Here is another post from Chuck Garcia-Guest Blogger.
Recognizing that 2/3 of the American public is overweight, what a pleasure to see yesterday’s cover of the Sunday New York Times Business Section (March 23). The article poses a very daunting question: “Is a Food Revolution Now in Season?” I pose to our readers another question, “Can we win the war on obesity without a revolution?” Not likely.
Why would an article on food appear in the business section? The answer is very fundamental. Food, and unfortunately, the processing thereof, is big business. Why does this relate to the obesity crisis? Because the article touches on agribusiness and the industrial food chain. Their business represents billions in revenue a year that will work very happily to keep our nation fat. Time for a change? Absolutely. But it won’t happen overnight. It won’t happen without a fight!
In addition, the legislative model for how our hard earned tax dollars help farmers to produce corn and soybeans has to change. Those two crops are the predominant commodities grown in our country that support the feeding of livestock (that should be fed grass) and are transported to the factories for the making of Man Food (think breakfast cereals and Oreo cookies). This model is quite the opposite of walking into your backyard and picking broccoli for tonight’s dinner.
After years of being ignored, advocates of locally grown and organic food are beginning to feel like someone in Washington is actually paying attention. Though we mere mortals should not depend on Washington to tell us what we should and should not eat, we need the legislators on the side of God Food rather than having their ears bent by the lobbyists representing Man Food.
Given Michelle Obama’s initiative to plant a vegetable garden on the White House Grounds (good for her) she has raised eating God Food to a much higher level of consciousness. By the act of growing God food in her home, she is encouraging everyone (adults and children included) to eat food that is actually nutritious, unprocessed, and locally grown. It doesn’t get any better than that! There is no doubt that American companies have become very good at producing cheap Man food that comes from a factory long after it left the farm. Is there finally some recognition that this is bad for the people that eat that junk and bad for the environment? The only winners are the processed food companies with pressure to report quarterly profits by selling more junk! Though we have a long way to go, it’s very encouraging that the sustainable-food movement is finally getting some face time. Three cheers for the New York Times for putting this article on the front page of the heavily read business section. The war on obesity has to be fought on the mainstream media, not mentioned on the back pages of specific journals that don’t reach the masses. It is our hope that through better education, communication, and transparency we can begin to feel like this is a war we can win. Thank you to the mainstream media for helping our cause. Let’s hope we see a lot more of this.
Comments