of a team of scien tists th at fou n d th at people cou ld beat th eir salt h abits sim ply by refrain in g from salty foods lon g en ou gh for th eir taste bu ds to retu rn to a n orm al level of sen sitivity. H e h ad also don e w ork on th e bliss poin t, sh ow in g h ow a produ ct’s allu re is con textu al, sh aped partly by th e oth er foods a person is eatin g, an d th at it ch an ges as people age. T h is seem ed to h elp explain w h y F rito-L ay w as h avin g so m u ch trou ble sellin g n ew sn acks. T h e largest sin gle block of cu stom ers, th e baby boom ers, h ad begu n h ittin g m iddle age. A ccordin g to th e research , th is su ggested th at th eir likin g for salty sn acks — both in th e con cen tration of salt an d h ow m u ch th ey ate — w ou ld be taperin g off. A lon g w ith th e rest of th e sn ack- food in du stry, F rito-L ay an ticipated low er sales becau se of an agin g popu lation , an d m arketin g plan s w ere adju sted to focu s even m ore in ten tly on you n ger con su m ers. E xcept th at sn ack sales didn ’t declin e as everyon e h ad projected, F rito-L ay’s doom ed produ ct lau n ch es n otw ith stan din g. P orin g over data on e day in h is h om e office, tryin g to u n derstan d ju st w h o w as con su m in g all th e sn ack food, R iskey realized th at h e an d h is colleagu es h ad been m isreadin g th in gs all alon g. T h ey h ad been m easu rin g th e sn ackin g h abits of differen t age grou ps an d w ere seein g w h at th ey expected to see, th at older con su m ers ate less th an th ose in th eir 20 s. B u t w h at th ey w eren ’t m easu rin g, R iskey realized, is h ow th ose sn ackin g h abits of th e boom ers com pared to them selves w h en th ey w ere in th eir 20 s. W h en h e called u p a n ew set of sales data an d perform ed w h at’s called a coh ort stu dy, follow in g a sin gle grou p over tim e, a far m ore en cou ragin g pictu re — for F rito-L ay, an yw ay — em erged. T h e baby boom ers w ere n ot eatin g few er salty sn acks as th ey aged. “In fact, as th ose people aged, th eir con su m ption of all th ose segm en ts — th e cookies, th e crackers, th e can dy, th e ch ips — w as goin g u p,” R iskey said. “T h ey w ere n ot on ly eatin g w h at th ey ate w h en th ey w ere you n ger, th ey w ere eatin g m ore of it.” In fact, everyon e in th e cou n try, on average, w as eatin g m ore salty sn acks th an th ey u sed to. T h e rate of con su m ption w as edgin g u p abou t on e-th ird of a pou n d every year, w ith th e average in take of sn acks like ch ips an d ch eese crackers pu sh in g past 12 pou n ds a year. R iskey h ad a th eory abou t w h at cau sed th is su rge: E atin g real m eals h ad becom e a th in g of th e past. B aby boom ers, especially, seem ed to h ave greatly cu t dow n on regu lar m eals. T h ey w ere skippin g breakfast w h en th ey h ad early-m orn in g m eetin gs. T h ey skipped lu n ch w h en th ey th en n eeded to catch u p on w ork becau se of th ose m eetin gs. T h ey skipped din n er w h en th eir kids stayed ou t late or grew u p an d m oved ou t of th e h ou se. A n d w h en th ey skipped th ese m eals, th ey replaced th em w ith sn acks. “W e looked at th is beh avior, an d said, ‘O h , m y gosh , people w ere skippin g m eals righ t an d left,’ ” R iskey told m e. “It w as am azin g.” T h is led to th e n ext realization , th at baby boom ers did n ot represen t “a category th at is m atu re, w ith n o grow th . T h is is a category th at h as h u ge grow th poten tial.” T h e food tech n ician s stopped w orryin g abou t in ven tin g n ew produ cts an d in stead em braced th e in du stry’s m ost reliable m eth od for gettin g con su m ers to bu y m ore: th e lin e exten sion . T h e classic L ay’s potato ch ips w ere join ed by Salt & V in egar, Salt & P epper an d C h eddar & Sou r C ream . T h ey pu t ou t C h ili-C h eese-flavored F ritos, an d C h eetos w ere tran sform ed in to 21 varieties. F rito-L ay h ad a form idable research com plex n ear D allas, w h ere n early 50 0 ch em ists, psych ologists an d tech n ician s con du cted research th at cost u p to $ 30 m illion a year, an d th e scien ce corps focu sed in ten se am ou n ts of resou rces on qu estion s of cru n ch , m ou th feel an d arom a for each of th ese item s. T h eir tools in clu ded a $ 40 ,0 0 0 device th at sim u lated a ch ew in g m ou th to test an d perfect th e ch ips, discoverin g th in gs like th e perfect break poin t: people like a ch ip th at sn aps w ith abou t fou r pou n ds of pressu re per squ are in ch .

