Yoga, Books About Food Industry

Bob Crowther notes the influence of Eric Schlosser's book, Fast Food Nation, and provides a list of publications since 2001 about the history of the our food industry and their influence controlling what most of us eat. 

Consider the following quote: "... the annual cost of the nations obesity epidemic - about $168 billion, as calculated by researchers at Emory University - is the same as the amount of money American spent on fast food in 2011"  ... from afterword, Fast Food Nation (Eric Schlosser, 2011) - ten years after it was first published.

Ten Year Anniversary
 Publication

Eric Schlosser investigations about the fast food industry addressed a number of consumer, worker and environmental topics that continue to be of interest and warrant public attention - some of the issues he wrote about are listed below:

• impact and consequences of large packinghouses, huge feedlots, slaughterhouses, meat grinders
• animal welfare: rearing conditions, antibiotics, hormone treatments
• food production, pathogens and safety issues
• limited OSHA and FDA authority and enforcement - inability to reform food safety system
• restricted government authority, oversight and regulation of fast food industry 
• children, obesity, fast food marketing policies and practices  
• land management, food company conglomerates and government subsidies
• worker training, safety, injuries, compensation, illegal migrants
• international scope of fast food industry and influence

My recent commentary on Food Rules (Michael Pollan) and Good Calories, Bad Calories (Gary Taubes) - two books that focused on different aspects about the how, when, where, what  re: foods we consume daily - updated some aspects about the fast food industry that Schlosser mentioned in his valuable yet controversial book. 

Since Schlosser's contribution, other authors have documented various aspects of the interactions of government, science, nutrition and health care matters among other subjects through the publication of books, documentaries and film.

The following references addressing the Food Industry include those mentioned by Schlosser and have been supplemented by my own selections - these selections comment on several additional topics including:

• free range, grass fed animals; organic farming and food processing
• sustainable agriculture system; agribusiness accountability
• health impacts from processed foods within supermarkets
• epidemic of obesity and diabetes; Western diet
• science and technology: genetically modified organisms
• flawed use of science to support government food policies

[2001] Fast Food Nation (Eric Schlosser)

[2002] Food Politics (Marion Nestle)

[2003] Hope's Edge (Frances and Anna Lappe)

[2003] Dominion (Mathew Scully)

[2004] Slow Food (Carlo Petrini)

[2004] The Future of Food (Deborah Korns Garcia)

[2004] Supersize Me (Morgan Spurlock)

[2005] McLibel (Franny Armstrong)

[2006] Omnivores Dilemma (Michael Pollan)

[2008] King Corn (Aaron Woolf)

[2008] Stuffed and Starved (Raj Pastel)

[2008] In Defense Of Food (Michael Pollan)

[2008] Good Calories, Bad Calories (Gary Taubes)

[2009] Food, Inc (Robby Kenner)

[2009] Food Rules (Michael Pollan)

[2010] Why We Get Fat (Gary Taubes)

[2011] Tomatoland (Barry Estabrook)

[2011] Wheat Belly (William Davis, MD)

[2012] Fat Chance (Robert Lustig, MD)

[2013] Salt Sugar Fat (Michael Moss)

[2013] Grain Brain (David Perlmutter, MD)

Over a hundred years have passed since The Jungle was published by Upton Sinclair (1906) - exposing the meatpacking plants/industry in Chicago - during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.

It led to some limited government action and food safety laws being established.

Set aside some time and learn more about our national Food Industry.

Find out about the many interconnected issues that impact our society and directly influence our lives on a daily basis.

As Eric Schlosser and others have noted, as individuals we can express our concerns at local, state and national levels about our food policies and practices.

You are encouraged to voice your concerns and attempt to influence how our government protects its citizens.

#YogaAndNutrition #FastFoodIndustry #FastFoodNation #FoodRules 

Yoga, Nutrition Policies Compromised

Bob Crowther highlights Gary Taubes' book (Good Calories, Bad Calories), issues about national nutrition policies and increasing obesity levels.

"Obesity Is Found to Gain Hold in Earliest Years" (New York Times, January 29, 2014). 

This headline and article written by Gina Kolata along with other print and online versions did get my attention and those of health professionals. 

This study recorded the weight and height of over 7,000 children from kindergarten through eighth grade.

