2001 Science in Society Journalism Awards
Magazine article
Gary Taubes "The Soft Science of Dietary Fat"
published in Science
full article available at
http://nasw.org/mem-maint/awards/01Taubesbio.html
Description
Freelance writer Gary Taubes won his third Science-in-Society award with his
Science magazine story, "The
soft science of dietary fat." Following his prize winning technique of
evaluating how inadequate scientific tools
are used to dictate important national health issues
?what people should eat?he
once again shows there is
still much to be mined in a topic long considered settled and indisputable. With
painstaking research and
in-depth reporting, he challenges the accepted wisdom on dietary fat and
displays the chinks in its armor.
Many of his reported findings are still controversial, yet judges lauded his
risk-taking reporting, making us think
twice about obsessing about our dietary choices.
Taubes, a freelance writer, spent a year on the story mostly supported by other
writing projects. Each story in
this vein takes longer than the last, he said. For this one, He interviewed
about 150 people. As a result, in his
own shopping Taubes ignores the nationally approved health advice and hunts,
sometimes in vain, for yogurt
made out of whole milk. When his friends ask him for scientifically sound
dietary advice, the only thing he can
tell them is still what his mother told him: Eat your fresh fruits and
vegetables, and watch your weight.
Bio
Gary Taubes has written about science, medicine and health for
Science, Discover, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times
Magazine, Esquire, GQ, and a host of other publications. He is
currently a contributing correspondent with Science and a
contributing editor with Technology Review.
Taubes has won numerous awards for his reporting including the
National Association of Science Writers Science-in-Society
Journalism Award in both 1996 and 1999.
Taubes' most recent book, Bad Science, The Short Life and
Weird Times of Cold Fusion (Random House, 1993) was a New
York Times Notable Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Awards.
http://nasw.org/mem-maint/awards/01Taubesbio.html
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