I’m not sure what exactly to think about this “obesity epidemic.” On the one hand, Farrell argues that medical experts pose obesity as a deadly disease that is sweeping the nation, because of the greater social anxiety about becoming fat (21). This medical support serves nicely to justify social pressure to be thin and discredit fat people as healthy people. On the other hand, it really is hard to ignore the average American’s growing waistline and the fact that we’re including higher and higher amounts of junk in what we eat every day. I feel that weight gain isn’t just a result of a more sedentary lifestyle and access to more quantities of food, but rather the fact that our food is getting worse by the decade.
In writing this I think back to Colin Beavan’s lecture that I attended on Monday night, and his mention of the fact that food corporations are less focused on producing nutritious food than we think. As the head of a corporation whose shares are held in part by many parties, a CEO’s job is to increase profits or risk getting sued, Beavan said. Therefore, the same care isn’t taken to mass-produce fruits, vegetables, and grain that is taken on small-time local and organic food farms. Much of the plant-based food we buy at typical supermarkets are loaded up with GMOs and soaked in pesticides, which is probably not great for the human bodies. Highly processed foods are another story completely, being filled with fillers and other substances that are probably not even recognizable to our great-grandparents.
The whole/local/raw/veg*n/organic food revolution that we’ve been witnessing these past few years probably has its roots in an effort to move away from dependency on tampered-with foods to fill out our diets and live more healthful and less carcinogenic lives. However, far too many people that join these food revolutions are looking for a way to shed some extra pounds here and there, not necessarily to become a more mindful and conscious eater. I feel that they’re completely missing the point in trying to eradicate harmful foods from our diets. Upton Sinclair said it best in 1906: “I aimed for the public’s head, and I hit them in the stomach” (Farrell 16). In 2011 though, what this means is that instead of the public focusing on nutrition as an indicator of health, everyone is looking to their waistlines.
Being in physical shape is probably the first indicator of health for most people, whatever “physical shape” means. Therefore, from what I’ve seen in the media, people are more willing to go for a low-nutrient food as opposed to the high-nutrient option to avoid getting fat. Many Americans are either unable or unwilling to commit to a diet that includes mostly whole foods, I would assume, and so we’re left with the option of consuming foods that may not necessarily increase our size but leave us with a host of problems brought on by the food choices we make. I think it’s time people stopped focusing on bodily fat as a measure of health and therefore success, desirability, and other characteristics that come with being at one’s prime. The qualities that come together to form peak human health involve much more than the physical body and our fixation on it.
It's so true that "many Americans are either unable or unwilling to commit to a diet that includes many whole food." There has formed a vast divide between people and the very food they eat. Nutrition facts separate the food, compartmentalize protein, fiber and fat. Nutrients aren't meant to be pulled apart. This separation has allowed the idea that protein is superior to gain massive traction. In reality, the American diet puts far too large a focus on gaining and supplementing protein. A person would get plenty of protein by simply eating plant based whole foods.
ReplyDeleteOther food myths have developed since this separation of food from fork. Increasingly, I've heard that cows need to be milked. This was even stated by Colin Beavan. Such a statement reflects that Beavan too has been hoodwinked by a business man. In his book he mentions that Ronny, the dairy farmer he visits tells him that "cows would die without people to withdraw the surfeit milk that a calf couldn't consume." FALSE. Ronny says this of course because if people stop consuming milk, then his dairy farm goes under.
It is extremely difficult for people to get a full picture of the food they consume because the food industry is developed by the need for profit. Myths need to be busted and people need to go the source: the farm.
I completely agree with you and Ana! I think people don't know that fruits and veggies are NOT subsidized by the government. Its really expensive to buy organically or locally because its expensive to harvest/tend to. The meat industry is so wealthy because they have help from the big dogs, and the crap they put into those animals to bulk them up and keep "healthy" is gross. It's terrible for bodies. Is the only think making people fat? No! Of course not, but then again what is fat?
ReplyDeleteDefining fat is sooo tricky, but maybe understanding the spectrum will help us really assess what is "healthy". Not all fat is unhealthy, but we assume it is because thin is the only picture of health we see. Not all vegetarians/vegans/local-tarians, etc are thin, just like not all "healthy" people are thin. Redefining healthy is a big step. A bigger step would be government pressure to make sure our food is actual food, not just some byproduct.
I grew up thinking that being fat automatically meant that a person is unhealthy. This misconception is a value that is forced upon our society by not only the media but the medical profession as well. When in reality, health varies body to body regardless of body weight. Although, body weight can be an indicator, it is unfair and ignorant to say that a fat person is unhealthy just based off of appearance. It is alarming that our country is growing exceeding fast in weight so there is no doubt that we need to acknowledge and educate Americans on what exactly is healthy. I agree with you that it is definitely time to stop focusing on bodily fat as a measure of health. There is so much more to consider when evaluating the health of an individual.
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