tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post6182274143533374666..comments2024-01-19T02:23:51.665-06:00Comments on Journal Wunelle: Thoughts about insulin resistance.wstachourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12447198404608861357noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-13944002664747575132011-07-05T23:51:03.115-05:002011-07-05T23:51:03.115-05:00I think you are right, that this is a situation wh...I think you are right, that this is a situation where the benign interests of the big food production companies are at odds with the true needs of their customers. And you are right that mere propaganda will not change any behavior. It may well be the case that some government intervention for the good of the people is necessary. Somehow, someone has to be the parent and force us to do the right thing, because we are so keen on doing the wrong things.<br /><br />I think you are also right in that folks for whom junk food is a foreign thing not only have no interest in it, but they generally dislike it, except for the 'American' factor. It is a learned taste, but it is not hard to learn.<br /><br />This is one of those issues that affects us all, and that we don't really want to fix, for the consumers it seems too hard to fix and the producers don't want to mess with a system that is working for them. I'd much rather see our politicians trying to solve this problem (and some others like it - most of which you have mentioned before) than go after the easy issues that will get them donations from special interests. I don't think there is an easy solution, or even just one solution, but I do think that by giving folks the right incentives - either to make healthy choices or for producers to provide healthy choices (that people will actually buy) we can improve this situation.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13860812772132171202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-46529503777645714702011-07-05T11:33:03.762-05:002011-07-05T11:33:03.762-05:00AND YET...
I still can't help thinking that e...AND YET...<br /><br />I still can't help thinking that every interface between business and food results in problems for we consumers: soft drinks--food items of purely deleterious effects--are now everywhere in schools, even "sponsoring" lunch rooms and school sporting events; corn products are now absolutely everywhere, including places quite far-flung from ground-to-mouth consumption (think High Fructose Corn Syrup); it is quite difficult here to eat without avoiding meat (and I confess I love meat), even though our very meat-heavy diet is a disaster for the environment and very inefficient vis-a-vis nutritional resources.<br /><br />I think I could feel more sanguine about business and food if there were more In N Out Burgers and fewer McDonald's (to say nothing of family farmers vs ADM).wstachourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12447198404608861357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-5201034716018191582011-07-05T11:15:01.885-05:002011-07-05T11:15:01.885-05:00(I hasten to add that a government-run propaganda ...(I hasten to add that a government-run propaganda campaign for healthy eating has roughly a 0% chance of being successful, FWIW.)wstachourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12447198404608861357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-85333194093155298092011-07-05T11:13:16.803-05:002011-07-05T11:13:16.803-05:00As always, I'm grateful for a little tempering...As always, I'm grateful for a little tempering :-) <br /><br />And I think there's a big chunk of truth in what you say--that the food companies are merely trying to out-compete each other for our dollars rather than actively seeking to degrade our nutrition.<br /><br />And yet I wonder if there can be compatibility between these things, short of some government-run propaganda campaign which makes healthy choices a desirable option. Looking at China, again, I think of the billion people there for whom most of our supermarket options are of no interest whatsoever. I think their tastes are differently-attuned than ours, and it becomes a chicken-and-egg question to ask what came first: the taste for junk food or the heavily-marketed junk?<br /><br />I suppose I've been running down a particular path for a while now, with Food, Inc. and Fast Food Nation and Eating Animals in the foreground of my thinking, and perhaps I'm running to paranoia. But even then I think it's kind of a dangerous combination, this survival mechanism you cite (quite correctly, I think) and the development of quick, cheap food that hits all of those triggers.<br /><br />I agree that making McDonald's food more expensive by a junk food tax will disproportionately hit the poor, which is a negative consequence I didn't think thru. And yet, like Wal-Mart, this cheapness is ultimately killing us.<br /><br />So I'm back to not knowing really how best to progress, but I think our current path is unsustainable. Worse than that, it's trending us toward bad places.wstachourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12447198404608861357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-1120134649332671012011-07-05T00:58:20.657-05:002011-07-05T00:58:20.657-05:00I agree that the bulk of the food that is availabl...I agree that the bulk of the food that is available in the US is not just not good for you, but is out-right bad for you. I don't think, though, that this sad situation is a result of food producers maximizing profits at all costs, rather it seems more likely due to their efforts to compete with each other in the marketplace. The result is pretty much the same, but I don't think that it is something as evil as the big bad corporations trying to get rich by getting us hooked on crack that we can't say no to. I think it is more the case that if I want to sell my food product, then I have to entice you to buy it instead of the other choices out there. Since most people decide what food to buy based primarily on taste and price those are the things that producers strive to improve on. This rather naturally leads to the current situation.<br /><br />The problem stems from the way we are designed to gorge when food is available to be able to get by during those times when it is unavailable. We also crave foods that are necessary for survival, but often not abundantly available in nature, like salt. Now that food is always available we have to work against the programming that got us here in the first place.<br /><br />It is clearly the case that the foods that are better for you are more work to produce and more expensive to deliver. Anything that can be processed mechanically can be done much more cheaply than those things that require manual labor, and processed foods that ship easily and have a longer shelf life are cheaper to handle. If the goal is to provide as minimum ration of calories to as many people as possible, then wheat wins out over produce such as tomatoes quite easily.