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Why Are We Subsidizing Obesity?
I just got back from Whole Foods (aka "Whole Paycheck"), and as I'm looking over the sky-high receipt, I'm mulling over a conversation I had with my mom the other day about food for the children. My mom thinks that the organic movement is a certain amount of sound and fury over nothing... a storm in a teacup, if you will. Some scientists agree. My mom also doesn't buy bottled water on a regular basis... and she was right about that one. Am I just a sucker paying more than I have to?
But then again, it feels like certain nasties like cancer and obesity might possibly have some ties to increased use of pesticides, overly processed foods and maybe even genetic modification. I mean... how much pesticide residue is "safe" anyway? Do I trust the EPA and my government representatives (senators, congresspeople, etc.) to look out for me?
It is a lovely shopping experience at Whole Foods, and I'm willing to pay a certain amount more to have such a nice environment... but right now I'm thinking just about the food itself, the actual product.
"My Kitchen, My Rules"
Overall, like many (hopefully most) moms, I'm trying to give my boys the best shot I can. I want them to have an opportunity to lead healthy, happy, purposeful and productive lives... and as part of that plan I'm trying to carefully manage their diets.
We largely avoid overly processed foods (e.g., we've never had a Twinkie in the house), refined sugars... basically, we try to hold off on the "junk" food and go for the fresh, perishable stuff. It makes grocery shopping more burdensome because I have to go back to the market more frequently to get fresh fruit, etc., but I'm willing to make that sacrifice.
In grocery stores, I make an effort to shop from the "outside-in" because the fresh milk, eggs, meat, fruits, vegetables, etc. is generally around the perimeter of the store, the stuff with a half-life of 10,000 years (e.g., Cheetos) fills the middle aisles. In other words, the non-perishable stuff is generally in the middle. Of course there's plenty of stuff in the middle that I need (e.g., cereal, raisins), but I make a concerted effort to go for the stuff that has 1 or 2 ingredients on the label. Cantelope has one ingredient, Twinkies have 39. I buy some stuff organic (e.g., milk, yogurt) but I don't go overboard... I try to create a balance.
Then I also periodically go to Whole Foods to add more organic cereals to our mix, to snap up some of their yummy prepared salads and tofu dishes. And I do have to say that I feel good about the idea that the ingredients they're using to make those salads and whatnot are with fresh, wholesome ingredients and come from reputable, sustainable farms. Of course I don't actually know that for a fact, but it goes with the Whole Foods ethos, so I'm going with it, too.
I don't yell at the daycare employees when they feed my son Goldfish for lunch (though I do cringe a little) and we do indulge in the occasional frozen pizza. I love Wheat Thins and they've got a lot of ingredients. I also don't interrogate moms about whether the mac & cheese they're serving is organic or if the burgers are from cows that grew up listening to poetry in open fields.
I try to roll with the situation, but when it's under my control it's #1 fresh, #2 a certain amount organic and #3 I try to avoid the junk. Easy for me to say- we can afford to pick and choose like that. From a national policy perspective, I think that our food system is a mess. Not quite a disaster, but close.
If Obesity is an "Epidemic" the U.S., I Don't Get the Farm Bill
My trust in our government has eroded significantly over the years.
I don't believe that just because food is allowed to be on our grocery store shelves that it's harm-free. Much of the available food is patently unhealthy, and sadly the unhealthiest stuff is often the cheapest. For whatever reason, our government representatives have lost sight of looking out for the best interests of the little guy (me, for example) and it's back to "Lord helps those who help themselves."
The most reliable predictor of obesity in America today is a person’s wealth. Due to the agricultural subsidy policies that our country has in place, unhealthy, overly processed foods (e.g., Twinkies)
