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(EDGY TITLE): You are what you eat and that is big bad news!
By Erika Boas and Fiona Wilhelm, with Jeff Wilhelm
1. INTRODUCTION (ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS INTRODUCED)
Ok, it’s pretty clear that we are a
country with an eating disorder. Here’s the big questions behind this book: What is it we are
putting into our bodies when we eat, and what is it doing to us? And further, what can we do
about our diets to improve our health and that of our family and friends?
(HEADLINES TO SHOW THE CURRENCY OF THE ISSUE)
Read the news lately?
OBESITY ON THE RISE! Why are Americans getting fatter, especially teenagers?
DIABETES IS ON THE INCREASE! Why is Diabetes, and other food related illnesses, on the rise Especially for kids and for some minority groups like Hispanics?
SCHOOL LUNCHES ARE BAD FOR KIDS! What are we eating in the cafeteria and why might this
be bad news?
AMERICA IS THE UNHEALTHIEST COUNTRY ON EARTH! What is it about our so-called “western
diet” that makes us so unhealthy and sick?
If we are what we eat, what are we? (INTRODUCE SUBQUESTIONS HERE)
Why do we eat? How and what do we eat What is actually in our food anyway? What is new
about our eating habits and why is this making us and the planet big and bad, mean and
unhealthy? And why is that such big, bad news?
What are our current food choices and will our thinking change after learning more about food?
And what can we do about it anyway?
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How can we become more informed food consumers? (OFFER SOME POSITIVES AND
POSSIBLE ACTIONS – IDEA OF SOCIAL ACTION BOOKS IS TO SHOCK AND AWE, THEN PROVIDE
POSITIVE AVENUES FOR ACTION – TO SOBER KIDS UP AND THEN HOPEFUL THEM UP)
Read on to find out – there’s lots to learn, and be prepared to be grossed out! You’ll never
think about that hamburger the same way again!
(EDGY REMARK; THOUGHT PROVOCATION)
By the way . . .
Some critics say that if a foreign group actually forced our normal diet and processed food on
us, that we would consider it an act of terrorism that endangered the future of America!
2. What do we eat?
CALORIES: In 1961 Americans consumed an average of 2883 calories per person per day. By
several estimates this is an increase of 30% to 3790 calories. (UN Food and agricultural Year
book of 2004). The average daily energy intake in the literature averages between 3,600 and
3,800 Calories. The world average is 2,700 Calories per day. At the same time we are
exercising less and using fewer calories!
The average human being who exercises moderately needs only 2500 calories a day. And
researchers widely agree that eating fewer, versus more, calories per day leads to a healthier
and longer life.
So, why are we eating so much?
SUGAR: The average American is consuming about 20 teaspoons of sugar per day (USDA
surveys), mostly in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) added to our sodas, cereal,
snack foods and even things we think are healthy like Go-Gurts and fruit cocktails! Think about
it, that’s 152 cups of sugar a year!
The average American drinks well over a thousand sodas a year, adding up to 10 percent of
total daily calories. Census data from 2004 revealed that Americans on average drank more
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than 51 gallons of soft drinks per year – a 53 percent increase from 1980. Holy Sugar Buzz,
Batman! Full of sugar, soda adds calories without making a person feel full! What if you just
drank water?
SALT: The average American consumes three times the recommended daily amount of sodium
(salt) in a day (about a teaspoon.) Salt is regularly added to all processed foods as a taste
enhancer. And salt has been linked to hypertension and high blood pressure and all kinds of
other health problems.
BUT IT’S NOT REALLY FOOD!
THE MONSTER MASH OF PROCESSED FOODS: But here is the worst. Much, if not most, of what
we eat is NOT real food, i.e. it is processed and created by the food industry out of various
substances, some of them created largely out of chemicals in food laboratories. In fact, almost
all of the taste of processed food comes from chemicals and additives like flavor enhancers.
It’s not fully understood what all these chemicals are doing to us, but researchers agree that it
can’t be good.
Fast food accounts for 34% of the total food consumption for the average U.S. citizen
(according to UN Year book for 2007). The average American eats two fast food meals a week
with in 4 family meals being eaten in a fast food restaurant per week. Research suggests men
eat more fast food than women, with an average 2.4 visits and women averaging 1.7 visits per
week. Further, many of these meals are often eaten in the car or on the run rather than sitting
down with family and dining on food and savoring the food we eat.
WHAT HAPPENED TO REAL FOOD? We eat relatively few real fruits and vegetables that have
proven health benefits and have sustained humankind since our beginning. And even these
often come from poor soil or soil fertilized and treated with chemicals, transported in shipping
containers and stored in warehouses (which lowers the nutritional value and relays the
chemicals to our bodies).
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Experts recommend 4 or 5 servings of vegetables and 4 or 5 servings of fruit a day. Yet the
average American is stuck at about 3 vegetables--one of them white potatoes and a measly 1
2/3 fruits. Amazingly, on any given day, half of all Americans eat no fruit at all!
SIDEBAR: Quality not quantity? (could be moved to other book)
In studies by the Department of Agriculture, the nutritional value of vegetables has been shown
to decline each year since the 1950s due to declining soil quality. Nutrient levels of Vitamin C,
Riboflavin, iron and calcium have all declined. Michael Pollan in his book, In Defense of Food
puts it simply, “you now have to eat three apples to get the same amount of iron as one single
1940’s apple.”
Why are the nutrient levels decreasing?
As more and more crops have been bred for yield (quantity) and not nutritional quality, overall
nutrient levels have steadily decreased. In order to mass produce high quantities of foods,
plants are often grown with industrial chemicals. Industrial chemicals cause the plants to grow
faster and there is less time for essential nutrients to accumulate in the soil. As these plants
grow quicker they develop more shallow root systems and therefore do not retrieve as many
soil minerals as deeper rooted organic plants. The faster growth period of these plants also do
not allow for the decomposition of biological matter – a process of putting nutrient matter back
in the soils. Plants also naturally produce phyto-chemicals as a natural defense mechanism
from pests and diseases. These have healthy anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects for
