Marion Nestle

At a glance

• Molecular biologist and nutrition scientist, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health emerita at New York University.
• Studies how scientific, economic and political forces shape what people eat, with a particular focus on food-industry marketing.
• Wrote the influential Food Politics (2002), followed by books including Soda Politics (2015) and Unsavory Truth (2018), on industry-funded nutrition research.
• Has run the Food Politics blog for years, critically commenting on news about food policy, lobbying and studies.
• Turned ninety in September 2026; organisations such as Food Tank paid tribute to her decades of work.
• A respected, independent voice in the media, she warns about conflicts of interest without reducing diet to a single ‘bad’ nutrient.
• Takeaway: with any striking nutrition study or press release, check who paid for it — and stick to simple basics: more minimally processed food, fewer sugary drinks.