Twinkies, Deconstructed

This past Monday, I was in the library with Melissa as she was finishing some homework. I was getting a little bored, so I decided to make my time in the library productive, and I asked the librarian if she had any books that contained information about genetically modified/engineered foods (GMOs). I am doing my Research paper on a controversy in America about GMO in foods, or genetically modified crops that are available for Americans to eat. She pulled out a few books from the shelves and one in particular caught my eye- "Twinkie, Deconstructed," by Steve Ettlinger.  The librarian promised me that the book was very interesting, and we looked in the index to find out if it had facts about my topic. It did, so I decided to check it out, and quite honestly, the title succeeded at luring me onto the first page, for I enjoy reading anything involving with health.
The first question that came to mind was, "How does a man write a whole book about Twinkies, and what is the significance of the twinkie?" To my satisfaction, the Ettlinger does an outstanding job in the first chapter of the book explaining his purpose to the reader. He narrates that that one afternoon, Ettlinger was shocked to hear his young son articulate an ingredient on the package of his ice cream to ask him what it is.  Ettlinger could only muster the answer, "Uhh..umm..I uh...don't have a clue, honey" (2). At this moment, he began to ponder about what some of his foods contain, and became upset that he did not know about half of the ingredients in processed food that he eats and feeds to his children. This realization led him to unravel the mystery of ingredients in the Twinkie, which he chose because of its iconic image in America. Ettlinger clarifies the origin of all ingredients found in a Twinkie, from "enriched bleached wheat flower' to 'sorbic acid' to inform readers about the unbelievable processing in American foods. Not only does it help me with my research paper, but it is a book that I willingly enjoy reading.