When New York Times award-winning reporter Michael Moss was investigating a deadly surge in E coli outbreaks, he stumbled upon a different, more troubling truth: The processed food industry is purposely adding fat, sugar and salt to their products to addict us.

I know not everything is a conspiracy these days but you should read what Moss has to say.

His book is a searing expose on America’s obesity and how the food industry has knowingly contributed to this troubling trend.

Today, one in three adults is considered clinically obese, along with one in five kids, and 24 million Americans are afflicted by type 2 diabetes (with poor diet blamed as a contributory factor). 79 million people have pre-diabetes.

According to Moss, the processed food industries have been aware for several decades that sugar, fat and salt in large quantities are not good for us. How do we explain then, why obesity and diabetes are still raging out of control? Moss believes — through conversations with whistleblowers, secret memos, and access to industry folks — that the food industry has made a conscious effort to get people hooked on foods that are linked to obesity to drive profits.

Industry insiders refer to a phenomenon called a “bliss point,” which is a scientifically-driven formula or system that food companies employ to create the right amount of crave for a product. In short, junk food is formulated to make us eat more of it.

It’s not only the ingredients that create crave: marketing campaigns are strategically designed to appeal to specific groups. Coca-Cola, for example, targets poor consumers in vulnerable areas of the U.S. where people drink twice as much of the stuff as the average consumer.

“It’s more efficient to get my existing users to drink more,” one company executive was quoted as saying. One of Coca- Cola’s goals was to outsell any other type of liquid that people drink, including milk and water.

Industry executives who had real epiphanies or “light-bulb moments” about their less than stellar tactics to drive the market were often ostracized or dismissed from their positions.

Moss’ book has struck a chord with consumers and rattled the food industry, and will hopefully help to chart the course to a healthier future. Coke sales have been on the decline for the past several years, in part because of consumer awareness.

“We know that consumers are looking for less sugar and also looking for more choice in both beverages and packages sizes,” Coke president and COO James Quincey said in a Q&A on Coke’s website. “We are expanding the selection of low- and no-calorie products. And we are reformulating products to reduce added sugars. We can grow while reducing sugar consumption … We currently have over 200 reformulation initiatives to reduce added sugar.”

Well, that just goes to show you that where we put our dollars really matters.

The truth is, I like Coke. Does it seem unnatural to you to have a glass of water with a cheeseburger? I’d probably drink a couple of cokes a day if I felt good about it.

But I don’t much like feeling manipulated by food companies because very few have our best interest at heart.

Just a few days ago, it came to light that an EPA official who was in charge of evaluating the cancer risk of Monsanto’s Roundup allegedly bragged to a company executive that he deserved a medal if he could stop an investigation into one of the herbicide’s key chemicals.

The boast was made during a 2015 phone conversation, according to farmers and others who say they’ve been made sick by the weed killer. That EPA manager has become a central figure in more than 20 lawsuits in the U.S. that accuse the company of failing to warn consumers and regulators of the risk that its glyphosate-based herbicide can cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

But that’s a story for another day.

I just worry about my generation–raised on fast food and soft drinks and Doritos. We need to be more mindful about what we’re eating.

The latest news? Studies have shown junk food to be more damaging to the liver than alcohol, which is a good sign that it’s okay to have a beer now.