humans (this preserves our cells and helps them be repaired and healed). Plants sprayed with
synthetic pesticides have been found to produce fewer phyto-chemicals as organic plants.
Studies have shown that plants grown with industrial chemicals are nutritiously inferior to
those grown organically (without the use of chemicals). Also, our farming practices, particularly
the use of chemical fertilizers, is depleting the soil. The less rich the soil, the less nutritious the
food grown there.
OVERFED AND UNDERNOURISHED: Americans, eating what is known as the “western diet”, are
actually getting more calories and less nourishment than ever before! We are eating more and
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more with less nutritional value. Some researchers say we are in fact ‘fat and malnourished’ at
the same time.
Alarming Fact:
Author Barbara Kingsolver in her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, mentions that the current
generation of American youth are predicted to be the country’s first generation to have a
shorter life expectancy than their parents! WHY? Because of our lifestyles and diets!
So, do you want to know the secrets to living a healthier and potentially longer life?
Then please read on. This book aims to get you thinking about food, your current food choices
and start you thinking on ways that you can take social action to improve your own life, help
your family, school and the planet. We encourage you to inform others about what you have
learned.
3. THE FREAKY PHENOMENON OF FAST FOOD
Why are we eating more?
The United States has the highest obesity rates of any industrialised nation. There is one key
factor to this – fast food! The more we eat food outside of the home, especially fast food, the
more fat we are eating, the more calories we are also consuming and the less fiber we are
including in our diet. (Fiber is essential to digestion and fighting cancer and other diseases). In
America - portion sizes are bigger than other parts of the world and have steadily increased
over the decades. Let’s compare some current portion sizes with decades past…
Fast Food and Portion Sizes
{Article in the National Geographic magazine (August 2004: Changing Portion Sizes– the
graphic on page 59 or something similar would be great in the book! It would be great to
have some images here to illustrate the point of how sizes have grown?) }
Let’s start with one of America’s favorite on-the-go meals – the hamburger! In the 1950’s, a
burger with french fries became America’s most popular meal. In 1954 a Burger King Burger
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weighed in at 2.8oz and contained 202 calories. In 2004, the burger weighed 4.3oz and 310
calories. An average serving of McDonald’s French fries in 1955 – 2.4oz or 210 calories, in 2004
– 7oz or a whopping 610 calories! Now, a burger with fries would not be the complete meal
without a soft drink right? In 1916 the average serving size of a bottle of coco cola was 6.5 fluid
oz or 79 calories. In 2004, 16 fluid oz or 194 calories! Now you do the math, what is the
percentage increase here? How many calories would this equal for one meal in the day? No
wonder we are getting bigger!
For those with a sweet tooth – let’s not forget about America’s favorite sweet treat – a
chocolate bar. In 1900 the average serving of a Hershey’s chocolate bar was 2 oz or 297
calories. Now if you eat a 7oz or 195gm bar of Hershey’s chocolate in one sitting – think about
adding a whole 1000 calories to your daily calorie total!
THE STUPIDEST DIET EVER? THE STAGGERING STORY OF SUPER SIZE ME:
Morgan Spurlock rose to fame as a filmmaker and television producer with his feature length
documentary film ‘Super Size Me’. In this film Spurlock was the star, and he ate nothing but
McDonalds for 30 days straight! He determined that when ordering, if asked if he wanted to be
supersized - he would always say yes. Spurlock wanted to find out what a fast food diet could
do to your body. By the end of the 30 days Spurlock’s body fat, weight, and total cholesterol
had all increased by alarming amounts. Of most concern was his liver enzyme count. The fat
content of his liver increased by 2,000 percent! Doctors were concerned that he was headed to
liver failure! He gained 25 pounds in the 30 days (He was superized!) and generally felt tired,
depressed, unfocused, absent-minded, uninterested in his girlfriend, friends and normal
pursuits, as well as unfit and generally unwell. No wonder! His family doctor exclaimed that
‘you are killing yourself!’ and urged him to quit the experiment after three weeks.
It took him nearly a year of very dedicated exercise and dieting to recover his fitness and
weight!
Is a fast food fix worth it do you think? Check out the DVD – Super Size Me (2004).
Check out more on the meat we eat later in the book!
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Side Story: The McDonald’s Story
Did you know that the drive thru actually began with the drive to?
The invention of motorcars made it possible for more people to travel. As highways and
interstates were built, we began to see convenient eateries and family restaurants being built
alongside these roads. Those who were driving long distances would stop along the road and
‘drive to’ their food. Hence the drive thru became a popular and convenient way to eat a meal
along the way.
To attract the drivers, the eateries used big neon signs. The food restaurants soon changed the
style of their architecture – so that the building itself became an advertisement. One famous
restaurant (can you guess which one?) became known for their famous golden arches - a
familiar symbol that we all recognize today.
It has been found that this advertising causes us to stop and eat, even when we are not hungry!
And the less money people have, the more they tend to eat fast food, even though eating at
home would still be cheaper and much healthier.
SIDEBAR: DRIVE AROUND; DON’T DRIVE THROUGH! One suggestion to rein in eating is to alter
your route to school or to a friend’s house or even around school so that you don’t pass fast
food places or vending machines that provide the suggestion that we should eat. Likewise,
don’t have unhealthy snacks in your house, and don’t leave food on the countertop. For most
of history mankind has struggled to find enough food, so many researchers think we are
programmed to eat it whenever we see it, particularly if it is sweet! Sweet things have many
calories, and human beings throughout history have typically been calorie deprived for much of
the year.
Interesting Facts!
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
The golden arches are now more commonly recognised around the world than the
Christian Cross, George Washington, or the flag of America and any other country!

