Latest book on the reading list: Fat Land by Greg Critser
Describing the modern history of fat in the US, Critser leads you quickly through the government-induced increase in accessibility of fattening products and the evil marketing geniuses who created value meals. He follows this up with a detailed description of what excessive fat actually does to your body parts, which is guaranteed to scare the bejeezus out of anyone who's ever had a sip of coke.
What is interesting about the book are the facts provided about how the government changed agriculture/trade regulations to allow for the reduction in price of fattier foods (also, assumedly, healthier foods, but that's beside the point). I also never knew that the adult value meal also came before the kids' happy meal, or that the physical fitness test in physical education class was derived from two different ideals, one of which focuses on physical activities and the other on flexibility and BMI. The apathy towards controlling obesity, at least as presented by Critser, is appalling.
The one major disagreement I have with Critser is his argument that people will go out and eat fast food simply because it's cheaper and they can have more of it. Personally, if I could spend $6 on a McDonald's value meal, or $6 on a salad from Cafe Metro, I'd go for the salad 9 times out of 10. For one, I won't feel like a giant grease ball after my meal, and two, my body may actually process and use some of it, rather than eject it almost immediately. Don't any other people in the world have this kind of common sense? It should not take a genius to figure out a portion of greasy potato sticks fried in lard will make you fatter than eating the same size portion of baked potato (which is readily available at Wendy's for about the same price as the bag of fries). Does every consumer, regardless of class, have an option to eat better? I believe so. Will the healthy option taste as good? Probably not, but isn't that what makes the bad stuff so appealing?
I found this book to be more informational than the Super Size Me documentary because it's not only about the evils of fast food. Overall, I recommend the read.
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2 comments:
hmmm there was this Carl's Jr. across the street from my engineering building. I ate there for the convenience and I was a lazy programmer :-).
There is definitely an option for someone in any class to eat healthier, but fast food's fat takes longer to digest (at least for me), so it seems like it fills them up longer. I definitely skip fast food most of the time, & get it if no other options are available (or if I have an uncommon unsatiable craving). Like Rico said, fast food makes itself so much more readily available, it lures in the lazy. Plus, the fast food marketing engine doesn't make eating a salad cool, unfortunately, but it makes eating a burger cool.
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