T o get a better feel for th eir w ork, I called on Steven W ith erly, a food scien tist w h o w rote a fascin atin g gu ide for in du stry in siders titled, “W h y H u m an s L ike Ju n k F ood.” I brou gh t h im tw o sh oppin g bags filled w ith a variety of ch ips to taste. H e zeroed righ t in on th e C h eetos. “T h is,” W ith erly said, “is on e of th e m ost m arvelou sly con stru cted foods on th e plan et, in term s of pu re pleasu re.” H e ticked off a dozen attribu tes of th e C h eetos th at m ake th e brain say m ore. B u t th e on e h e focu sed on m ost w as th e pu ff’s u n can n y ability to m elt in th e m ou th . “It’s called van ish in g caloric den sity,” W ith erly said. “If som eth in g m elts dow n qu ickly, you r brain th in ks th at th ere’s n o calories in it . . . you can ju st keep eatin g it forever.” A s for th eir m arketin g trou bles, in a M arch 20 10 m eetin g, F rito-L ay execu tives h asten ed to tell th eir W all Street in vestors th at th e 1.4 billion boom ers w orldw ide w eren ’t bein g n eglected; th ey w ere redou blin g th eir efforts to u n derstan d exactly w h at it w as th at boom ers m ost w an ted in a sn ack ch ip. W h ich w as basically everyth in g: great taste, m axim u m bliss bu t m in im al gu ilt abou t h ealth an d m ore m atu rity th an pu ffs. “T h ey sn ack a lot,” F rito-L ay’s ch ief m arketin g officer, A n n M u kh erjee, told th e in vestors. “B u t w h at th ey’re lookin g for is very differen t. T h ey’re lookin g for n ew experien ces, real food experien ces.” F rito-L ay acqu ired Stacy’s P ita C h ip C om pan y, w h ich w as started by a M assach u setts cou ple w h o m ade food-cart san dw ich es an d started servin g pita ch ips to th eir cu stom ers in th e m id-1990 s. In F rito-L ay’s h an ds, th e pita ch ips averaged 270 m illigram s of sodiu m — n early on e-fifth a w h ole day’s recom m en ded m axim u m for m ost A m erican adu lts — an d w ere a h u ge h it am on g boom ers. T h e F rito-L ay execu tives also spoke of th e com pan y’s on goin g pu rsu it of a “design er sodiu m ,” w h ich th ey h oped, in th e n ear fu tu re, w ou ld take th eir sodiu m loads dow n by 40 percen t. N o n eed to w orry abou t lost sales th ere, th e com pan y’s C .E .O ., A l C arey, assu red th eir in vestors. T h e boom ers w ou ld see less salt as th e green ligh t to sn ack like n ever before. T h ere’s a paradox at w ork h ere. O n th e on e h an d, redu ction of sodiu m in sn ack foods is com m en dable. O n th e oth er, th ese ch an ges m ay w ell resu lt in con su m ers eatin g m ore. “T h e big th in g th at w ill h appen h ere is rem ovin g th e barriers for boom ers an d givin g th em perm ission to sn ack,” C arey said. T h e prospects for low er-salt sn acks w ere so am azin g, h e added, th at th e com pan y h ad set its sigh ts on u sin g th e design er salt to con qu er th e tou gh est m arket of all for sn acks: sch ools. H e cited, for exam ple, th e sch ool-food in itiative ch am pion ed by B ill C lin ton an d th e A m erican H eart A ssociation , w h ich is seekin g to im prove th e n u trition of sch ool food by lim itin g its load of salt, su gar an d fat. “Im agin e th is,” C arey said. “A potato ch ip th at tastes great an d qu alifies for th e C lin ton -A .H .A . allian ce for sch ools . . . . W e th in k w e h ave w ays to do all of th is on a potato ch ip, an d im agin e gettin g th at produ ct in to sch ools, w h ere ch ildren can h ave th is produ ct an d grow u p w ith it an d feel good abou t eatin g it.” C arey’s qu ote rem in ded m e of som eth in g I read in th e early stages of m y reportin g, a 24-page report prepared for F rito-L ay in 1957 by a psych ologist n am ed E rn est D ich ter. T h e com pan y’s ch ips, h e w rote, w ere n ot sellin g as w ell as th ey cou ld for on e sim ple reason : “W h ile people like an d en joy potato ch ips, th ey feel gu ilty abou t likin g th em . . . . U n con sciou sly, people expect to be pu n ish ed for ‘lettin g th em selves go’ an d en joyin g th em .” D ich ter listed seven “fears an d resistan ces” to th e ch ips: “Y ou can ’t stop eatin g th em ; th ey’re fatten in g; th ey’re n ot good for you ; th ey’re greasy an d m essy to eat; th ey’re too expen sive; it’s h ard to store th e leftovers; an d th ey’re bad for ch ildren .” H e spen t th e rest of h is m em o layin g ou t h is prescription s, w h ich in tim e w ou ld becom e w idely u sed n ot ju st by F rito-L ay bu t also by th e en tire in du stry. D ich ter su ggested th at F rito-L ay