Ronald McDonald, the McDonald’s mascot, is second to Santa Claus as the most
recognised character by young children.
Today, McDonalds is also the largest owner of retail property, spending more on advertising
than any other company. Advertising is often pitched at younger children and every month
90% of children aged between 3-9 visit McDonalds. This raises some key questions, like how
socially responsible is this kind of advertising and what impact is fast food having on young
children as they are lured via toys, toys, toys!
Is it OK to advertise fast food to children? Should Advertisers be allowed to lure children to eat
fast food with toys? Is it right to build brand loyalty with children who are too young to think
for themselves? What do you think?
(Fast fact: McDonalds is one of the largest distributors of toys in the country!)
Today, more and more McDonald’s franchises are spreading around the world as markets are
freed allowing for foreign ownerships and exporting of foreign products to enter local markets.
You will find a McDonalds on the island of Tahiti, even though Tahiti is miles away from any
cattle ranches or potato fields. Only twenty plus years ago most German cities voted not to
allow McDonalds to be built. Now there are over 1000 McDonald’s restaurants in Germany
alone and some of them are in historic buildings and medieval city gates!
4. CULTURES OF FOOD
Why do we eat in the way we do? Throughout history and even now in other cultures people
eat in healthier and more appetizing and pleasurable ways.
Eating according to the rules of traditional food cultures will make you healthier.
Fast Fact: In many religious traditions, the body is considered the temple of the soul. Religions
often have dietary rules or laws to promote good health. For example, the Jewish dietary law
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against eating pork was to avoid lockjaw, a fatal disease caused by organisms in undercooked
pig meat. Eating right has long been a part of being religious and faithful.
In New Zealand, food scientist Glenda Allinson notes that in her country people typically eat
only foods that are in season and that they cook from scratch, i.e. they typically do not use
mixes. In fact in New Zealand, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZDSA) conduct regular
stringent tests on the foods and each year survey the population to gauge an idea of changes in
diet as well as nutrients levels in certain foods.
In many cultures, the people do not eat any dairy. This is the case for many Asian countries
where dairy products are not a part of their food culture and a relationship traditionally did not
exist between dairy products and diet.
Side Fact: Cow’s milk actually did not start out as a nutritious food source for humans. In fact it
made them sick until humans spent enough time around cows and our ability to digest the milk
and metabolise the lactose, sugar, from cows milk evolved. Lactase, the enzyme required to
metabolize lactose come from a gene mutation in the evolutionary process due to man’s
exposure to cows and cows’ milk. This gene used to switch off shortly after youngster wean
off their mother’s milk. But with the mutation, access to milk – a nutritious food source,
was a new evolutionary consequence. Interestingly, many Asian cultures, where milk is not
a part of their evolutionary food culture are lactose intolerant as their Lactase enzyme
switches off earlier in their lives (after weaning) much akin to Europeans historically.
France: The French tend to eat fattier and richer foods than us, like cheeses and foie gras
(goose livers). But they eat less of it and they eat more slowly, so they are thinner and
healthier.
Europeans and many Asians tend to belong to what are known as “Slow food cultures” and to
eat in more traditional and local cuisines.
Germany: Germans tend to eat together. It is still typical to have long lunch breaks where
parents come home from work and kids from school to eat together. Their big meal is at noon
when they still have half a day to use the energy. In the evening, the meal is small and usually
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not cooked. In Germany and many other cultures, eating is a social time for sharing and visiting
with family and friends.
Americans spend less of their income than any other industrialised nation on food– about a
tenth of our disposable income. In comparison, Europeans tend to spend up to 18-20% of their
budget on food. Food critic Michael Pollan argues that Americans are cheapskates when it
comes to food and that we could easily spend more on better quality food that would actually
save us money in health care and other costs.
Many people, even in America, have created their own cultures of food. Notable among these
are different kinds of vegans and vegetarians, folks who eat no products that come from
animals, and folks who do not eat meat.
What can we do to eat more wisely, socially, and slowly? Why not plan at least two meals a
week at home with family or friends, reduce or eliminate soft drinks from our diets, and reduce
consumption of fast food. Why not pay more for higher quality food and eat less of it Purchase more organic produce and free range meats. Drink organic instead of regular milk.
Reduce or eliminate in between meal snacks, exercise more by walking places and organize an
exercise routine that involves social interaction with others.
Side Bar – Interactivity – What the World Eats?
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html
Visit the site of Time Magazine Website using the above link to find a Photographic Essay titled
‘What the World Eats’.
Take a look at each image that depicts what a family eats in one week and the cost of food for
the week for these families, what do you see, think and wonder when you see these images?
To Editor/Alternatively: if able to obtain the rights to two of the images, would be fun to do a
compare and contrast in the book, eg. Compare and contrast the diet of the western families,
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with that of Middle Eastern, South American, Asian and African cultures. What similarities/
differences do you notice?