A major finding: children in kindergarten who are overweight or obese when young often remain this way as they get older  - " ... a third of the children who were overweight in kindergarten were obese by eight grade." [see reports for specific details]

Undoubtedly, these findings will generate further discussion among physicians and nutritionists about the roles genetics and environmental factors play in obesity and contribute to re-evaluating intervention strategies.

Why have so many attempts by health care specialists failed to produce long term positive results in reversing weight gain among our youth and more mature members of our population of all ages?

Will those responsible for implementing national food policies effecting obesity (and diabetes) reconsider how they evaluate and respond to information from specialists? 

Professionals within the many disciplines concerned with obesity might still benefit from reading Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes (2007) - first published in the UK and Australia as The Diet Delusion. 

History, Science and Politics
Challenges Establishment Positions

Taubes, a science journalist, spent five years researching and writing about how we arrived with the food policies that have dominated our society during the past sixty years.

He detailed the historical and contemporary roles played by investigators from the international community within different disciplines [focus on nutrition science].

Taubes critically examined and evaluated published experiments along with spoken and written statements including advice reaching the highest levels of government. 

A major observation: strength of personality at different times led to assumptions and implementation of policies independent of the veracity of cited scientific evidence about obesity.

Competing hypotheses about what leads to obesity - consumption of dietary carbohydrates and fats - are presented in detail and include interactions among individuals in medicine and politics.

He challenges the current scientific paradigm that low-fat diets promote weight loss and improved health. He presents considerable scientific evidence that dietary fats are not a cause of obesity.

Significantly, throughout the book,Tubes notes scientific abuses and how contradictory results have been often poorly reported and conflicting data ignored. 

Taubes examines common assumptions associated with obesity and describes in detail the science experiments that refute them.

Among the obesity myths he identifies are: 

• the quantity of calories consumed and calories expended is important for controlling weight gain ...[the science indicates it is the quality of calories that are important;not all calories are equal] 

• under-eating will decrease weight ... [actually, calorie restricted diets "are known to be poor and not long lasting"; semi-starvation diets fail, low calories diets lack needed nutrients]

• exercise leads to long-term weight loss [rather, more strenuous exercise often leads to an increased appetite] 

Five conclusions based on his research are quoted directly:

• "Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation, not overeating, and not sedentary behavior"
• "Consuming excess calories does not cause us to grow fatter..."
• "Fattening and obesity are caused by an imbalance ... in the hormonal regulation regulation of adipose tissue and fat metabolism"
• "Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage. When insulin levels are elevated ... we accumulate fat in our fat tissue"
• "By stimulating insulin secretion, carbohydrates make us fat and ultimately cause obesity"

Not surprisingly, Taubes' book was met with criticism [see contemporary reviews].

Despite an effort to critically evaluate the scientific evidence in detail, his strong views about the consequences of high carbohydrates consumption have generated comments of ignoring other possibilities. 

Taubes is reminded to heed the words quoted and attributed to H.L. Mencken cited in his book : "There is always an easy solution to every human problem - neat, plausible, and wrong."

Good Calories, Bad Calories is a valuable resource and a reminder that we as a society should be more critical of policies and advice initiated by the-powers-that-be in government, medicine and nutrition science (among others).

With increasing frequently, past policies and practices involving food have been shown to be wrong and even harmful.

Taubes contributions, along with books by the following authors (William Davis, Robert Lustig, David Perlmutter, Michael Pollan) i have cited recently in my website posts collectively may help us to become better educated about the choices we make about what to eat. 

Set aside time, ask questions and learn more. 

What you put in your body can have serious short and long term health consequences.

#YogaAndNutrition #BadCalories,GoodCalories  #NationalFoodPolicies #NutritionScience #Nutritionism #ObesityMyths 

Yoga, Making Informed Food Choices

Bob Crowther promotes Michael Pollan's book, Food Rules.

Evidence linking the 'Western diet' to compromised health and various forms of disease (among others, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, cancer) continues to grow.

Despite the activities of various health care specialists (including those in medicine, nutrition and research), poor nutrition habits are common throughout our nation.

Articles and books have commented on examples of the many failures to reverse alarming and unhealthy eating choices of individuals [think of the current levels of obesity and diabetes].