avoid u sin g th e w ord “fried” in referrin g to its ch ips an d adopt in stead th e m ore h ealth fu l-sou n din g term “toasted.” T o cou n teract th e “fear of lettin g on eself go,” h e su ggested repackin g th e ch ips in to sm aller bags. “T h e m ore-an xiou s con su m ers, th e on es w h o h ave th e deepest fears abou t th eir capacity to con trol th eir appetite, w ill ten d to sen se th e fu n ction of th e n ew pack an d select it,” h e said. D ich ter advised F rito-L ay to m ove its ch ips ou t of th e realm of betw een -m eals sn ackin g an d tu rn th em in to an ever-presen t item in th e A m erican diet. “T h e in creased u se of potato ch ips an d oth er L ay’s produ cts as a part of th e regu lar fare served by restau ran ts an d san dw ich bars sh ou ld be en cou raged in a con cen trated w ay,” D ich ter said, citin g a strin g of exam ples: “potato ch ips w ith sou p, w ith fru it or vegetable ju ice appetizers; potato ch ips served as a vegetable on th e m ain dish ; potato ch ips w ith salad; potato ch ips w ith egg dish es for breakfast; potato ch ips w ith san dw ich orders.” In 20 11, T h e N ew E n glan d Jou rn al of M edicin e pu blish ed a stu dy th at sh ed n ew ligh t on A m erica’s w eigh t gain . T h e su bjects — 120 ,8 77 w om en an d m en — w ere all profession als in th e h ealth field, an d w ere likely to be m ore con sciou s abou t n u trition , so th e fin din gs m igh t w ell u n derstate th e overall tren d. U sin g data back to 198 6, th e research ers m on itored everyth in g th e participan ts ate, as w ell as th eir ph ysical activity an d sm okin g. T h ey fou n d th at every fou r years, th e participan ts exercised less, w atch ed T V m ore an d gain ed an average of 3.35 pou n ds. T h e research ers parsed th e data by th e caloric con ten t of th e foods bein g eaten , an d fou n d th e top con tribu tors to w eigh t gain in clu ded red m eat an d processed m eats, su gar-sw eeten ed beverages an d potatoes, in clu din g m ash ed an d F ren ch fries. B u t th e largest w eigh t-in du cin g food w as th e potato ch ip. T h e coatin g of salt, th e fat con ten t th at rew ards th e brain w ith in stan t feelin gs of pleasu re, th e su gar th at exists n ot as an additive bu t in th e starch of th e potato itself — all of th is com bin es to m ake it th e perfect addictive food. “T h e starch is readily absorbed,” E ric R im m , an associate professor of epidem iology an d n u trition at th e H arvard Sch ool of P u blic H ealth an d on e of th e stu dy’s au th ors, told m e. “M ore qu ickly even th an a sim ilar am ou n t of su gar. T h e starch , in tu rn , cau ses th e glu cose levels in th e blood to spike” — w h ich can resu lt in a cravin g for m ore. If A m erican s sn acked on ly occasion ally, an d in sm all am ou n ts, th is w ou ld n ot presen t th e en orm ou s problem th at it does. B u t becau se so m u ch m on ey an d effort h as been in vested over decades in en gin eerin g an d th en relen tlessly sellin g th ese produ cts, th e effects are seem in gly im possible to u n w in d. M ore th an 30 years h ave passed sin ce R obert L in first tan gled w ith F rito-L ay on th e im perative of th e com pan y to deal w ith th e form u lation of its sn acks, bu t as w e sat at h is din in g-room table, siftin g th rou gh h is records, th e feelin gs of regret still played on h is face. In h is view , th ree decades h ad been lost, tim e th at h e an d a lot of oth er sm art scien tists cou ld h ave spen t search in g for w ays to ease th e addiction to salt, su gar an d fat. “I cou ldn ’t do m u ch abou t it,” h e told m e. “I feel so sorry for th e pu blic.” IV . ‘T h ese P eo p le N eed a L o t o f T h in gs, b u t T h ey D o n ’t N eed a C o k e.’ T h e grow in g atten tion A m erican s are payin g to w h at th ey pu t in to th eir m ou th s h as tou ch ed off a n ew scram ble by th e processed-food com pan ies to address h ealth con cern s. P ressed by th e O bam a adm in istration an d con su m ers, K raft, N estlé, P epsi, C am pbell an d G en eral M ills, am on g oth ers, h ave begu n to trim th e loads of salt, su gar an d fat in m an y produ cts. A n d w ith con su m er advocates pu sh in g for m ore govern m en t in terven tion , C oca-C ola m ade h eadlin es in Jan u ary by releasin g ads th at prom oted its bottled w ater an d low -calorie drin ks as a w ay to cou n ter obesity. P redictably, th e ads drew a n ew volley of scorn from critics w h o poin ted to th e com pan y’s con tin u in g drive to sell su gary C oke.