These images were taken from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel
and Faith D’Aluisio.
(refer to appendices for a graphic organiser: See, think, wonder)
(Full page story? - Provides a nice cultural contrast to the US):
Living a longer life – A Japanese Story
On average people from Japan live longer than the citizens from any other country!
United Nations Data for 2007 reveals that Japanese women live to an average age of 86.1 years
making this the highest average age for females in the world. On average the combined
lifespan for men and women is 82.6 years. This is an average of 4.4 years longer than an
average American (the United States listed as 38th IN the world). This may not seem like much,
but in the scheme of a life time 4.4 years is well over 5% added to your life - years you might
want to hold on to!
What’s their secret? The Japanese have an extraordinarily low level of cholesterol in their
blood. This is a fact which also explains the very low death-rate from heart disease.
The Japanese diet includes foods with very low cholesterol content and is practically free from
the saturated (“bad”) fats present in red meat, dairy produce and butter. These bad fats are an
integral part of our western diet. Instead, the Japanese diet contains lots of seafood rich in
polyunsaturated (“good”) fats and the seaweeds Kombu and Nori. These contain high amounts
of iodine as well as minerals and micro-elements which are healthy for the human body. The
Japanese diet is nutrient rich particularly when compared to ours.
If you travel to Japan you will find the oldest people on Earth - The Okinawans!
The people on the Japanese island of Okinawa live longer than any other people in the world,
even longer than other Japanese. Researchers have been studying the Okinawans for decades
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and have made some interesting findings about healthy aging, longevity and food.
The Okinawans diet contains only 3% meat and a much higher percentage of fruits and
vegetables than the Western diet. The Okinawans also are more physically active and eat fewer
total calories.
On Okinawa, the consumption of sugar and salt constitutes a quarter of the average amount
consumed in the rest of Japan. At the same time, Okinawans consume 3 times more vegetables
compared with other Japanese, and twice as much fish.
Interesting Fact: The people of Okinawa practice a principle they call hara hachi bu: Eat until
you are 80 percent full (Pollan, p. 185). What do you think this means? Could you do it?
A Quick fact from Fast Food Nation
A study of middle-aged men who migrated to the United States from Japan and switched to a
western diet showed that they doubled their risk of heart disease and tripled their risk of
stroke!
(Would be cool to include some sort of table – List by the United Nations (average for the
2005-2010 period – Maybe just highlighting 10 countries or so? see below)
Avg
M
F
World average
67.2
65.0
69.5
1
Japan
82.6
79.0
86.1
2
Hong Kong SAR (
82.2
79.4
85.1
3
Iceland
81.8
80.2
83.3
4
Switzerland
81.7
79.0
84.2
5
Australia
81.2
78.9
83.6
PRC)
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6
Spain
80.9
77.7
84.2
7
Sweden
80.9
78.7
83.0
8
Israel
80.7
78.5
82.8
9
Macau SAR (
80.7
78.5
82.8
10
France (metropolitan)
80.7
77.1
84.1
11
Canada
80.7
78.3
82.9
12
Italy (20% above world average)
80.5
77.5
83.5
13
New Zealand
80.2
78.2
82.2
14
Norway
80.2
77.8
82.5
15
Singapore
80.0
78.0
81.9
16
Austria
79.8
76.9
82.6
17
Netherlands
79.8
77.5
81.9
18
Martinique (
79.5
76.5
82.3
19
Greece
79.5
77.1
81.9
20
Belgium
79.4
76.5
82.3
38
United States
78.2
75.6
80.8
188
Afghanistan
43.8
43.9
43.8
189
Zimbabwe
43.5
44.1
42.6
190
Angola
42.7
41.2
44.3
191
Lesotho
42.6
42.9
42.3
PRC)
France)
13
192
Sierra Leone
42.6
41.0
44.1
193
Zambia
42.4
42.1
42.5
194
Mozambique
42.1
41.7
42.4
195
Swaziland (40% below world
39.6
39.8
39.4
average)
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5. Why do we eat?
The obvious answer is that we eat to live, to nourish our bodies. But why then do we eat in
non-nourishing and unhealthy ways?
We also eat to be social, to participate in and celebrate our culture, for spiritual reasons, to
identify the kind of person we are or who we want to be, as well as the groups we belong to.
Furthermore we eat in the ways that we grew up eating, or were taught to eat, often without
thinking about it. Though historically people were taught to eat by their parents and the larger
culture, today, we are often taught how and what to eat by advertisers who are obviously
interested in making money for themselves and their stockholders, not on what is best for us.
The Allure of advertising: We see it and we want it!
Food products count for 26% of all advertisements on television– the majority are for fast food,
sweets, and beverages. Advertising and emotional eating often go hand in hand. Advertisers
often entice us to buy these foods using clever techniques and tactics. Techniques like catchy
jingles, using celebrities to endorse products, brand power and familiar logos, making quality
statements and clever sounding scientific claims and statements like impressive sounding
mystery ingredients designed to improve your health and wellbeing. The advertisers weave
their magic on us by using these tricks of the trade and we often get lured in from a young age!
Then we develop unhealthy lifetime habits that we do not question.
Fast Fact on Logos – (Note to editor - include some images of logos)
Young children will often identify names that go with company logos before they can print their
own names! How can this be? Are advertisers too influential?
Advertising Investigation:
What other techniques can you identify when watching visual or print advertisements about
food? How are they manipulating (tricking) you to do what they want you to?
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How can you make more conscious food choices and informed consumer decisions without
being influenced by advertisements?
Side Bar – Truth in advertising: Student Vitamin C Experiment Puts Ribena on Trial!
Two New Zealand School girls became instant celebrities when a school experiment unearthed
some false claims in product advertising.
