We post a lot of recipes, but here at eatpress we try to keep up with global food news as much as possible. Generally it is quite depressing, poisoned fish, gmo issues, Couch tard suing Casey’s. I heard (again) that 1 in 5 American children are obese. 1 in 5 !! I mean that is KIDS !! Obesity is not just being chubby either, you need a body mass index of over 30 (BMI is calculated by dividing the subject’s mass by the square of his or her height, you can calculate yours here). I mean you know it’s bad when there is a reality tv show CALLED “I Eat 33000 Calories a day” on US television.
It frustrates me because it is so easily avoidable. This is a problem that doesn’t need fund-raising to find a cure. No new drug needs to be invented, all it is about is a combination of laziness and ignorance. When did it become our first priority to feed our taste-buds and not our bodies? When did the idea of nutrition get separated from food? When did eating healthy turn into tasting boring? This obese phenomenon is less than 100 years old. Fast food began the trend, obviously. People now feel that eating out is cheaper and faster. Lots of poor neighborhoods in the US have a fried chicken joint on the corner, but no grocery store. Diet and exercise are not complicated terms, overeating seems to be mainly a psychological issue now.
How does a country, a world turn this speeding bullet around? We watched Food Inc. recently which is something we won’t go into right now. But it is an amazing (horrifying) movie, not totally unbiased, but it does ask many of the questions that EVERYONE should be asking. Where does your food come from? We as consumers are powerful, the demand for goods starts with us. You can check out the Food Inc site for some great ways to get involved. What is knowledge if it isn’t shared?
Love him or hate him, Jamie Oliver is trying. Using his power of celebrity to influence celebrities all over the USA. Who knows what his motives are, but you have to hand it to him for trying. So today, to do my part, I signed his food revolution petition. You can here. I figure I vote for people in politics to be my voice for the things I believe, but because in my local politics, both parties have other issues, I’ll give a vote to someone like Jamie who might just do some good.
It’s not just Jamie Oliver making a difference. He’s very showy about his journey, but I think it adds to the drama in helping to make people realise just how bad things are. Tv is obviously a useful platform for spreading the word, especially in the US.
Whole Foods Market, the leading natural and organic foods supermarket in the US, it’s shoppers and Chef Ann Cooper, the nation’s “Renegade Lunch Lady,” have joined forces for a second year to help bring fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and healthy proteins to school lunch programs and raise awareness around healthier school food through a project that will fund salad bars for public schools across the States. From now until Sept. 29, shoppers may donate to the project at the check-out or make a donation online all the money goes to the setup and running of salad bars in schools.
If you want to eat healthy yourself, it’s not hard. There are tons of resources online for delicious healthy recipes, nutritional information, fast cooking ideas and tips for a healthy lifestyle, but if you’re really wondering, just eat more fruits and veggies for a start, take a little walk to the store maybe and don’t eat food with a million ingredients in it. You can still eat treats and bread, pasta or cheese, just think about how much you’re eating and make sure the majority of what you eat is made up of veg, fruit and whole foods. Cook, bake and enjoy!
