Hi, ladies. I read this in yesterday's paper. It's called The fat pushers: Big Food is the Big Tobacco of our time and I thought you might find it an interesting read. The author is a syndicated columnist, so you may have read it in your paper already...
"But maybe this will be the year when an entree of chicken quesadillas with bacon, mixed cheese, ranch dressing and sour cream -- 1,750 calories -- begins to look just a little bit more like an ashtray."
Very interesting - thanks! It helps to explain why obesity was such a rare thing when I was younger. From what I understand, the beginning of major obesity problems started about the same time that high fructose corn syrup came on the scene in the 80's. I'm glad that there is starting to be a bigger focus on ridiculous portion sizes and ludicrous calorie counts, too. For example, when I was a kid, if I had a Rice Crispy square, it was quite small. Now the coffee places sell Rice Crispy squares with huge (>100g) carb numbers. Fortunately, some places are starting to go against the mega size trend and we are starting to see some smaller portion sizes due to consumer demand. I hope this continues!
Edited for clarity
Last edited by presmaggie; 07-25-2009 at 11:33 AM.
Great article. I know that I'm looking at food very differently and it will be interesting to see how our culture changes its food habits over the next 20 years.
I'm glad that there is starting to be a bigger focus on ridiculous portion sizes and ludicrous calorie counts, too. For example, when I was a kid, if I had a Rice Crispy square, it was quite small. Now the coffee places sell Rice Crispy squares with huge (>100g) carb numbers. Fortunately, some places are starting to go against the mega size trend and we are starting to see some smaller portion sizes due to consumer demand. I hope this continues!
Edited for clarity
I think part of the problem is also that now, they charge, say, $1.50 for that enormous rice krispie bar. If they cut the size in half, they can't really cut the cost in half -- since they won't be suddenly selling twice as much to keep their revenue targets the same. And consumers will be outraged to find portions grow smaller but the cost remain the same. It's all a vicious circle.
I think part of the problem is also that now, they charge, say, $1.50 for that enormous rice krispie bar. If they cut the size in half, they can't really cut the cost in half -- since they won't be suddenly selling twice as much to keep their revenue targets the same. And consumers will be outraged to find portions grow smaller but the cost remain the same. It's all a vicious circle.
Yes, that seems to be a big part of it, too. However, consumer pressure did force McDonald's to get rid of supersizing, so who knows? We can always hope. I know that I can never eat only half of a huge rice krispie bar.
I went to see Food, Inc. this last weekend. It was an eyeopener for sure. I just ordered the book "The End of Overeating" too, so I'm anxious to read it. I highly recommend this movie if you get a chance to see it. I live in Iowa, the biggest producer of corn and hogs in the nation (both of which are chronicled in the movie) and I was surprised about how in the dark we are about how our food is produced, especially from a human rights standpoint. The movie stated that corn or corn products are in over 90% of grocery items and goes by many unreadable names in the ingredients list. It also talked about how cheap fast food is for the poor and how much more expensive it is to eat healthy fruits and vegetables. It stated there are a handful of corporations in this country that pretty much control all food production. It also talked about the power of lobbyists in the food industry and how they have endangered food safety by putting pressure on legislators to only enact laws that are favorable to them. One of the people interviewed in the movie is the mom of a 2 year old who died from eating E. coli contaminated beef and the resistance she has met including possible litigation against her by food industry giants. It was shameful.
Editorial on obesity
Yay Ellen Goodman
