@Lottie63....
I agree with you 100% and I hate when people take things out of proportion.
Our country has so much to do with the problem of obesity and sometimes not enough. Im not saying it's thier faults we are overweight or obese but I do believe that there are alot of things that could be done to improve our health. Like reduce pesticides for instance.
why are we paying for chemically treated foods that hurt us but then have to pay sometimes almost double the price for natural organic foods ( the way food should be)....doesnt make sense to me. especially for people with PCOS like me, who dont have money for organic foods...besides what you can get from a farmers market.
The bottom line is we must make educated decisions in all aspects of our lives, especially when it comes to what we put in our bodies.
It's up to YOU to be proactive. If you want a better quality of life, it's up to you to find out all you can about your options.
Thank you all for you tidbits of information
It is ridiculous that the government speaks out of both sides of its mouth the way they do. Corn and dairy products are heavily subsidized and--wonder of wonders, mirabile dictu!--they are also found just about everywhere! It's amazing to read about the history of the current food pyramid and see just how little real, rigorous evidence there was for it when it was created.
However, the big push for natural/organic/sustainable agriculture has its own problems. Organic farmers cannot call their produce organic if they use certain fertilizers and pesticides; instead, they use older and potentially more dangerous versions of these. Nor are organic farms always the vistas of pristine, sun-ripened goodness their owners present them to be; an organic factory farm is still a factory farm, and the potential problems inherent in using organic fertilizers (read: poop) are legion. Ground-water contamination, e. coli outbreaks, algal blooms in regional waterways, unsustainability to feed over seven billion people--organic agriculture is not without its dangers.
I guess all any of us can do is exercise the muscle between our ears and read up on our options, then make the most informed choices we can. It's a shame when what we read isn't always honest, though. Really, pushing fast-food pizza with extra cheese as great nutrition or ketchup as a vegetable are low points for governmental food regulations. Ugh.
Sorry about the rantiness. I think I had too much tea tonight!
Last edited by Nola Celeste; 11-08-2010 at 03:29 AM.
Yikes, this is why I make my pizza at home or eat Papa Murphy's (where I can 'edit' the contents of the pizza, if I so choose, before baking). As much as I don't mind a company adding more cheese or even marketing hard, promoting it as healthy by the government is going too far. This is why I am frustrated entities like the USDA even exist, mixing business practices and lobbying with government regulations really just obfuscates information more than it helps provide it.
And I loooove me some dairy, it's probably my favorite food grow, but I have inflammatory sensitivities to it. I eat cheese, yes, but it's more in the form of cottage cheese as a snack or a serving of feta to enhance my salads, not gobs and gobs on pizza (too frequently, anyway ).
Yes, that article does make one think that the world must be crazy.
I had wondered why so many restaurants were adding cheese, cheese, cheese to everything. Now I know! I enjoy cheese, but not in huge gobs.
But ultimately we have choices. You could not pay me to eat Domino's pizza, or Papa John's, or or any of those commercial pizzas. They are just a total food disaster. Fat, salt, carbs!
I don't completely buy the argument that poor people can't afford good nutrition. I have found that there are always better choices possible. No one has to buy junk food because it's cheapest. It's not really cheapest if you consider nutrition. Bag of Doritos vs. can of water-packed tuna...?
Not to mention the poor animals who are unnaturally stretched to their limits to produce all this cheese.
"But at the time, the industry was moving toward larger, more sophisticated operations that increased productivity through artificial insemination, hormones and lighting that kept cows more active."
Ugh, that bothered me so much. Did anyone see Food, Inc.? It was very eye opening.
I get what you're saying about junk food being cheaper, as it applies to school lunches. Growing up we got free lunch, but not food stamps. We had to buy all our food with money my dad earned. Mama could not pack our lunches for free, but we could have a "hot, healthy meal" at school for free. Little did they know how unhealthy it was, carbs and fat mostly. But, compared to today's school food, wow!
I agree that the government should not be endorsing campaigns that get us to eat more, more, more while shoving money out the back door to those farmers. Is there really a solution? Turn off your tv, raise your own cattle, grow your own foods? I try to be an informed consumer. . .
