An unhealthy culture: What do we do?

Kel Varnsen

MotoDC wrote:

I get what you're saying, but cooking good food healthfully is really, really expensive. Partly because non-processed foods and healthfully-sourced fish are pretty expensive, but also because of the waste (the amount of produce my wife and I throw out because we can't finish it before it goes bad is embarrassing).

I am not sure I buy cost of healthy food as a valid excuse. I mean sure shopping at a place like Whole Foods and only buying super healthy food is of course super expensive compared to a quarter pounder value meal. But buying moderatly healthy food is way cheaper than hitting up McDonalds. I mean you can pick up things like bags of frozen vegatbles or rice, or cans of tuna or beans or even chicken pieces or eggs, at the grocery store for super cheap. I mean yes those things are the most healthy things in the world but a meal of chicken, rice and some steamed frozen vegatables is way more healthy and cheaper than eating a big mac. But ordering a big mac or a pizza is easier so I think a lot of that comes down to lazyness.

Jason P

Many moons back there was a thread that posed the question of limiting what can be purchased with food stamps, such as soda pop and junk food (my thought was that if 7/11 sold it, it was off limits like alcohol and tobacco ). That is one step. (although people argued that stripped the individual of choice).

As for schools serving crap .... well, if the teachers and educators cannot band together and figure out how to fix that issue, we may be truly screwed.

We need better information on food products ... although the people that will heed the warnings and labels are probably due-diligent in choosing their food presently.

The big issue is overcoming all the entertainment choices that technology presents us. We can hang out with our friends without actually physically hanging out with them. iPhones, iPads, video games, 3-D TV .... sadly, that trumps kicking a ball around or climbing a tree to a kid .... and an adult.

If all else fails, we can always go back to shame and humiliation as tactics.

(hey, it worked to slow down smoking) :think:

USARAY

I don't know you get burgers for a buck fries for a buck giant soda for a buck
1000 calories for 3 bucks feeds a small kid

whygohome

Kel Varnsen wrote:

MotoDC wrote:

I get what you're saying, but cooking good food healthfully is really, really expensive. Partly because non-processed foods and healthfully-sourced fish are pretty expensive, but also because of the waste (the amount of produce my wife and I throw out because we can't finish it before it goes bad is embarrassing).

I am not sure I buy cost of healthy food as a valid excuse. I mean sure shopping at a place like Whole Foods and only buying super healthy food is of course super expensive compared to a quarter pounder value meal. But buying moderatly healthy food is way cheaper than hitting up McDonalds. I mean you can pick up things like bags of frozen vegatbles or rice, or cans of tuna or beans or even chicken pieces or eggs, at the grocery store for super cheap. I mean yes those things are the most healthy things in the world but a meal of chicken, rice and some steamed frozen vegatables is way more healthy and cheaper than eating a big mac. But ordering a big mac or a pizza is easier so I think a lot of that comes down to lazyness.

I, too, disagree with the idea that healthy food is so/too expensive. Buy some whole wheat pasta, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, and serve!

whygohome

Jason P wrote:

Many moons back there was a thread that posed the question of limiting what can be purchased with food stamps, such as soda pop and junk food (my thought was that if 7/11 sold it, it was off limits like alcohol and tobacco ). That is one step. (although people argued that stripped the individual of choice).

As for schools serving crap .... well, if the teachers and educators cannot band together and figure out how to fix that issue, we may be truly screwed.

We need better information on food products ... although the people that will heed the warnings and labels are probably due-diligent in choosing their food presently.

The big issue is overcoming all the entertainment choices that technology presents us. We can hang out with our friends without actually physically hanging out with them. iPhones, iPads, video games, 3-D TV .... sadly, that trumps kicking a ball around or climbing a tree to a kid .... and an adult.

If all else fails, we can always go back to shame and humiliation as tactics.

(hey, it worked to slow down smoking) :think:

:clap:

pandora

I'm afraid shame and humiliation would have the opposite effect on both kids and adults
and we got laws against bullying...

USARAY

whygohome wrote:

Kel Varnsen wrote:

MotoDC wrote:

I get what you're saying, but cooking good food healthfully is really, really expensive. Partly because non-processed foods and healthfully-sourced fish are pretty expensive, but also because of the waste (the amount of produce my wife and I throw out because we can't finish it before it goes bad is embarrassing).

