Interview with Marion Nestle about Her New Book: Sugar Coated

Marion Nestle is a long-time professor (now emerita) in New York University’s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health. Before then, Nestle served as the managing editor of the landmark 1988 Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health. In addition to Sugar Coated, she has written half a dozen other books on food, nutrition, and the politics of food.

In Sugar Coated (and in this interview), Nestle and co-author Lisa Sutherland X-rayed the breakfast cereal industry. They discuss the origin of the industry in Battle Creek, Michigan, with the Kellogg Brothers; the battles in Washington, DC, over dubious health, nutrition, and structure-function claims; the important role of sugar—both in attracting kids and helping maintain the desired shape and texture of cereals; and how the packaging and advertising of cereals has fostered widespread consumption and lifelong loyalties to brands consumed as children.

This interview was conducted on August 11, 2026, by Michael F. Jacobson, the Founder of the National Food Museum.