About The Sugar Project
A few years ago, I went on a weight loss journey. As I began learning about food and nutrition, I also began reading the labels on foods and paying attention to the ingredients.
At the same time as I was doing this, ever more research was coming out about the dangers of the overconsumption of sugar, in its various forms. I was also noticing more and more people who seemed to be quite large.
As I paid attention to the labels, I saw a theme… and a problem.
Sugar is in just about everything. Sometimes it seems like a negligible amount, but unless you’re looking for it and eating mostly foods you make yourself, it’s almost impossible to avoid.
The problem isn’t even so much about obviously sweet foods, like cookies, ice cream or candy, where we expect high levels of sugar.
It’s in the foods presented as “healthy” or “all natural,” and in particular, in foods traditionally thought of as savory. Some examples include most commercially produced salad dressings (1-10g sugar per 2 tbsp serving), tomato sauce, “healthy” fruit yogurts, fruit juice, bread…
When you start to pay attention, it’s impossible to look away. It is in everything, once you start to notice.
That’s why I wanted to do this photo essay. We really aimed to pick foods that an average person would think of as healthy, to show just how pervasive and pernicious this really is.
Food styling by Jill Keller.
Project shown at RAW Showcase: Savor, 10.24.17 in NYC.
See the full project here.