I am not sure I buy cost of healthy food as a valid excuse. I mean sure shopping at a place like Whole Foods and only buying super healthy food is of course super expensive compared to a quarter pounder value meal. But buying moderatly healthy food is way cheaper than hitting up McDonalds. I mean you can pick up things like bags of frozen vegatbles or rice, or cans of tuna or beans or even chicken pieces or eggs, at the grocery store for super cheap. I mean yes those things are the most healthy things in the world but a meal of chicken, rice and some steamed frozen vegatables is way more healthy and cheaper than eating a big mac. But ordering a big mac or a pizza is easier so I think a lot of that comes down to lazyness.

I, too, disagree with the idea that healthy food is so/too expensive. Buy some whole wheat pasta, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, and serve!

I don't know where you are shopping fast food is cheap you can not cook for the same
yeah I bet my nephew would love that eggplant mess true I think Moms are tired after their 10 hour days
to tired to shop cook cleanup lug the kids to practice finish the laundry help the kids with homework give them a bath
of course people are choosing fast and easy but there are some healthier options there now

catefrances

Jason P wrote:

...

Is the Apple iPad in cahoots with Pfizer and Frito Lay? Is it a good sign when the NFL or your Nintendo Wii have to beg kids to go outside and play for 60 minutes? As I mentioned earlier, my childhood diet consisted of Slim Jims, Tombstone pizza's, and Doritos. But my parents damn near had to send out search parties to drag me back into the house at night and for some strange reason, I was not overweight.

you said cahoots. i love that word.


drive thru restaurants.. why do we need them? if you really want the food at least be bothered to get out of your car and go get it. might even slow you down a bit and give you time to think.

catefrances

Tritone wrote:

I don't know where you are shopping fast food is cheap you can not cook for the same
yeah I bet my nephew would love that eggplant mess true I think Moms are tired after their 10 hour days
to tired to shop cook cleanup lug the kids to practice finish the laundry help the kids with homework give them a bath
of course people are choosing fast and easy but there are some healthier options there now

and this just about says it all. society has created the situation where parents, both mothers and fathers are soemtimes so stressed for lack of time that it becomes so easy to just buy fast food. and theres no doubting the kids love it.

whygohome

Tritone wrote:

I don't know where you are shopping fast food is cheap you can not cook for the same
yeah I bet my nephew would love that eggplant mess true I think Moms are tired after their 10 hour days
to tired to shop cook cleanup lug the kids to practice finish the laundry help the kids with homework give them a bath
of course people are choosing fast and easy but there are some healthier options there now

Of course, what you stated is true. People--both parents--are working longer hours, sometimes two jobs, so going through the druve-thru is far more convenient (a word/concept that may be crippling our society in ways) than cooking a healthy meal at home. So, we are back to the socioeconomic argument.

whygohome

catefrances wrote:

Tritone wrote:

I don't know where you are shopping fast food is cheap you can not cook for the same
yeah I bet my nephew would love that eggplant mess true I think Moms are tired after their 10 hour days
to tired to shop cook cleanup lug the kids to practice finish the laundry help the kids with homework give them a bath
of course people are choosing fast and easy but there are some healthier options there now

and this just about says it all. society has created the situation where parents, both mothers and fathers are soemtimes so stressed for lack of time that it becomes so easy to just buy fast food. and theres no doubting the kids love it.

Sorry, cafefrances, it looks like we were typing the same thing at the same time!!

pandora

more calories here bottle shop on wheels!

catefrances

pandora wrote:

more calories here bottle shop on wheels!

we have drive thru bottle shops here. it makes me chuckle a bit when you think about the whole dont drive whilst drunk thing.

catefrances

whygohome wrote:

catefrances wrote:

Tritone wrote:

I don't know where you are shopping fast food is cheap you can not cook for the same
yeah I bet my nephew would love that eggplant mess true I think Moms are tired after their 10 hour days
to tired to shop cook cleanup lug the kids to practice finish the laundry help the kids with homework give them a bath
of course people are choosing fast and easy but there are some healthier options there now

and this just about says it all. society has created the situation where parents, both mothers and fathers are soemtimes so stressed for lack of time that it becomes so easy to just buy fast food. and theres no doubting the kids love it.

Sorry, cafefrances, it looks like we were typing the same thing at the same time!!

just great minds thinking alike. 8-)

Jason P

pandora wrote:

more calories here bottle shop on wheels!

