Marion Nestle

Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, at New York University

Marion Nestle is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, at New York University, where she chaired the department from 1988 to 2003. She is also a Visiting Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. She earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology and an M.P.H. in public health nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley, and holds honorary degrees from Transylvania University and the City University of New York.

Her research focuses on the scientific, societal, and business influences on food choices, with a strong emphasis on the role of food industry marketing. Prior to her tenure at NYU, she held faculty positions at Brandeis University and the UCSF School of Medicine. From 1986 to 1988, she served as the senior nutrition policy advisor in the Department of Health and Human Services and was the editor of the 1988 Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health.

Nestle is the author, co-author, or co-editor of sixteen books, many of which have defined the field of food policy. Her major works include the prize-winning Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health (2002), Safe Food, Soda Politics, and Unsavory Truth. Her memoir, Slow Cooked, was published in 2022. Her most recent publications include The Fish Counter (2025) and a thoroughly revised edition of What to Eat, retitled What To Eat Now (2025). She is currently working on Sugar Coated, a book regarding cereal boxes and nutrition policy, slated for 2026.

A prominent public figure, Nestle blogs (almost) daily at FoodPolitics.com. Her social media presence has been ranked among the top 10 in health and science by Time and The Guardian. Her numerous honors include the James Beard Leadership Award, the Trailblazer Award from the IACP, and the 2023 Edinburgh Medal. In 2025, she received the Dean’s Medal from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (New York, NY)