It has become obvious government promoted food policies have not been effective for decades.

As Michael Moss has documented in his 2013 book, Salt Sugar Fat, how and what we currently consume as food has dramatically changed during the past sixty years. 

What steps can be taken to reverse these trends? 

At the individual level, how is one to make practical food choices daily?

Michael Pollan, Food Rules

A refreshing and valuable contribution addressing this topic was made over four years ago by Michael Pollan in his 2009 book, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual (Penguin) - distilling years of his research, these rules are tools accessible to the public for making personal decisions.

Ways To Eat Food
An Enjoyable Discovery

Pollan, a noted journalist and author interested in all matters related to food, wrote his 140 page book utilizing input after consultations with a diverse community: in his words, "folklorists and anthropologists, doctors, nurses, nutritionists, and dietitians" along with "mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers" as well as the public (readers, contacts at conferences, online) to assemble these "broad guidelines" (= "personal policies").

His brief yet informative comments to embrace cultural food traditions have been obscured by the ongoing debates about food and nutrition history, science and competing ideas of individual personalities within different disciplines (medical, government, industrial) with interests that often appear to be in conflict with the health of our population. 

My brief comments below highlight some of his perspectives and shared wisdom on making personal food choices.

Pollan's basic message, in his words: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants" - initially appeared in another of his publications (In Defense Of Food) published in 2008.

In Food Rules, Pollan has organized his thoughts under three main headings:

• What should I eat? (Eat food)
• What kind of food should I eat? (Mostly plants)
• How should I eat? (Not too much) 

The emphasis of the 21 statements and accompanying brief paragraph for each under the first section is on eating food and not "highly processed concoctions."

We are reminded "Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."

Among the authors statements: "Avoid food products  

• containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry"
• that contain high-fructose corn syrup"
• that have some form of sugar (or sweetner) listed among the top three ingredients"
• that contain more than five ingredients"
• containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce"

Readers are encouraged to "eat only foods  

• that will eventually rot"
• that have been cooked by humans"  

"If it came from a plant, eat it, if it was made in a plant, don't."

The author reminds readers "Its not food 

• if it arrived through a car window"
• if it's called by the same name in every language (Think Big Mac, Cheetos, or Pringles)"

The second section lists 22 statements and comments directed to answer Pollan's question, What kinds of foods I should eat?   Individuals are encouraged to "Eat 

• mostly plants, especially leaves"
• your colors"
• animals that have themselves eaten well"
• like an omnivore"
• well grown food from healthy soil"
• some foods that have been predigested by bacteria and fungi"
• sweet foods as you find them in nature"
• all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself"
• more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks."

There is value in following food traditions. 

One is encouraged to "Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism", to "Favor the kinds of oil and grains that have traditionally been stone ground" and  to "Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food."

Remember: "Eating what stands on one leg [mushroom and plant foods] is better than eating what stands on two legs [fowl]which is better than eating what stands on four legs [cows, pigs and other mammals]". Also: "Don't overlook the oily little fishes."

What should i eat? comprises the focus of the third section - 21 rules and additional thoughts about manners and culture as one attempts to define how to establish daily food habits.

Pollan acknowledges healthy food cost more: "Pay more, eat less."

Among his suggestions: "Eat 

• ... less" 
• when you are hungry, not when you are bored"
• slowly"
• meals"

Eating is a social process.

We are advised to "Try not to eat alone" and to "Do all your eating at a table" keeping in mind the following: "The banquet is in the first bite."

It is important to "Consult your gut", to "Serve a proper portion", "Don't go back for seconds", to "Buy smaller plates and dishes" and to "Cook."

One is encouraged: "Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does."

Pollan recognizes human nature. Readers should "Treat treats as treats" and to "Break the rules once in a while." 

Contact

Bob Crowther

774-272-5760

bob@bobcrowther.com

Treat yourself. Read this book, become better informed and healthier. Take the opportunity to explore the many issues underlying the 64 Food Rules in more detail. 

Acknowledgment is given to the author Michael Pollan - his words as written are cited as they appeared in his book.

#Yoga And Nutrition # Food Rules  # Michael Pollan # Nutrition Guidelines #Yoga With Bob Crowther