<br /><br />It would be interesting to see what would happen if we were able to impose a sin tax on unhealthy foods. I am not sure that doubling the cost of a Big Mac, Diet Coke and a bag of Peanut M&Ms would do much to deter you or I from buying and eating them, unless there was something else readily available that we thought we could stomach. I think that as is often the case, such a sin tax would be the greatest burden on those least able to afford it. Right now supper at McDonald's is quite likely more affordable than a healthy alternative, so unless that alternative can be made more cheaply we'll just make folks poorer faster, rather than making them healthier. We already get most of our produce picked and processed by underpaid immigrant laborers, so there isn't much we can do to make that cheaper.<br /><br />So, while I am not convinced that this dilemma is the result of bad intentions, I do think that it is an example of how free market forces don't always work to produce the most desirable outcome. We get what we want - cheap, abundant tasty food (that happens to be pretty bad for you), but not what we know we need. Maybe if we could get our wants to match up with our needs we'd be set.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13860812772132171202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-35510192200968521002011-07-05T00:55:07.927-05:002011-07-05T00:55:07.927-05:00I've started my own battle to shed some excess...I've started my own battle to shed some excess weight. I've just done the count your calories method, and so far I've had at least a bit of success. I found a spiffy little app for my phone that has helped me quite a bit. It is from myfitnesspartner.com and it will look up the nutrition info on any food I eat, and then keep a running total for the day to see how I am meeting my target. It has been a real eye-opener to keep track of what I eat and see how little I need to eat in order to lose weight. I've had to cut back, but I can generally find meals that don't wreck my daily total. I just have to be somewhat careful, and be very stingy with the snacks.<br /><br />I've heard very good things about the South Beach diet, so if you can follow the advice given by that book I think it can be pretty good for you. The main thing is that you need to eat fewer calories than you need to survive, but it is very helpful to do it in a way that makes sense in terms of how your body works, and that is where the South Beach diet can help. Plus, you need to be able to stick with it long-term, or the weight will just come right back, so you need to find ways to adjust your diet that you'll be able to continue indefinitely. So many diets are not realistic in that regard, and I think the SB does about as well as can be done.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13860812772132171202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-2404206809911596892011-06-29T23:25:30.527-05:002011-06-29T23:25:30.527-05:00I always appreciate that you take the time to wade...I always appreciate that you take the time to wade thru my ramblings. I think your comment belongs verbatim in the body of the post, like the fingers in the glove. I have always felt vegetarianism is laudable for so many reasons (as you enumerate), and I'm only prevented from that path by my struggles to control my diet at all. Here's hoping I manage some permanent changes to build upon. <br /><br />More and more I find the icy fingers of unrestrained capitalism to be the constriction on our throats; we need to regain human control of our government, which is looking like a tall order. <br /><br />Currently reading Chris Hedges' <i>Death of the Liberal Class</i>, which is considerably blackening my mood. He's Taibbi without a sense of humor.wstachourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12447198404608861357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-54440737837824753262011-06-29T23:09:29.831-05:002011-06-29T23:09:29.831-05:00Wow, you are so thorough with your posts that it m...Wow, you are so thorough with your posts that it makes my head hurt. I didn't want to comment too soon until I had a chance to take it all in.<br /><br />And before I address anything serious, it is worth noting that if I had two lovelies like those in the picture helping me up, life wouldn't be so bad. :-)<br /><br />At different times in the last 5 years, I've done Atkins, with great success. I didn't have too much trouble sticking with it and saw quite a bit of weight loss. The only reason I really abandoned it was because I abandoned meat altogether about 15 months ago. As I may have mentioned before, this was not necessarily for the health benefits of doing so (though there are definite benefits) or because of an immediate concern for animals (though I certainly have some). It was out of environmental concerns and the disproportionate carbon cost of raising and transporting meat.<br /><br />Now, in the first year of my vegetarianism, I didn't want to be too much of a stickler about trying to stay low carb because I wanted to make sure that I stuck with it. And I have with no issues, though I've probably gained 15 pounds in that time. But in the last 3 or so months, I've made a concerted effort to scale back the carbs while staying vegetarian. Difficult, but not impossible and I hope it will result in the losing of those 15 pounds and some more. Atkins, South Beach, and most major eating systems are preaching the same thing ... fruits and vegetables, lean or no meat, whole grains, minimize refined sugars. Nothing to argue with any of that.<br /><br />I completely agree about processed foods. The biggest reason why we consume so much is because it is cheap and convenient. It's not just that this stuff should perhaps be taxed ... it's that we should stop subsidizing those that produce it. Small farm fresh foods are more expensive because those farms don't get the ridiculous subsidies that corporate corn, soy and wheat growers get. It's great to say that inner city people should eat better, but they don't even have access to the fresh foods that some of us are lucky to get and be able to afford.<br /><br />If we were all given better access to fresh food and those producers were able to compete on a level playing field, all of us would eat better. And if we ate better, we'd be healthier and healthcare costs would go down. This is the crux of why all of this will not happen ... who has the power and the money? The ADM's of the world and insurance companies. They line the pockets of the government and write the legislation. Organic Bob with his small farm has no pull whatsoever. These large companies have a financial incentive to keep us fat, stupid, addicted to sugar and dependent on healthcare.dbackdadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10700991588554336491noreply@blogger.com