We Can Now Sue Our Mothers

At least that's all I'm getting out of this report...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/ momsunhealthydietmayhavelongtermimpactonbaby

The article says that if you feed a pregant rat a diet of donuts, muffins, cookies, chips and sweets, its offspring will become more likely to develop heart disease and diabetes.

Even though I haven't been diagnosed with either of those, I guess it's still an ace-up-my-sleeve should I need to point the blame at someone.

But then again, my mother never ate ONLY donuts, muffins, cookies, chips, and sweets while she was pregnant. She actually mixed in some vegetables, whole grains, and fruits. So maybe I don't have that ace after all.

And why did they have to test this on rats? Couldn't they have gotten more realistic results comparing Americans with some nomadic tribe from Siberia?

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Mississippi HB 282 - Denying Food to Obese

Some legislators in Mississippi have introduced a bill that will make it illegal for restaurants to serve fat people.

HB 282 will revoke the health department license of any restaurant, fast-food or otherwise, if it serves food to anyone who meets the department's criteria as being, "obese".

As the bill states...

Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the State Department of Health after consultation with the Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management established under Section 41-101-1 or its successor.

The bill will require the State Department of Health to distribute materials to restaurants that will define what an obese person is.

Imagine going to a Subway, who claims to help you lose weight by eating their sandwiches, and having a "sandwich artist" tell you, "Sorry but your ass is TOO FAT!"

And in Mississippi, such a law could put every restaurant out of business.

Here's a link to the bill...

http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2008/pdf/history/HB/HB0282.xml

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Fast Food for Thought

Last Sunday, 60 Minutes decided to take on the Fast Food industry by going back and forth between two bitter rivals: New York's health commissioner, Thomas Frieden, and Wendy's spokesperson Denny Lynch.

You can watch the full 12 minute video report here...
http://www.cbsnews.com/..../60minutes/main3513549_page2.shtml

In between the arguments, reporter Leslie Stahl takes Subway to task, by showing all of America just how fattening their sub-sandwiches truly are.

What was not mentioned in this report, is that Americans have a choice: don't eat fast food.

Instead, Leslie Stahl made it appear as if Americans don't have a choice. Instead of saying that Americans can buy fresh food from the grocery store, she made it appear that we're forced to buy meals from fast-food.

And in fact, that's the basis of Thomas Frieden's crusade, the health commissioner from New York. He's pushing for a law that requires fast-food restaurants to show the caloric content of every possible food combination and customization that you might conceive of, and post it in the restaurant, on the actual Menu.

He's only requiring this of fast-food restaurants.

You can still order that full-rack of baby-back ribs, with a loaded baked potato, and cheese-bread, and not have to know how many years you've trimmed from your life span.

I guess it's ok if the rich die young.

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What is Junk Food Anyways?

Now and then, someone sends me an e-mail, arguing that "such and such" is not junk food, and is actually healthy. This communication often comes from a manufacturer who's product I blogged about.

Other times I call the marketing people at a manufacturer because I want them to send me a digital image of their new product. They tell me that they don't want me to blog about their product because they're trying to bill it as being healthy.

My definition of junk food

ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is junk food, depending on how much you consume, and depending on your current state of health and lifestyle.

I've said before that a celery stick is junk food, mainly because celery contains very little nutritional value, and because celery is largely eaten as a snack, or h'orderve. If all you ate was celery you'd die for lack of nutrition. It's not what you eat, but how much.

And while fruits like oranges, bananas, and apples are high in vitamins and nutrients, they're also high in carbohydrates. If that's all you ate, and didn't exercise, you'd be as fat as a hamburger whore. You could get fat eating burgers, or you could get fat eating bananas.

Is a hamburger junk food? No. If you look at what a hamburger is, it's made up of components that people would consider to be healthy: bread, beef, lettuce, tomato. But when those components are put together, it becomes demonized. You could add more stuff like cheese, bacon, mayonnaise, pickles, etc, and you'd increase your intake of fat, sodium, and cholesterol. But it's only bad if your body can't tolerate it.

Your State of Health Makes a Difference

Junk food can only be bad for you, if your current state of health is susceptible to it.

For example, a bar of chocolate might be unhealthy to a diabetic, but perfectly fine for an athlete like Lance Armstrong. Sucking down a bag of salted-sunflower seeds is bad for someone with high blood pressure, but perfectly fine for someone without.

Moreover, chocolate is said to have positive health benefits in the form of antioxidants. Meanwhile, sunflower seeds is said to be rich in Vitamin E. Depending on your state of health, they can be good for you, or bad for you.

Politics of Junk Food

Opponents of junk food, such as those seeking laws to ban sodas and candies from school vending machines, are pulling out all the stops.

A couple of years ago I posted a review of a novel entitled, "War on Junk", which I felt was reality in the making. It takes the alcohol prohibition of the 1920s, and turns it into a junk food prohibition of the near future. The fact is that we're headed there. I think you know it.

Earlier this year, I contacted a well-known pickle manufacturer because I wanted a digital image of their newest variety. They refused, arguing that they didn't want me blogging their product because they trying promote pickles as a "health food".

If you can imagine our country actually entering into a "junk food prohibition", thousands of food-makers would twist the public's perception into thinking their products are "healthy alternatives". I wonder how many of them see such a prohibition on the horizon, and are spending some money on this right now?

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Europe Signs Charter to Fight Junk Food Advertisements

Health ministers and other senior officials from 48 European countries have signed a charter to combat obesity in Europe, according to French-based AFP.