O n e of th e oth er execu tives I spoke w ith at len gth w as Jeffrey D u n n , w h o, in 20 0 1, at age 44, w as directin g m ore th an h alf of C oca-C ola’s $ 20 billion in an n u al sales as presiden t an d ch ief operatin g officer in both N orth an d Sou th A m erica. In an effort to con trol as m u ch m arket sh are as possible, C oke exten ded its aggressive m arketin g to especially poor or vu ln erable areas of th e U .S., like N ew O rlean s — w h ere people w ere drin kin g tw ice as m u ch C oke as th e n ation al average — or R om e, G a., w h ere th e per capita in take w as n early th ree C okes a day. In C oke’s h eadqu arters in A tlan ta, th e biggest con su m ers w ere referred to as “h eavy u sers.” “T h e oth er m odel w e u se w as called ‘drin ks an d drin kers,’ ” D u n n said. “H ow m an y drin kers do I h ave? A n d h ow m an y drin ks do th ey drin k? If you lost on e of th ose h eavy u sers, if som ebody ju st decided to stop drin kin g C oke, h ow m an y drin kers w ou ld you h ave to get, at low velocity, to m ake u p for th at h eavy u ser? T h e an sw er is a lot. It’s m ore efficien t to get m y existin g u sers to drin k m ore.” O n e of D u n n ’s lieu ten an ts, T odd P u tm an , w h o w orked at C oca-C ola from 1997 to 20 0 1, said th e goal becam e m u ch larger th an m erely beatin g th e rival bran ds; C oca-C ola strove to ou tsell every oth er th in g people dran k, in clu din g m ilk an d w ater. T h e m arketin g division ’s efforts boiled dow n to on e qu estion , P u tm an said: “H ow can w e drive m ore ou n ces in to m ore bodies m ore often ?” (In respon se to P u tm an ’s rem arks, C oke said its goals h ave ch an ged an d th at it n ow focu ses on providin g con su m ers w ith m ore low - or n o-calorie produ cts.) In h is capacity, D u n n w as m akin g frequ en t trips to B razil, w h ere th e com pan y h ad recen tly begu n a pu sh to in crease con su m ption of C oke am on g th e m an y B razilian s livin g in favelas. T h e com pan y’s strategy w as to repackage C oke in to sm aller, m ore affordable 6.7-ou n ce bottles, ju st 20 cen ts each . C oke w as n ot alon e in seein g B razil as a poten tial boon ; N estlé began deployin g battalion s of w om en to travel poor n eigh borh oods, h aw kin g A m erican -style processed foods door to door. B u t C oke w as D u n n ’s con cern , an d on on e trip, as h e w alked th rou gh on e of th e im poverish ed areas, h e h ad an epiph an y. “A voice in m y h ead says, ‘T h ese people n eed a lot of th in gs, bu t th ey don ’t n eed a C oke.’ I alm ost th rew u p.” D u n n retu rn ed to A tlan ta, determ in ed to m ake som e ch an ges. H e didn ’t w an t to aban don th e soda bu sin ess, bu t h e did w an t to try to steer th e com pan y in to a m ore h ealth fu l m ode, an d on e of th e th in gs h e pu sh ed for w as to stop m arketin g C oke in pu blic sch ools. T h e in depen den t com pan ies th at bottled C oke view ed h is plan s as reaction ary. A director of on e bottler w rote a letter to C oke’s ch ief execu tive an d board askin g for D u n n ’s h ead. “H e said w h at I h ad don e w as th e w orst th in g h e h ad seen in 50 years in th e bu sin ess,” D u n n said. “Ju st to placate th ese crazy leftist sch ool districts w h o w ere tryin g to keep people from h avin g th eir C oke. H e said I w as an em barrassm en t to th e com pan y, an d I sh ou ld be fired.” In F ebru ary 20 0 4, h e w as. D u n n told m e th at talkin g abou t C oke’s bu sin ess today w as by n o m ean s easy an d, becau se h e con tin u es to w ork in th e food bu sin ess, n ot w ith ou t risk. “Y ou really don ’t w an t th em m ad at you ,” h e said. “A n d