“Ready-to-drink Ribena” (a fruit drink) was labelled as having 7mg of Vitamin C per 100mls. The
girls, after testing it, found that it had no Vitamin C content at all – oops! The company also
admitted to misleading the public by saying that the blackcurrants in Ribena syrup had four
times the amount of Vitamin C than in oranges. Now that’s four times as big of a bungle!
GlaxoSmithKline, manufacturers of Ribena, were forced to make public apologies; pay a hefty
fine and change their product labels after claims were proven false based on some classroom
experiments. Now that’s some science experiment!
Social Action Ideas: (EMBED SOCIAL ACTION IDEAS, WEBSITES, FURTHER READINGS
THROUGHOUT)
In health or science class, ask your teacher about researching the food quality of a chosen food,
just like the girls did by looking at Vitamin C in Ribena. Can you uncover any exaggerated or
misleading claims?
By law, American restaurants must post nutritional information about their food in an
accessible place. Next time you go to a restaurant ask to see it. In Supersize Me, Morgan
Spurlock found that the MacDonalds he visited often hid this information or did not provide it
at all - in violation of the law.
Eating and our Environment
Are we doomed to become obese?
It concerns many experts how our tastes and eating habits are being trained by advertising and
what is most available in our neighbourhoods and schools.
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Neighborhoods: We tend to eat the food that is most available. Research suggests that teens
in lower-income families are exposed to more fast food, junk food and other toxic
environmental influences. Low income minority neighborhoods are more likely to have fast
food restaurants compared to high income, predominantly white, neighborhoods. Some
minority groups see eating fast food as a sign of social status.
Schools: The Institute of Medicine, a prestigious organization of research scientists was
commissioned by Congress to make recommendations on school menus and youth nutrition.
They recommended banning soft drinks and limiting school meals and snacks to fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and entrees with modest amounts of fat, salt
and sweeteners. "Schools contribute to life-long dietary patterns and are uniquely positioned
(along with parents) to model and reinforce healthful eating behaviors," the study panel
concluded.
Yet the GAO (Government Accountability Office) found that 99 percent of high schools and 83%
of grade schools now have vending machines that sell junk food and soft drinks. In addition,
many have added a la carte food lines to sell French fries, doughnuts and other fast food
snacks!
Let’s get this right? The only institution dedicated to educating us for our future health and
happiness is promoting the big business of unhealthy food? What place does unhealthy food
and limited choice have in a place supposedly devoted to learning how to be critical thinkers
and democratic citizens?
Why doesn’t the government, as proposed by Senator Tom Harkin, control the kinds of food
sold in schools, and give states a fund to buy fresh fruits and vegetables? Instead, the
government subsidizes the lowest quality beef and cheese to be sold to school kids!
Congress is also responsible for farm bills -- legislation that Michael Pollan argues should be
renamed the "food bill," since it influences the nation's eating habits so much. The farm bill
would be the perfect vehicle to put nutritious food back in the schoolhouse and demonstrate
that the grown-ups still care about the children.
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And while the government ignores this problem, why don’t we start doing something about it?
(Data from Minnesota Star-Tribune May 13, 2007)
Other corporate influences in school:
Many schools in the United States are sponsored by large corporations in return for having
products sold at school. For example companies like Coke and Pepsi will provide scoreboards,
messageboards and other items to school in exchange for free advertising, vending machines
on school property, and an exclusive permit to sell their products at the school. How do you
feel about this? Should schools be supporting business? Should businesses be able to influence
students on school grounds?
One superintendent we interviewed said that a soft-drink company paid his school $50,000 a
year for selling soft drinks. He estimated that the company earned over $150,000 on top of
that! He didn’t like dealing with soft drink companies but he said that school funding was
getting so low that he had no choice. He used the money to buy books and even pay a teacher
aide.
So what is the real cause of the problem? (check against FAST FOOD NATION chapter)
Structured Controversy/ Debating Idea/ SWOT analysis:
What are the benefits of fast food advertising in schools versus the costs? (See Teachers Guide)
(PROVIDE TEACHERS GUIDE IDEAS THROUGHOUT)
Where do I stand?
Should there be a total ban on fast food advertising targeting young children? How about a ban
on advertising and on fast foods and soft drinks in schools?
How can we change our environment to promote better health?
Many schools are starting up breakfast clubs or have healthy eating days. You can further
encourage your teachers to provide healthy food rewards and lobby your principals to get rid of
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those pesky vending machines! How about starting a school garden or cooking classes where
students learn to make their own healthy lunches?
Where we can’t change our environment we can always make smarter food choices. Sounds
fair right?
When do we eat?
Food is our fuel! The importance of breakfast
What is the most important meal of the day? Breakfast! What is the one meal that most kids
skip? Breakfast! Why is it so important? To get you going on your day; keep energy up, and to
keep you from binging on unhealthy food when you feel hungry later in the day.
Research shows that children who eat breakfast score better on tests, have fewer health issues
and behave better in class. This adds fuel to the view that breakfast really is the most
important meal in the day.
What the educators and physicians say –

