From Cigarettes to Calories: How Tobacco Companies Shaped America's Food Industry, with Dr. Tera Fazzino

Causes or Cures

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In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks talks with Dr. Tera Fazzino about a little-known chapter in American food history. From 1988 through the early 2000s, the biggest tobacco companies owned leading food giants like Kraft, Nabisco and General Foods. During that time, they churned out hyper-palatable foods engineered to keep people hooked.

Dr. Fazzino explains what makes a food hyper-palatable, how these products are created, and why some Americans struggle to stop eating them. She takes us back to the tobacco era to show how her team uncovered these strategies and why their influence still shapes the food industry today.

This is not only a story about food but about addiction, corporate power and a public health crisis hidden in plain sight. Dr. Fazzino, Associate Director of the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment at the University of Kansas, connects the science of addiction with what ends up on our plates and offers insight on how we can move toward a healthier food supply.

Link to her study here.

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