My most recent book, What to Eat Now, was published in November.
Within days, Amazon.com displayed one after another book based on it. Wondering what these were, I asked my partner (who has Amazon Prime) to get copies right away in case they were taken down, which most were.
For the record: I had nothing do with with any of these, despite my name on their covers.
I acquired 8 of these items (and got screenshots of 2 more). Here they are with my summaries of what is in them.
I. The Look Alike
Who is Mateo Velasquez? I have no idea. For $19.99 (plus shipping), you get a paperback with 100 pages of blank lined paper (I’m not making this up). Titles are not copyrighted, but because this item used the actual cover of the book, it violated copyright laws. Amazon took it down right away.
II. Workbook #1
I could hardly believe this one. It lists 8 key lessons (e.g., “Choosing real food in a complex world”) but it doesn’t matter what the lessons are. The titles are different but the content is the exact same page of text plus half a page of blank lines, repeated four times under each title. A fraud. Does Shanz Noor exist? I doubt it.
III. Workbook #2
I don’t know whether to be appalled or flattered. This starts out by saying my book is “a powerful compass for anyone navigating today’s overwhelming food environment.” It provides a not-bad summary (in what reads like AI-speak) with what I presume are AI-driven key lessons, suggested “life-changing” activities, and self-reflection questions for the first 16 chapters of my book. Example of life-changing activity: “Commit to shopping with a list and sticking to it for a month.” Example of self-reflection question: “When was the last time I checked a label for truth, not slogans.” Like much AI-generated content, this is banal but not terrible. But it only covers a third of the book. This one is still on Amazon, but with no consumer ratings.
IV. Workbook #3
By the time I saw this one, I had given up. I didn’t buy it.
V. Workbook $4
This one doesn’t have my name on the cover, but its Amazon description does. I didn’t buy it.
VI. Exercises
I didn’t know I had doctrines. Oh well. Lydia Harrow says “This work is a creative interpretive exercise based on the teachings and research of Marion Nestle. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by Marion Nestle or her representatives.” It reads like an AI summary: “When Marion Nestle began her work in food studies, she confronted a world that was drowning in marketing but starving for truth [p. 4]…Marion Nestle’s doctrines remind us that food literacy is not an academic pursuit but a lived practice. It is cultivated in daily choices….[p. 13]” and so on for 82 pages.
VII. The study guide
AI, as always, tells you exactly what you want to hear. This study guide could not be more flattering: “That’s exactly where the work of Marion Nestle becomes a powerful guide. Few people have done more to uncover the truth about the modern food system. Through her decades of research and advocacy, she teaches us something honest and practical: Healthy eating is simple—but the food industry works hard to make it confusing” [p. 11]. You get 100 pages of this, ending with “Your journey doesn’t end here—it begins here.” The printing inside is sloppy and it’s full of sections that begin with things like “Nestle highlights, advocates, teaches….”
VIII. Cookbook #1
Oh the flattery. The introduction begins with a summary of my work: “Marion Nestle has long argued that food is political…Here you will find recipes that reflect Marion Nestle’s guiding values: foods that are transparent in their ingreedients; meals that bring plants to the center…” The recipes are assemblies and require little cooking; most take 15-20 minutes to prepare. The most complicated require things like pressing tofu, cutting into cubes, cooking it, and adding a sauce. The recipes give basic nutrition information. I assume AI can produce something like this in minutes. 63 pages
IX. Cookbook #2
This book gives a brief biography of Louise Christian with a photo. It says she is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) from Louisiana. If so, she holds a credential from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. I asked an RDN colleague to look her up. But the Academy has no record of a RDN Louise Christian. I tried AI and got two different responses; one said no such person exists, the other said she was at Baylor. I tried finding her through Baylor, but could not. Louise Christian: if you exist, please contact me. I want to know more about how you came to be associated with this book. As for the book, it’s just like the rest: “But the truth, as Marion Nestle has long reminded us, is refreshingly simple: real food doesn’t need a marketing campaign” [p.6]. Its recipes boil down to: preheat oven, core apples, add cinnamon, bake 30 minutes, or collect salad ingredients, put them in a bowl, toss. 83 pages.
X. Cookbook #3
This one has color illustrations, doesn’t mention me at all outside of the title, and has similar simple, quick, recipes involving assembly and heating rather than anything more complicated: Cook pasta; toss it with whatever the sauce is. 72 pages. By the time I looked up its Amazon listing, it was too late to get the details.
Comment
- None of these is registered with the Library of Congress; none has an ISBN number. Some say they are copyrighted.
- All are identified only by city of publication (mostly Cleveland) and date to November or December 2025.
- None is likely to violate copyright laws (except the one with the actual cover); the others can probably argue fair use for analytic purposes.
- All of them look and read as though written by AI.
- Only three, III, VI, and VIII, are still up on Amazon. Is anyone actually buying them?
To repeat: I had nothing to do with any of them.
Caveat emptor!
