AMERICA DOESN’T HAVE A FOOD CRISIS, IT HAS A FOOD INFORMATION CRISIS

New book argues that hiding what’s in our food fueled the rise of ultra-processed food and the decline of our health, and that the fix is simple: tell people the truth

LAKE TAHOE, Nev., Nov. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — America doesn’t have a food crisis. It has a food information crisis. That is the bold argument at the heart of Food Truth: How Ultra-Processed Food Destroyed Our Health and How To Make Food a Force For Good, the new book from Peter M. Castleman, founder and CEO of WISEcode.™ 

“We know more about our Uber driver than about the food we feed our kids,” says Castleman. “You can’t fix what you can’t see.”

Food Truth is not another diet book, and it won’t tell anyone what to eat. It exposes why Americans can’t see what’s in their food, and what that blindness has cost our health.

A Race to the Bottom:

Castleman shows how a lack of food transparency, whether by design or simply by culture, allowed the food industry to run a race to the bottom that began with the industrial revolution. The real decline came with the cereal “sugar wars” of the 1950s. Since then, Americans have been fed progressively worse food that, Castleman argues, has evolved into fake food that works against human biochemistry.

Consumers have been left to navigate it all with incomplete, outdated and often misleading information. While the country argued over diets, calories, macros and trends, Food Truth argues, the real story was missed: hiding the truth about what’s in our food made the rise of ultra-processed food possible, and with it the destruction of our health and well-being.

The Fix Is Simple:

Castleman’s answer is direct: fix the food information crisis. Give people the full truth about what’s in their food and what it does to their bodies, and they will make the best decisions for themselves and their loved ones. Food then becomes a force for good, strengthening our bodies, our minds and our quality of life, with less inflammation, less chronic disease and longer, healthier lives.

Food Truth shows readers how to see food at the ingredient level, drawing on The Food Genome Project™, WISEcode’s map of the U.S. food system.

“Food is one of the most powerful forces affecting our health, yet most of us don’t know what’s in it,” Castleman says. “That blind spot let ultra-processed food take over the American diet. Today food is a main driver of sickness and chronic disease, when it should be a driver of health and longevity. Food Truth isn’t about telling people what to eat. It’s about giving them the information and knowledge to understand what’s in their food and make the best choices for themselves and their families.”

What I Should Eat:

Castleman believes that everybody is different, yet dietary guidelines, food labels and diet trends treat everyone the same. Food Truth argues that the future is personalized nutrition: understanding food in terms of each person’s own health goals, values and lifestyle. “It’s the idea behind the name WISEcode itself: WISE stands for ‘What I Should Eat,’ with the emphasis on I,” says Castleman. “The answer is different for every person, and only you can decide it. Transparency and personalization together put consumers back in control of their food and, ultimately, their health.”

Adds Castleman, “Food should be one of humanity’s greatest allies. But there is no single right way to eat. What’s right for you depends on your body, your goals and your life. If we give people the truth about their food and the power to make it personal, we can leave future generations a healthier world than the one we inherited. That may be one of the most important investments we can make, not only in our own health but in the health of generations to come.”

Food Truth leaves readers with a clear path to make food a force for good in their own lives.

Food Truth is available for pre-order now and releases Nov. 10.

All net proceeds from sales of Food Truth will be donated to the Nutrient Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advances nutritional knowledge.”

About Peter Castleman

Peter M. Castleman is the founder and CEO of WISEcode™, the leading FoodTechAI™ company, which answers two questions that have always eluded the world: What’s in your food, and what does it do to your body? Built on The Food Genome Project™, WISEcode’s AI platform delivers FoodTruth™ to consumers, enterprises, and policymakers, and puts every user in control of what matters to them. Peter graduated with multiple academic honors from Duke University, studied at the University of Oxford, and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School as a Baker Scholar. He also taught economics to Harvard undergraduates. He began his career at J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley before serving as Managing Partner of J.H. Whitney & Co., the nation’s original venture capital firm. In more than four decades as an investor and entrepreneur, Peter has been part of teams that built a number of multi-billion-dollar companies, including The North Face and Herbalife. Today he is taking on the food, nutrition, and health industries, because he believes the lack of food transparency causes many of the health and wellness problems facing the country. His work rests on one conviction: human health is the ultimate investment, and better health begins with better inputs. Food should be a force for good in everyone’s life, not something to fear. Peter is co-author of “WISE Up! Ignorance Kills, Truth Heals and Eat to Think,” which explores the connection between nutrition and cognitive longevity.

About WISEcode™

WISEcode™, the leading FoodTechAI™ company, is transforming the food and health industries by answering two simple questions that have always eluded the world: What’s in your food, and what does it do to your body?

WISEcode delivers FoodTruth™. Its proprietary WISEcode Information Platform™ is built on The Food Genome Project™, which mapped the U.S. food system, and grounded in scientific research. The platform turns trillions of food attributes into clear insight on ingredient quality, nutrient profile, health outcomes, value, and contaminants.

For consumers, WISEcode’s AI app delivers truly personalized nutrition for the first time, judging every food by what matters to you. For policymakers, scientists, and enterprises, WISEcode Intelligence™ opens up insight that has never existed before into the food system and how food connects to health.

Above all, WISEcode puts you in control. WISE stands for “What I Should Eat,” because the right answer is different for everyone. Outdated apps and software tell you what to think. WISEcode gives you the truth and lets you decide.

Find Your FoodTruth™. Download the free App from the App Store or Google Play, or learn more at WISEcode.ai.

 

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SOURCE WISEcode