Eating breakfast improves behavior, reduces tardiness and helps improve academic
performance.

Children can’t concentrate or perform well if they are hungry!
IT’S A BONEBREAKER!
Many kids eat sugary treats like Poptarts and even candy early in the day and drink sodas filled
with caffeine like Mello Yello or Coke. The problem – some studies suggest teens get most of
their calories from sugar instead of nutrients. And caffeine leaches potassium from our bones,
making them brittle and more prone to break. This is especially a problem for young women of
middle and high school age.
Researchers argue that we should eat 6 small meals throughout the day of very healthy food.
And no other snacking! If you do eat three meals, one must be breakfast and the biggest meal
should be lunch – dinner should be a small meal. Why? Question: What do you do after dinner
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to burn off the calories? Answer : Probably not too much! So the food is more likely to turn
into fat. Eating in the morning, a bit before physical activity, and eating protein (like peanuts,
which helps the body to recover from physical stress) immediately after exercise are the best
times to eat.
Food for thought?
Some researchers argue that changes need to come from the person and not the environment.
Which is more influential in how you live and the choices you make: what is environmentally
available or your individual knowledge and willpower?
Write down your thoughts and compare with a friend.
(See Teachers Guide on think, pair, share)
Social Action Ideas:

What are your thoughts for encouraging others to make changes to the way they eat?

