(noon – promoted by Nightprowlkitty)
Of/By/4 in 18 minutes By Lawrence Lessig
copyright © 2010 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
Dearest Mommy and my natural father . . .
I apologize. My belly, my bloated body, only belatedly do I understand. It never was in the genes. The abundant meat that weighed heavily on my bones was not caused by my chromosomal structure; it was piled on by Congressional and corporately funded campaigns. Mommy and the husband who helped make me, much to my embarrassment, today I acknowledge my error. I was spoon-fed, and not by the two of you. Legislators, Lobbyists, and big businesses that place misleading labels on chemically cooked up cuisines put corn fillers on my every plate. I chowed down. My little body bulged out. From the inside out, I grew bigger and wider.
I am so sorry. I did not realize. Sugar and high fructose corn syrup made me other than pleasingly plump. I thought it was you, the givers of my DNA, Deoxyribonucleic acid. I believed that genetic material was my doom. Oh my parents, trans fats and trans fatty acids made me do it, blow up like a balloon.
I know I blamed you. Now I understand. Only your votes could have prevented my childhood obesity.
Perhaps, the chemicals that clung to the frozen foods we were all fed persuaded you as well. I remember the ample advertisements that tempted us to indulge. TV dinners. Yum! Soda to sip on. Sensational. Potpies and popped corn all cooked in a jiffy. Delicious! It seems, in retrospect, our preferred diet did us in. Fast foods, we thought, bought us time. Indeed, these processed products only purchased candidates and ensured greater corporate profits.
Oh yes; the junk we ate also added pounds, advanced poor health, and did I mention, help promote people whose claim to fame was the desire for absolute power. We were appeased and deceived, Corporations and Congressional candidates achieved.
My dear parents, today, I accept what I was unaware of for the many years I gluttonously gulped on boosted beverages, or swallowed all the overly salty, starchy, sweetened fare. My fat was not yours or mine. It was theirs. Big businesses gained on my back and yours.
Your apologetic, loving and lumpy daughter . . .
Betsy
References for reflection, food for thought . . .
- Sourball. Editorial. Washington Post. March 22, 2010
- Sweet But Not So Innocent, By Sally Squires. Washington Post. March 11, 2003
- Obesity Rates Keep Rising, Troubling Health Officials, By Denise Grady. The New York Times. August 4, 2010
- Ad Rules Stall, Keeping Cereal a Cartoon Staple, By William Neuman. The New York Times. July 23, 2010
- What We Know, and Don’t, About Children and Junk Food, By James McWilliams. The New York Times. July 22, 2010
- Unsafe At Any Meal. By Eric Schlosser. The New York Times. July 24, 2010
- Study: Too Much Sugar Increases Heart Risks, By Alice Park. Time. April 21, 2010
- Junk Food Nation, By Gary Ruskin and Juliet Schor. originally published in The Nation. August 12, 2005
- Sugar Is Back on Food Labels, This Time as a Selling Point, By Kim Severson. The New York Times. March 20, 2009
3 comments
If we are truly interested in maintaining our health, it may be helpful to think of food as medicine. And, as with medicines, some are healthy, some are not (Vioxx is a case in point).
Unless I’ve missed it, there haven’t been many articles about our food supply on this site. And unless those on this site are different than the others (such as HuffPo, Common Dreams, etc.), even the mere suggestion that cutting down on meat consumption might help the environmen is sure to spark GOS-level flame wars.
Typically, there will be a few dedicated carnivores who will offer such witticims as, “I just love little lambs, particularly if they are done medium rare.” In fact, such a suggestion seems to create a firestorm similar in intensity to that of advocating for responsible gun control laws.
Since this writer spends considerable time on this site, I’ve avoided stirring up such hostilities, not wanting to create a minefield for myself. And I might be wrong about others on this site, but choose not to stir up that potential hornet’s nest for now.
This writer was privileged to attend a recent lecture by a physician during which he described the food companies’ research into addictive foods, which simultaneously fattens our waistlines and the corporate bottom line. He explained that foods containing salt, sugar and fat can be extremely addictive.
Obviously, one of the three, in isolation, would not be (most of us wouldn’t be inclined to each tablespoon of refined sugar, table salt or lard), but, in the right combination, the picture changes considerably.
The physician went on to describe research during which rats were intentionally addicted to cocaine. They were then introduced to foods containing various combinations sugar, salt and fat. When the optimal combination was found, the rats were introduced into a cage with cocaine in one corner and the sugar, salt and fat combo in the opposite corner.
Guess which corner they gravitated toward, time and time again? Yes, the food companies are well aware of this phenomenon. Need real-life examples of such foods? Many years ago, peanut logs, with sweet, white chewy centers were popular. Barbequed meat typically contains that magic combination, as well as kettle corn, hamburgers smothered in ketchup, and many other foods.
A recent article on another fairly progressive website spoke of the vitamin water which has recently become so popular. Reportedly, it contains about one cent worth of vitamins and 33 grams of sugar. The manufacturer assures us that the sugar content is much lower than for its regular soft drinks, however, if someone would like a reference point, the Dominos sugar packets so often found in restaurants typically contain four grams of sugar. Would you add 8+ packets of sugar to a glass of water?
There have also been recent articles about the effect of toxins on our bodies, many of which are more abundant in some of the lower cost foods we may purchase. Apparently, the body attempts to protect itself from these toxins by encasing the toxin in fat, with predictable results.
Many of us have heard of former drug addicts experiencing flashbacks when undergoing weight loss. Perhaps this is caused by the release of toxins into the system when a fat molecule dissolves.
If a toxin is released into the system, it would seem to follow that the body would then act to enclose it in yet another fat molecule. If this is true, it might explain why people undergoing weight loss at some point seem to hit a plateau phase.
I could probably write about this topic for many hours on end, but do appreciate your posting such an important article.
In case you are new to Docudharma, I think you’ll find that, almost without exception, the people posting on this site are very friendly and collegial.
Thank you again for sharing this important information with us.