The measure largely rests on pointing the blame on food manufacturers, banning them from producing advertisements that market to children...

"I am certain we will propose incentives to avoid advertising that encourages children to consume products that can lead to obesity," Danzon said. "Industrialists fear there will be (additional) taxes on products such as sugar-rich drinks, but we're not there yet," he said. ..."

"Yet" is the key word.

What makes this a serious issue for Europe is the fact that European citizens rely on taxpayer supported healthcare systems. The government taxes its citizens to pay for doctors and hospitals. When you throw in additional factors like double-digit unemployment in many EU nations, and an economy that's in the dumps, it's a big issue.

This is a reason why socialized medicine (a.k.a Hillary Care) doesn't work. It creates a "nanny state" that forces its people to live by specific measures all in the interest of saving money.

But here's another question, exactly WHAT are the foods that lead to obesity? If a kid eats 12oz of prime rib and baked potato on a daily basis and gets fat from it, then should meat and potatoes be considered "foods that leads to obesity"? Eating and drinking too many fruits daily will make you fat also, because of the high volume of carbs.

Candies and burgers don't make you fat, it's over-eating and the lack of responsibility.

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Fast Food Nation - Yeah, So What?

Fast Food Nation, the movie, is due to hit theaters November 17, but in limited venues.

My point is, "Yeah, so what?" "Tell us something we don't already know."

Fast Food Nation, which is based on the book of the same name, is woven together as a comedy of sorts, telling the tales of many lives who are affected by America's fast food industry.

It's actually a dark commentary about how many countries of the world have become addicted to fast food, and it's all America's fault. Yes, specifically America's fault. That WE ruined the lives of supposedly healthy people in other countries, and that WE should be held accountable. As if clogged arteries never existed anywhere but in America!

It looks at how fast food is made, with chemicals, artificial flavorings and artificial aromas. There's a spot where a burger executive says the meat is made from cow manure. (Remember, this movie is meant to be funny, but still somewhat of a commentary)

Fast Food Nation even goes on to show how America has turned the lives of immigrants into disasters, showing them working like slaves for corporate burger America. Well, no one forced them to work there!

But is any of this a surprise to us?

Didn't we already know that Big Macs aren't exactly 100% natural ingredients? Didn't we already know that a lot of fast food isn't exactly fine dining? Didn't we already know that Americans wants cheap eats and convenience?

Exactly what is Fast Food Nation trying to tell us that we don't already know?

The way I see it, it's propaganda that preaches to the flock. It doesn't really scare any fast food patrons away. If anything, it will simply bolster those anti-corporate types who might have wavered in recent years.

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Burger King Under Fire in Britain

Burger King came under fire recently in the UK after launching a new advertising campaign for its Double Whopper with Cheese burger.

The campaign asks the question, "Are you man enough?", and shows a guy exiting a high-price restaurant and rejecting "chick food". The whole commercial is played using Helen Reddy's hit song, "I am Woman" but replacing "woman" with "man".

A nutrition advocacy group called, "Sustain" filed a complaint with a government watchdog...

Sustain has written to the Advertising Standards Authority claiming that the Double Whopper adverts breach the industry code by promoting "excessive consumption".

"This kind of advert shows the food industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself," added Mr Watts. "If the Government is serious about defusing the health time bomb of obesity, they need to end adverts for this kind of product before the 9pm watershed."

I disagree. The advert shows a man who claims to have such a big hunger, and requires so much more energy, that he needs a big meal. It's not excessive consumption.

Visit Burger King UK to see the ad:
http://www.burgerking.co.uk/tvads/index.aspx

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Junk Food Painting

"Junk Food" is the name of a new acrylic painting by German-born Manfred Hönig. The photo you see below is of the painting in an unfinished state. The painting is part of a "live" exhibition where you can see the painting evolve as Manfred works on it.

Click here to see the latest stage of his painting.



Here's what Manfred has to say about his new work...

After a longer absence i am back at work. Actually i spent some time in the mothercountry of junkfood, as well as in Central America. A landscapepainter has to travel from time to time... Junk food is about waste, industrial processing and the ever more hurried life of the modern homo sapiens. It invades everywhere. Travelling in the remotest areas in the states, in tiny desert villages, you will find some junkfood outlets. So my vision is that some day this might end. Fads come and go and life is always changing. Maybe knowledge about this special phenomenen and the advertising tricks used to push junkfood as something desirable into our consciousness will help. Whoever came up with the idea, that it is desirable to produce food that tastes the same all over the world? So this painting will be about the age of junkfood, from the 50ies till sometime in the future, when nobody will gorge himself on junk any longer. Awareness has to be created now, for a future generation.

I can respect his thoughts, though I have a different viewpoint...

Junk food is here because people want junk food. Manufacturers won't make this stuff unless they know people will buy it. Nobody is forcing us to buy it. There are still plenty of stores that sell fresh food, and plenty others that sell organically grown food. But when you let freedom reign, people vote with their money.

In that sense, the evolution of junk food is the product of a free society. The only societies where no one eats junk food are those that force their people to do so. And in governments that impose "big brother" type laws, who are the leaders to decide what's good for us? What makes their actions correct?

What makes a McDonald's hamburger "junky" anyways? It's just bread, meat, vegetables, mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard. Those ingredients used in any other dish might be considered healthy.

I suspect what Manfred is actually trying to express is the far-reaching tentacles of America's corporate empire. I suppose if you live in Germany and witness a McDonald's restaurant taking over a family-owned cafe, you might be angry. But don't blame America. Blame your fellow German citizens for voting with their money.

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