What ideas do you have for changing eating environments at school, in the community
and at home?

What ideas to you have to encourage children and teenagers to eat breakfast?

How can information about healthy eating best be shared with young people?
Start up a project within your school to inform other students of healthier eating options. You
might even create a proposal and present it to school administrators.
Food log activity: Track what you eat, when you eat?
For the period of a week have a go at keeping a food journal. Track what you eat each day,
paying particular attention to the calorie consumption and how much nutrition is contained in
these foods. Keep track of all your exercise too (Editor: is there an online program that could
do this, count calories consumed and burned?)
How do you fare?
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
Are you burning the same amount of calories that you consume?

Are you consuming too much sugar, salt, fats?

Are you getting enough fiber?

What are some of the changes that you can make to this diet?
Some Suggestions for improving your diet:

Eat at home

Pack a healthy lunch

Decrease your serving sizes

Go every other day without dessert, or even every other day without meat

As food expert Michael Pollan says: Eat real food (not processed foods – he tells us not
to eat anything that your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize – this would include
most candy, twinkies, etc.) – don’t eat too much – eat mostly vegetables and fruits.
What do you think of these suggestions? What are some other suggestions that you can think
of?
More on why we eat
We have already looked at how advertising can entice us into eating when we are not hungry
and into making unhealthy food choices, but what are some other reasons behind why we
choose to eat in the ways that we do?
One of the biggest concerns in the western diet is the lack of regular meal times. We seem to
always be drinking a soda or eating a snack. Some psychologists think we do this for comfort or
to deal with stress. When we eat like this, we tend to also eat in isolation as the snack replaces
a family or group meal. Eating becomes asocial and food becomes a quick fix for comfort.
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Michael Pollan reminds us that ‘Eating is a way of life or a culture’. Are we losing our traditional
food culture? Or worse still have we created a new culture centered on a whole bunch of bad
habits?
All of this over eating of poor foods is certainly causing a range of health concerns, not to
mention shortening our lives! But what are these habits and how can we go about breaking
them? Can we help ourselves?
6. Bad Habits and How to Break them
Bad Habit: The Sugar Fix!
Why aren’t we sweet enough? Why do we want sugar?
A significant number of teenagers are drinking a large number (often 4-6) of soda drinks per
day. With each can containing up to ten teaspoons of sugar – that is a lot of sweetness – 40-60
teaspoons of sugar in a day from the soda alone! The more sugar we consume, the more our
body seems to crave. Once our bodies are used to high levels of sugar then when we go
without we can suffer from the ‘sugar blues’.
The History of Sweets: from the Caveman to You
Human beings are historically used to being without sweetness, and our bodies adapted to
going through caloric droughts. So we would gorge on sugar when it was available (when fruits
were ripe or when the caveman found honey). This is why we can always seem to eat sweets
and why we put dessert at the end of a meal – we can always fit it in! By nature and from birth
we are predisposed towards sweet flavors as well. Historically, as hunter-gathers, our taste
buds were highly important to our survival and operated as an important defence mechanism.
Bitter tasting foods would signal danger in nature, that a food could be toxic or poisonous.
Foods that were naturally sweet were likely to be good and safe.
Coupled with our natural desire for sweets is the concern that our foods keep getting sweeter
because we have to overcome our natural tendencies.
Soda Companies Cash in on our Sweet Tooths
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Soda companies cleverly cash in on this desire for us to consume sweet drinks and train our
taste buds from an early age. For soft drink companies, soda equals ‘liquid Gold.’ You may be
surprised to hear that sales from soda drinks bring in the highest profits at fast food chains. In
fact, the actual cost of a soda, including the cup or can, rarely is over ten cents. Restaurants can
make a 1000% or more profit on their sodas!!!
Breaking the habit: Cut down on the soda intake and drink more milk and water – better for
your skin, teeth and bones! Try carrying a water bottle with you. Research says that it takes
about three weeks for a new action to become a habit – so stick with it and slowly cut down on
the sugar intake! Make a plan, Stan, and make a new habit, Rabbit!
Sports Drinks: Worse than Sodas!
Sports drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade, supposedly designed to be consumed by
athletes, typically contain as much as two-times the sugar (in the form of high fructose corn
syrup) of sodas, and more sodium (salt). The implication is that “sports” drinks are healthy, but
they are not. It’s a scam! Further, the majority of teens drinking sports drinks are not actually
participating in sports! That’s way too much of a bad thing particularly for someone who is not
expending energy through exercise! Excessive sodium intake by young people could fuel a
surge in high blood pressure – which is a health concern that until recently was typically
associated with older age groups. In fact, many health problems of the elderly are now
becoming health problems for the young – because of our poor diets! We are making ourselves
old before our time!
Breaking the habit: Just say NO to sports drinks! Mix juice and water for a healthier way to
quench thirst before or after exercise.
Side bar - The many sides to Sugar!
(IMAGE: I can see a cool graphic of a sugar cube wearing a disguise – glasses, hat etc!)
Sugar comes in many different forms and disguises. Here are some to look out for: brown
sugar, corn sweetener, dextrose, fructose, glucose, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, malt syrup,
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raw sugar, sucrose, sugar and syrup, and the worst: high-fructose corn syrup aka HFCS. Look
for it on food labels and when you see it: run!
There are also many sugar substitutes on the market, such as Aspartame and Splenda,
Nutrasweet and so forth (often used by diabetics). These are chemical sweeteners and there
has been much debate over whether or not these artificial sweeteners can potentially cause us
harm.
Breaking the habit: If you are hooked on sweets, some forms of sugar are significantly better for
you and can be used as substitutes for processed sugar, e.g. ‘cane sugar’ and ‘agave
sweetener’. Cane sugar is natural unprocessed sugar. Agave sweetener comes from the Agave
plant, a succulent plant chiefly grown in Mexico but also in the southern and western United
States and in central and tropical South America.
What can you do? So use cane or agave, or eat fruit juice sweetened treats, or those
sweetened by molasses or honey. Limit your intake, e.g., to one cookie after a meal.
There are a growing number of products that are being marketed that contain agave, such as
Wholemato – an organic and gluten free alternative to regular ketchup. Using agave instead of
high fructose corn syrup means the product has a lower glycemic index – making it a healthier
alternative not just for people with Diabetes but for all of us.
You will learn more about the ingredients in foods as you continue reading this book!
(QUOTE) Thoreau: If the good lord had wanted us to drink beer (or soda) he would have made
the rivers run with it!
Snacking: We seem to be eating all the time, always with a diet coke at our elbow or a snack
pack of some kind.
Breaking the habit: Limit snack times and limit snacks to fruits or veggies. Carry some carrots or
an apple in your backpack for easy snacking. Make new habits for yourself.
(SA Activities throughout, as appropriate) SOCIAL ACTION INTERACTIVITY: Compose A
BROCHURE, PSA, poster, video ad or children’s book to inform and/or persuade a younger
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student to eat more wisely. Mention ways that they can be assisted to break the bad habits!
(see the Teacher’s Guide)
7. DIET AND DISEASE
What is a poor diet doing to our bodies?
The diseases in our society that affect us the most and that are the highest causes of death are
related to the foods that we eat and our diets. Coronary heart disease is linked to the amount
of bad fats and cholesterol in our diet, the lack of nutrients and the high caloric intake.
Obesity is shaping up to be one of the greatest health challenges of the 21st century in Western
countries. A growing number of teenagers are fighting severe obesity and seeking ways to lose
weight that involves surgery (bariatric surgery of adolescents).
Side bar: Bariatrics and Bariatric surgery.
Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of
obesity. The term bariatrics was created around 1965 as a response to the growing rates of
obesity. Term comes from the Greek root baro ("weight," as in barometer), suffix -iatr
("treatment," as in pediatrics), and suffix -ic ("pertaining to").
Bariatric surgery, is a form of weight loss surgery and refers to the various surgical procedures
performed to treat obesity by modification of the gastrointestinal tract to reduce nutrient
intake and/or absorption. There are a number of surgical options available today to treat
obesity, each with their advantages and pitfalls. These include lab band surgery and gastric bypass surgery.
Research some other surgical solutions to morbid obesity. What are some of the positive
preventative measures before someone becomes morbidly obese.
Obesity is just the tip of the ice berg. Our diet is also affecting:

