Food Politics by Marion Nestle reveals how the food industry fights for minds and wallets to make us eat more than what we need to. This is a work of non-fiction and does not have characters in the sense of a novel.

Important names who have influenced the food industry appear in this book, these include the following.

Eric Schlosser

Eric Schlosser is a journalist who has authored, among other books, Fast Food Nation. This deeply researched book backed by three years of investigative journalism lays bare the workings of the fast food industry and exposes the murky and unsavory side of it, including its deleterious effects on people's health and the environment.

Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry is the first living writer to have been inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame. His book, The Unsettling of America, was first published in 1977 and has since then continued to make people think about how far the agribusiness has actually taken society from the religious and cultural contexts of owning land and growing crops.

Harvey Levenstein

A prolific writer, Harvey Levenstein has written a number of books on how food has influenced American culture. In Paradox of Plenty, he explores the evolution of food habits in America from 1930 onward. Readers learn how attitudes toward nutrition and status with respect to food have changed over the years.

Rachel Carson

With Silent Spring, published in 1962, Rachel Carson succeeded in creating mass awareness about the dangers of using pesticides indiscriminately. She is credited with having stoked the interests of millions in nature and the environment.

Michelle Obama

Former First Lady, Michelle Obama initiated the Let's Move campaign with the objective of controlling obesity among America's children. The ambitious project strives to create the right environment for kids with respect to knowledge about nutrition and the availability of healthy eating options.

W.O. Atwater

W.O. Atwater was an American chemist who is credited with having laid the foundation of modern nutrition science. He was the first Director of Research at the USDA. More than a 100 years ago, he recommended an intake of 3,500 calories a day for the average American. This is 1,000 calories more than what nutritionists recommend today.