Saturday, March 20, 2010

Perspective: big food companies, not evil?

The world is a-changing. For instance, in recent days, I have discovered that Wal-Mart is surprisingly green (they came to it late but with a fervor and the power of their commercial empire.)

Here's another article offering refreshing perspective on food corporations. Go read it, it's great.

Now, mind you... food LOBBIES are still pure, pure evil. They are about money, brainwashing, and turning tax dollars into obesity. Make no mistake. But the article linked above may make you feel more empowered and cheerful about the companies themselves.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I dunno ... I think not *all* food companies are evil, but I certainly think there's a problem when whole-wheat bread contains high-fructose corn syrup and margarine claims it's good for your health. And I think a lot of people haven't educated themselves about what they're eating - I think a lot of people believe they're making healthy choices, because they believe the marketing behind the products they're buying. I think the best thing to do is to eat simply choosing whole foods over "nutrients," and mostly whole foods you make yourself.

Ducks said...

We are agreed about that! We lost no weight as vegetarians for 10 years; we ate veggies prepared at home and lots of carbs (although many of them were whole grains, not all). We were deeply shocked when we tried the South Beach diet plan and dropped 30 pounds each while eating more volume of food and more fat than we had done for years. Even smart, educated people trying to eat at least sort of like grown-ups can get into trouble; marketing sure doesn't help.

Hyperpalatable foods with all their added sweeteners (caloric and otherwise) and salt are pretty scary. Even if the main ingredients are healthy, you are likely to get a raft of sugars or sweeteners, salt, preservatives, and trans-fats in your diet if you eat prepared foods. Cooking from scratch is king.

And any marketing AT ALL to children or parents of young children is, by nature, still pretty much evil. Have you noticed Froot Loops trying to market itself as high-fiber, whole-grain product?

Have you discovered Marion Nestle's great blog? It's at http://www.foodpolitics.com/ and it's a daily read for me. I just appreciated some counter perspective from the author of this article, because I am usually focused on the merchant-of-death aspect and don't always consider the man-I-love-convenience-food factor. :)