Healthy Food Costs. How To Get Fat Without Trying, “Cornified”! Fast Food, Calories by Dollar. Transcontinental Railroad.

 

For Foodie Friday”:

Healthy Food Costs More--A Myth?

“Instead of food, we’re consuming “edible food-like substances” — no longer the products of nature but of food science. Many of them come packaged with health claims that should be our first clue they are anything but healthy.

In the modern food world, government subsidies are largely tied up with mass-production of crops used for purposes other than feeding people. Corn, for instance, is subsidized both for use in fattening feed animals which are in turn consumed by people, and for production of such derivatives as high-fructose corn syrup. Soybeans are subsidized, and put an astonishing variety of uses -- many having nothing to do with the nourishment of man, or beast.  (Most corn and soybeans are GMO crops)

Where the subsidies have not gone traditionally is to the most nutritious foods, such as vegetables and fruits intended for human consumption. It is perhaps ironic that the foods best suited to extend the 'shelf life' of human beings tend to have the shortest shelf life themselves. The converse, of course, is also true; some highly processed, glow-in-the-dark foods are all but immortal, while conspiring against the longevity of those consuming them. 

Along the way, we have seen innumerable examples of food products in almost every conceivable category that sport front-of-pack messages about better nutrition (e.g., lower fat, lower sodium, lower sugar, more vitamins, more whole grain, etc.) but that are actually less nutritious overall.

In one instance, we saw the nutrition score decline when a popular children's cereal came out in a "1/3 less sugar" version. It indeed had 1/3 less sugar, but it also had a lot more salt, a lot less fiber, less whole grain, more harmful fats and so on. A fancy multigrain bread will charge you a premium, but may have no more "whole" grain than white bread, and less than a humbly packaged, far less expensive whole wheat bread.

The average NuVal score (http://www.nuval.com/shop) for regular peanut butter is about 20. The average score for fat-reduced peanut butter, for which health conscious and "choosy" moms will pay a premium is a 7! A bit of healthful oil is taken out, while copious additions of sugar and salt are made. The front of the jar is mum on that topic.

Ours is a world of epidemic obesity, and more calories per dollar simply means the chance to gain more weight at no extra charge. Many people are willing to spend a fortune to lose the pounds they gained for free! Perhaps it's time to recognize that nutrition per dollar is the better measure of value.”    More at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-katz-md/healthy-food-costs-more--a-myth_b_831608.html

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ABC News - How To Get Fat Without Trying

“In this ABC News special, Peter Jennings reveals how government policies and food industry practices are helping to make Americans fat. Mr. Jennings' report begins in the farmlands of America and includes government agencies and representatives from the food industry. He examines how the type of government subsidies provided to farmers influences which foods are marketed or emphasized as part of healthy eating standards.”

Peter Jennings: “Of course, beef cattle were never intended to eat corn. And so, they have to be given all sorts of antibiotics to keep them healthy. Subsidized corn is everywhere. The whole food system has been, as someone said, "cornified." Corn is processed and put into thousands of products that Americans use everyday. If you want to see more directly how farm subsidies can lead to obesity, there is no better place than your local theater. The popcorn you eat here is made with subsidized corn.

Currently, the government subsidizes corn, corn, corn, and more corn. And very little fresh fruits and vegetables.”

   

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Peter Jennings report - How to Get Fat Without Really Trying - part 2

 

 

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Peter Jennings report - How to Get Fat Without Really Trying - part 3

“How is the Food Industry Deceiving You and obesity and health problems driven by government farm subsidies.”

 

Peter Jennings report - How to Get Fat Without Really Trying - part 4

“From high-fructose corn syrup contributing to mass obesity and other health epidemics to other dangers of processed foods - Peter Jennings investigates how US government corn farm subsidies further drive the problem”

 

Peter Jennings report - How to Get Fat Without Really Trying - part 5 

“Other countries are banned from advertising to children under certain ages.”

Transcript at: http://thedocumentarygroup.com/PJP/Transcripts%20Files/Script_Fat.doc

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On This Day:

Transcontinental railroad completed, May 10, 1869:

“On this day in 1869, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet in Promontory, Utah, and drive a ceremonial last spike into a rail line that connects their railroads. This made transcontinental railroad travel possible for the first time in U.S. history. No longer would western-bound travelers need to take the long and dangerous journey by wagon train, and the West would surely lose some of its wild charm with the new connection to the civilized East.

Harsh winters, staggering summer heat, Indian raids and the lawless, rough-and-tumble conditions of newly settled western towns made conditions for the Union Pacific laborers--mainly Civil War veterans of Irish descent--miserable. The overwhelmingly immigrant Chinese work force of the Central Pacific also had its fair share of problems, including brutal 12-hour work days laying tracks over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. On more than one occasion, whole crews would be lost to avalanches, or mishaps with explosives would leave several dead.

For all the adversity they suffered, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific workers were able to finish the railroad--laying nearly 2,000 miles of track--by 1869, ahead of schedule and under budget.”

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Yesterday:

Ray was working on the other side of the cargo-camping trailer.  The original paint job on that side wasn’t that great, so he is sanding it down to prime and repaint it.  The sky was overcast, so the white wasn’t so blinding, which it usually is on that side.

Misty and I went to get Jay, and had our walk down there.  Then he worked on the extension of my porch roof. 

Ray helped me anchor some ‘fins’ off a patio door blind all around the bottom of the big black wire cage, so that the tiny kittens couldn’t crawl out. Then it was set up with a bed, litter box, food and water.

About 11.00AM Angela arrived with the mama cat and her four kittens for me to board until Sunday.  They are just getting their eyes open.  I had them in a pet bed, but then I found a box which would give Mama more room.  I kept her in the cage until we were finished going in and out of the house, and then I let her wander around the grooming room.  She had been rescued just before she had her kittens, and was feral.  But as she tamed down so quickly at their place, Angela could tell that she had been someone’s pet at some time. She is very skinny, and seems to be a very sweet cat. 

It was the third day that Holly my new old cat, still hadn’t eaten anything, and so it was time to do something about it.  She hid all the time so I haven’t even been able to have a good look at her, let alone take any pictures.  All I ever saw was her white nose in dark corners.  I met her former foster mom, so Holly has gone to her former home for a few days.