Politics and religion used to be taboo subjects. Not any more. Politics and religion discussions are ubiquitous. This leaves “food” as the subject no one really wants to talk about. It’s something we need to talk about. People are very protective of their food choices. The previous post “Better Life Through Chemistry” leads you to the website of the Organic Consumer’s Association. Their website is educational as is their newsletter which you can subscribe to free (though a donation would be appreciated). OCA brings very interesting tidbits of news, often related to the taboo issue of food. For instance, in their current issue you will read that as a country we are getting so fat that its costing the airlines hundreds of millions of dollars in extra fuel to get us off the ground. No lie.
What we eat is critical to our national health. We aren’t eating well and, as a result, health suffers. Obesity is on it’s way to becoming the number one cause of preventable death in this country. Our food industry, which has succeeded in poisoning America now has the world in its sights having successfully suppressed a World Health Organization report which called for tough limits on sugar, salt and fat. News article from the Guardian.
We’ve become lazy in our food habits. We like to eat out. How bad is fast food, for example? Rent a copy of Supersize Me, a documentary in which the writer/director Morgan Spurlock conducts an experiment where he eats three meals a day at MacDonald’s for thirty days. His progress, or regression, is monitored by three physicians and a nutrionist. One of the most remarkable things about the film is that the docs are all shocked at how quickly this healthy young man became seriously ill. Along the way, Spurlock educates regarding our national diet, especially in our schools. And, he manages to pull it all off without pontificating or being unnecessarily offensive.
Think your more upscale restaurant is healthier? Chances are the food isn’t even made there. Look for the big Sysco Corporation truck to pull up in front of your favorite Italian, Mexican or American style restaurant to offload factory prepared meals that they warm up and slap on a plate.
Our food supply, the stuff you buy at the normal supermarket is mostly crap. Not fit to eat. Our food supply and the way we use it is making us fat. The average weight of Americans increased a pound a year in the 1990’s. Ten pounds in ten years. Billions and billions of pounds. There’s lots of pressure to be fat. Social events, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. seem to require consumption of fat and sugar. Processed food is rich with chemicals and preservatives whose side effects are unknown. Fatty, sugary food is addictive and is not an easy habit to break.
Compared to the Standard American Diet (SAD) a healthy diet represents more radical change, more study and more thought than most people are willing or able to contemplate. It’s all so depressing I’m going to go make some nachos.
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