God bless America

mikepegg44

whygohome wrote:

b]laugh folks, it's good for you[/b)

quit telling me how to live my life!

riotgrl

Individual responsibility keeps coming up but what about corporate responsibility? Do they just get off the hook because that's the way business works? We are wired for three tastes - fat, sugar, salt. What do you think are the main ingredients in fast food? The processed food at the grocery store has nearly unrecognizable ingredient lists. Groups are trying to get the government and corporations to label foods that are GMO and the food industry is fighting this. How are we supposed to make better choices when they won't give us all the information? I certainly believe in personal responsbility and as a working mother I cook all the food for my family regardless of how tired I am; I have made a deal with my kids - the candy they get at school as rewards for money. But it has to be equal responsibility for everyone not just us an individuals.

catefrances

riotgrl wrote:

... I certainly believe in personal responsbility and as a working mother I cook all the food for my family regardless of how tired I am; ...

lets not start thinking we are all the same. because you can do it doesnt mean all parents can. this is not an attack on you, im just saying.

RW81233

inlet13 wrote:

RW81233 wrote:

inlet13 wrote:

We all make choices, individually... yes. Now, does marketing influences some of us to buy bad products? Sure. Does the fat surrounding our guts influence us to try to avoid bad products? Sure. Does lack of friends to play sports influence us? Sure. Does good parenting help us to avoid bad products? Sure. Does lack of high salary help adults steer away from organic food? Sure. There's so many things one could "deflect" this problem to...

...But, at the end of the day - for those 18+, WE do make choices as INDIVIDUALS to put pieces of food inside our mouths, chew it, then swallow.

so we just leave everything we learned and lived with before we were 18 behind? i don't agree at all.

Nope.

Not saying we leave everything we learned or lived with before we were 18 behind. Instead, I'd argue, our parents, or the people raising us, are primarily responsible for what we eat in our youngest years. That said, even pre-18, say at the age of 12 we are making some of own decisions. Our parents, or those who raise us, steer us in the beginning. It's originally their responsibility (say 0-10), then it becomes mixed (10-18), then it becomes ours alone (post-18).... who knows... we may be responsible for our own child's down the line (if we have one) too. ...

Responsibility is a tough subject for deflectionists to grasp.

so let me get this straight, every individual has a timer on them that says when they become responsible for their own behavior, and it starts at exactly the same point in everyone's life cycle? how oversimplistic and absolutely absurd. it's funny that you call me a deflectionist as I am writing a presentation on the collision of being self-responsible, political, and interventionist and the contradictions that we all live with. of course it's easier to sleep at night if we only criticize one (for you the individual, for me the system), and don't think about the other. in other words are you any less deflectionist (just in a different way) when you deny the a/effects a neoliberal economy has on shaping people's behavior and responsibility (or lack thereof)?

i mean jason p just put it out there: under the auspices of corporate capitalism companies like pizza hut have to infiltrate the minds of children (before they are responsible for their behavior based on your complex timeline) in order to stay in business. if this were not effective wouldn't they stop doing it? however, he claims that he gained weight because he's less active. although the idea that we are less active as a society is fallacious (we are actually more active than ever before), for him, as an individual, this is because work (he needs to make money to be able to keep eating shitty food) and other personal issues have come in the way. plus as he outlines playstation only stays on the market if it sells more, same with pharma companies, gym memberships, and food companies - so the underlying thread here is that capitalism creates the context from which individuals choose to behave.

i say it's silly just to blame the individual when it's clearly a systemic problem that creates a situation whereby individuals have the opportunity to make poor choices. this doesn't mean that i'm taking the blame away from individuals, it means that the responsibility is shared between the system and the individual. however, to criticize the system in your worldview is heretic it seems.

RW81233

riotgrl wrote:

Individual responsibility keeps coming up but what about corporate responsibility? Do they just get off the hook because that's the way business works? We are wired for three tastes - fat, sugar, salt. What do you think are the main ingredients in fast food? The processed food at the grocery store has nearly unrecognizable ingredient lists. Groups are trying to get the government and corporations to label foods that are GMO and the food industry is fighting this. How are we supposed to make better choices when they won't give us all the information? I certainly believe in personal responsbility and as a working mother I cook all the food for my family regardless of how tired I am; I have made a deal with my kids - the candy they get at school as rewards for money. But it has to be equal responsibility for everyone not just us an individuals.

this is what i'm talking about...plus not all individuals are operating from the same base. i mean the working mom in baltimore city has to walk or ride the bus for miles just to get to a decent grocery store. imagine having to do that after working a long day, then coming home and cooking? i guess compassion for others is tough to do when one lives a relatively privileged life.