This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Excerpt of Cohen's book Pure Adulteration discusses the pursuit for 'pure food'
Wired magazine published an excerpt of Benjamin Cohen‘s book Pure Adulteration, which focuses on our country’s adulterated, contaminated, and fake food system.
“So it is that adulteration was a problem in the past, adulteration is a problem today, and adulteration will be a problem tomorrow,” writes Cohen, associate professor of engineering studies. “Pure food crusaders thought they had solved it for good; we probably think we’ll solve it now. They didn’t, and we won’t. Adulteration’s presumed antithesis, purity, is a dreary if not constant pursuit.”