I don ’t m ean th at, like, I’m goin g to en d u p at th e bottom of th e bay. B u t th ey don ’t h ave a sen se of h u m or w h en it com es to th is stu ff. T h ey’re a very, very aggressive com pan y.” W h en I m et w ith D u n n , h e told m e n ot ju st abou t h is years at C oke bu t also abou t h is n ew m arketin g ven tu re. In A pril 20 10 , h e m et w ith th ree execu tives from M adison D earborn P artn ers, a private-equ ity firm based in C h icago w ith a w ide-ran gin g portfolio of in vestm en ts. T h ey recen tly h ired D u n n to ru n on e of th eir n ew est acqu isition s — a food produ cer in th e San Joaqu in V alley. A s th ey sat in th e h otel’s m eetin g room , th e m en listen ed to D u n n ’s m arketin g pitch . H e talked abou t givin g th e produ ct a person ality th at w as bold an d irreveren t, con veyin g th e idea th at th is w as th e u ltim ate sn ack food. H e w en t in to detail on h ow h e w ou ld target a special segm en t of th e 146 m illion A m erican s w h o are regu lar sn ackers — m oth ers, ch ildren , you n g profession als — people, h e said, w h o “keep th eir sn ackin g ritu al fresh by tryin g a n ew food produ ct w h en it catch es th eir atten tion .” H e explain ed h ow h e w ou ld deploy strategic storytellin g in th e ad cam paign for th is sn ack, u sin g a key ph rase th at h ad been developed w ith m u ch calcu lation : “E at ’E m L ike Ju n k F ood.” A fter 45 m in u tes, D u n n clicked off th e last slide an d th an ked th e m en for com in g. M adison ’s portfolio con tain ed th e largest B u rger K in g fran ch ise in th e w orld, th e R u th ’s C h ris Steak H ou se ch ain an d a processed-food m aker called A dvan ceP ierre w h ose lin eu p in clu des th e Jam w ich , a pean u t-bu tter-an d-jelly con trivan ce th at com es frozen , cru stless an d em bedded w ith fou r kin ds of su gars. T h e sn ack th at D u n n w as proposin g to sell: carrots. P lain , fresh carrots. N o added su gar. N o cream y sau ce or dips. N o salt. Ju st baby carrots, w ash ed, bagged, th en sold in to th e deadly du ll produ ce aisle. “W e act like a sn ack, n ot a vegetable,” h e told th e in vestors. “W e exploit th e ru les of ju n k food to fu el th e baby-carrot con versation . W e are pro-ju n k-food beh avior bu t an ti-ju n k-food establish m en t.” T h e in vestors w ere th in kin g on ly abou t sales. T h ey h ad already bou gh t on e of th e tw o biggest farm produ cers of baby carrots in th e cou n try, an d th ey’d h ired D u n n to ru n th e w h ole operation . N ow , after h is pitch , th ey w ere relieved. D u n n h ad figu red ou t th at u sin g th e in du stry’s ow n m arketin g ploys w ou ld w ork better th an an yth in g else. H e drew from th e bag of tricks th at h e m astered in h is 20 years at C oca- C ola, w h ere h e learn ed on e of th e m ost critical ru les in processed food: T h e sellin g of food m atters as m u ch as th e food itself. L ater, describin g h is n ew lin e of w ork, D u n n told m e h e w as doin g pen an ce for h is C oca-C ola years. “I’m payin g m y karm ic debt,” h e said. T h is article is adapted from “Salt Su gar F at: H ow th e F ood G ian ts H ooked U s,” w h ich w ill be pu blish ed by R an dom H ou se th is m on th . M ich ael M oss is an in vestigative reporter for T h e T im es. H e w on a P u litzer P rize in 20 10 for h is reportin g on th e m eat in du stry. E ditor: Joel L ovell A version of this article appears in print on F ebruary 24, 2013, on P age M M 34 of the S unday M agazine w ith the headline: (S alt + F at 2 / S atisfying C runch) x P leasing M outh F eel = A F ood D esigned to A ddict. © 2017 T he N ew Y ork T im es C o m pany