Ecological in Food

As the population of the world grows daily and as people seem have less time on their hands,  a significant change in our food has occurred, and the change for the most is not a good one.  

30 years ago, the majority of food purchased at the local store was fresh, healthy and ready to be taken home and cooked into a meal (Oliver, 2008, web)p and people went shopping daily.  A trip to a grocery store these days shows that most of the space is used for processed and prepackaged food. And a closer look at the food’s ingredients will show an abundance of salt, sugar, preservative and any number of other ingredients that are almost impossible to pronounce without a degree in chemistry. Even good old milk now comes in flavored varieties with added sugars. Chef Jamie Oliver during a TED Talk did a great illustration of how much sugar a school child would consume in just five years using  a wheelbarrow full of sugar cubes. Grocery stores still carry fresh produce but those can be full of pesticides that has been sprayed in the fields during growing time  (Cooper, 2007, web). Meanwhile organic food which should be free of these chemicals is too expensive for many people. The higher costs of some foods causes people to buy cheaper items to eat, leading them to the processed, boxed or plastic wrapped items. Much of these products can be tossed into a microwave, cooked and then eaten without even having to do home cooking.

     These highly process food items which are full of sugar, salt and fat along with less exercise has led to obesity that is affecting young and old, male and female, and across all race or nationality lines. More is spent on daily runs to Starbucks than healthy foods to cook at home. We seem to think nothing of boosting the diet industry bottom line or the medical world revenues due to conditions caused by bad eating. Diabetes was affecting 9% of children in 2007 (Cooper, 2007, web) a number has grown likely over the years.

     Ann Cooper was the executive chef of the Berkeley school district in California and her team produced over 7000 meals a day. Although this is Berkeley, she discovered the food the children were dining on was largely mass manufactured processed cuisine that came in cardboard boxed or wrapped in plastic.  There was basically nothing healthy even though if it was allowed by USDA (Cooper, 2007, web) until she revamp the whole lunch dining experience including adding a salad bar. 

      Healthy meals at schools can help the children learn better by fueling their bodies and minds with energy driven food and meals rather than sugar, salt and fat filled meals that are proven to make people lethargic. In 2007 Berkeley school district was spending just .03% of its educational

funds on nutrition services. According to Chef Sam Kass, who worked at the White House as Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition the total average cost per meal was $2.68 but only $1 went to food, the rest being admin. (Kass, 2015, web). Increasing what is spent on better school meals can increase test scores, according to Kass, in study results. Not only would it increase learning capabilities, but the level of obesity would decrease. Obesity is a factor that kills more people in the United States than most other diseases, smoking and even homicide (Oliver, 2008, web).  Limiting sugar, salt and fat in diet, exercising and eating smaller portions can be key steps to avoiding obesity and losing weight. Fad diets don’t work nor does the processed low-fat lean cuisines which when you read the labels are full of salt while home cooking is a way to know.

References 

Cooper, A. (2007). What's Wrong with School Lunches [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ann_cooper_talks_school_lunches

Kass, S. (2015). Want kids to learn? Feed them Well [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/sam_kass_want_to_teach_kids_well_feed_them_well

Oliver, J. (2010). Teach Every Child About Food [Video]. Retrieved from  https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver/transcript?nolanguage=e