food politics
Battle of the Two Sugars
In response to the declining consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the Corn Refiners’ Association has asked the FDA for permission to change the name to “corn sugar.” Isn’t that typical of special interest groups — find a new way to market an old product in order to fool the public. This, in the face of serious concerns by scientists and consumers about the health and environmental impacts of HFCS.
Prisoners of Modern Commerce
Would you like to live next door to one of these? Or anywhere nearby for that matter? What you see above is a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) that may house hundreds to thousands of factory farmed animals in confinement buildings. It epitomizes the corporate takeover of chickens, turkeys, ducks, cows, calves, pigs, etc. It is the embodiment of cruelty to animals.
Your Brain on Fake Food
New research published in the Archives of General Psychiatry by scientists at Yale University indicates that there is actually neural activity similar to drug addiction when a tempting food is presented. Researchers studied 48 young women of various weights. Using functional MRI (fMRI) the investigators were able to document the parts of the brain that are activated when a person sees a tempting food.
The Dark Side Of Bright Food
Did you ever see little children walking around with multicolored faces after eating some ices or candy that stains their mouth? I just cringe when I see this. And I want to ask the mother why she lets her children eat that toxic junk. But I control myself, smile and walk away. I guess I am just different. When my son was little I never gave him such things. Am I a killjoy? I don’t think so.
Heads up: Look What’s Coming Down the Pike!
If it is not already clear to you what stakes Big Ag has in biotechnology, here’s what is coming down the pike. There is a new “super alliance” recently formed, called the Alliance to Feed the Future. This new syndicate brings together huge megacompany members such as the Council for Biotechnology Information (whose members include BASF, DuPont, Dow, and Monsanto), with other huge food processing companies like the International Food Additives Council, American Soybean Association, CropLife America (whose website features stories such as “Benefits of Pesticides and Crop-Protection Chemicals”) the International Formula Council and the National Association of Margarine Manufacturer.
Celebrating the One Month Anniversary of Real Food Forager!
Today is the one month anniversary of the release of Real Food Forager and I just want to thank all my readers for your support. For me, it has been a whirlwind of learning activity of new technology skills in all the areas I have explored: blogging, photography and video.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Good Lesson for Childhood Obesity?
The childhood obesity epidemic is becoming a grave concern to many health care groups. According to the Center for Disease Control, results from the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)—using measured heights and weights—indicate that an estimated 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2-19 years are obese.
Simple Steps toward Getting Started on Your Real Food Adventure
It may feel overwhelming when you look at the whole foods, real foods, Weston Price Foundation (WAPF) recommended approach to improving your health. You will notice that almost everything is home cooked, starting from scratch. There are more steps involved in preparing foods, for example, soaking nuts and grains before use. Furthermore, there are foods mentioned that you never even heard of or were informed are bad for you. This is all true.
Fat monkeys = healthier humans?
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. On the front page of Sunday’s NY Times (2-20-11), there was an article about the research on obesity in monkeys. The researchers are actually inducing obesity in the monkeys in order to study weight loss in humans. They are using monkeys for the obvious reasons that [...]
Newly-Revised USDA Guidelines Make Matters Worse
How appropriate that the Weston Price Foundation orchestrated a very interesting press conference on Valentine’s Day (the day of the heart) in Washington DC. to publicize and refute the newly revised USDA Food Guidelines. (Watch the video here). After all, for the past thirty years we have been following their low-fat advice in order to [...]