Brian Wansink is the John S. Dyson Professor of Consumer Behavior at
Cornell University, where he directs the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. He
is author of over 100 academic articles and books, including the
best-selling
Mindless
Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think (2006), along with Marketing
Nutrition (2005),
Asking
Questions (2004), and
Consumer
Panels (2002).
From 2007 to 2009 Wansink was granted a leave of absence from Cornell
to accept a presidential appointment as Executive Director of the
USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, the federal agency in
charge of developing 2010 dietary guidelines and promoting the Food
Guide Pyramid.
Wansink’s award-winning academic research on food psychology and
behavior change has been published in the world’s top marketing,
medical, and nutrition journals. It contributed to the introduction of
smaller “100 calorie” packages (to prevent overeating), the use of
taller glasses in some bars (to prevent the overpouring of alcohol),
and the use of elaborate names and mouth-watering descriptions on some
chain restaurant menus (to improve enjoyment of the food). It has been
presented, translated, reported, and featured in television
documentaries on every continent but Antarctica.