I'm not a big dairy fan. I'm one who believes adults do not need milk and especially do not need the milk of a cow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lottie63
I believe I'd read that humans are the only animals to drink milk after they are weaned and that this is probably not for the best. There's calcium in many healthy non dairy foods.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arctic Mama
Yikes, this is why I make my pizza at home
That's correct Lottie! I also believe there is a strong correlation between children grown up on cows milk and adult obesity. Milk historically, was not a beverage for adults.
I use milk in cooking but we (including the smallest members of my family) do not drink milk, ever. After my kids wean, they just drink water. We also eat cheese in some meals. My kids love cheese and I think it's an ok snack but I can't eat it alone like they do.
Gag, fat juice. I'm so glad I make healthier, better pizza on my bbq at home.
That's correct Lottie! I also believe there is a strong correlation between children grown up on cows milk and adult obesity. Milk historically, was not a beverage for adults.
I use milk in cooking but we (including the smallest members of my family) do not drink milk, ever. After my kids wean, they just drink water. We also eat cheese in some meals. My kids love cheese and I think it's an ok snack but I can't eat it alone like they do.
Gag, fat juice. I'm so glad I make healthier, better pizza on my bbq at home.
Part of me wants to go that route, but right now it's just me in my family. My kids and husband love milk. But I'm sneaky...I only buy one 2-gallon container of milk and when it's gone, they're all left with soy. Hehehe.
I don't eat dairy myself but it is sometimes hard to navigate the eating out world. Often I can omit the cheese but sometimes, it is integrated into dishes. I feel a lot better without eating dairy and I didn't eat a lot of dairy from the start of my weight loss because of the high calories.
There are lots of good calcium sources, much better than dairy (which can actually also leech calcium from your bones), but the dairy council in the US has a lot of money and can influence policy changes.
Eat your greens, eat nuts, seeds and overall just eat a balanced diet.
I've seen Food inc. as well as other documentaries about the food industry, I have never looked at food the same way since.
I have recently become very interested in watching documentaries on the food industry lately, movies like; King Corn, Supersize Me, and Food Inc. as well as Jamie Oliver's food Revolution. I had an idea that there were some issues with our food system but didn't know exactly how awful we are. It was really eye opening.
When I was in high school we had a choice of 1 main course (typically nuggets, pizza or burger) and 2 "veggies" and a milk (generally whole fat white or chocolate milk). The veggies were rarely broccoli, or cucumbers, but EVERY DAY french fries were in the veggie section. I know technically they do contain potatoes... but really?
I mean, have y'all seen the way that chicken nuggets are made? .... disgusting
I do not trust the government at all when it comes to our food safety, even less so when they are giving us recomendations about what to eat. I have not eaten commercially produced beef in probably 4 years. I am lucky enough to live a stone's throw away from a fabulous market that has produce and grass fed beef from local farmers, fresh seafood, exotic spices, you name it. The market itself is located in a economically depressed area of the city and they do accept food stamps.
I don't think poor people can't afford healthy/nutrtion food but I do think sometimes they can be less educated about nutrition and lack the time/resources/knowledge on how to prepare good food. I also don't think that it is only poor people that lack these facts. Don't even get me started on school lunches. I have absolutely no problem with my tax dollars going to feed kids meals, I do have a problem feeding them crap. For alot of kids the school lunch is the only meal they get. My friend's mother is a "lunch lady" in a small neighborhood, some kids actually knock on her door on weekends looking for food. How sad is that?! Did any of you see Jamie Oliver's show Food Revolution? More than half the kids couldn't identify simple vegetables!
As consumers the power is in our hands, we determine what food is on the shelves of our grocery stores. But don't be fooled, the big food corporations love to try to trick us with meaningless adjectives, my favorite being "natural."
I have recently become very interested in watching documentaries on the food industry lately, movies like; King Corn, Supersize Me, and Food Inc. as well as Jamie Oliver's food Revolution. I had an idea that there were some issues with our food system but didn't know exactly how awful we are. It was really eye opening.
I loved King Corn Another really good one is the Future of Food, it focuses on genetically modified food and Monsanto (one scary corporation).
I think I had too much tea tonight!
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