Our liver function
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
Our cardiovascular health (health of our heart and blood vessels)– clogging these up
with cholesterol

Our chances of getting diabetes - juvenile diabetes is on the rise (see the interview
coming up)

Our teeth – all of that sugar is rotting out teeth.

Our chances of suffering from depression

Our chances of suffering from hypertension, and a number of food-related cancers.

Our diet, coupled with a lack of exercise, is making us just plain unhealthy! (Ed: Could
have a picture of a human body here with all the places labelled that are affected)
Diabetes is just one of the many health concerns that is on the increase in the United States.
Childhood diabetes has increased ten fold since 1985 (cf. FLIP).
(HAVE ONE OR TWO EXPERT INTERVIEWS PER BOOK)
An Expert Speaks; An Interview with Dr. Beth Foster.
Dr. Beth Foster is a medical doctor specializing in working with underinsured and at-risk
populations.
Q. As a doctor, what are your major concerns regarding teen health?
That teen diets have become much less nutritious and the amount of teens’ physical activity has
gone down – The result of this is poor health and increasing obesity. It’s a problem of too much
Energy in vs. too little Energy out – (Ed. maybe use a diagram here of a spigot). So teens are
getting fatter and less fit.
I am concerned about all the junk foods kids are eating especially for breakfast, about the lack
of guidance and understanding about how and why they choose certain foods. We have to
educate kids who in turn need to educate their families. I have seen parents put soda in baby
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bottles or drink soda for breakfast. People drink Big Gulps daily and wonder why their health is
so poor. We are extremely ignorant about nutrition and we need to get educated!
Q. How have diets changed?
Over the last generation our foods have lost lots of micronutrients and taste from
overprocessing. Since there is less taste in the food, processors add more salt and fat to make
the food more tasty. And what is being added are sodium salts which lead to vascular and
cardiac disease – when what we really need are potassium salts to nourish the body which you
can only get in fresh foods.
Eat real food!
Basically, kids are not eating real food. The micronutrients the body needs are in whole grains
and in fresh fruit and vegetables. Kids don’t have access to these and they don’t have the habit
to eat them. Most Americans eat two servings a day of fresh fruit and vegetables – and we
need eight. Just use your hand and count off how many servings you get through the day and
make sure it is part of every meal. Up to 30% of kids may get no servings. The short and longterm effects are huge. For example, in athletics and academics, the more micronutrients you
eat, the higher your performance will be. Bad food makes you dumb and it makes you less
competitive.
Q. Why is exercise so important?
Let’s think of your cardiovascular system as a pump (the heart) and pipes (blood vessels).
Exercise is what keeps the pump healthy and what cleans out the pipes.
The Problem of Diabetes
In my practice, I am seeing more and more kids getting adult diseases. Diabetes is the major
one. Here’s the problem: as you eat and digest food, simple sugars go into the bloodstream but
you need a key to get that energy into the cells. That key is insulin. Insulin is produced by your
pancreas. Teens who are overweight have more doors than they have keys for and the pancreas
can’t keep up with the insulin and you burn out your pancreas. This is typical of obese adults,
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but now you see it in kids. In fact, this is called Type 2 Diabetes – aka Adult Onset Diabetes. But
now it is becoming a teenage epidemic. The good news is that this disease can be put off by a
nutritious diet and exercise. Many Native Americans, Hispanics and African Americans are
especially affected because of genetic predispositions so they have to especially careful.
We have to care about diabetes because it rusts the pipes (arteries) that take blood to your
cells, your brain, your kidneys, and so you get heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. This
causes impotence and amputations in places like toes and feet. Diabetes causes blindness when
not enough blood gets to the eyes. Cholesterol also clogs and rusts the pipes even more and
makes the pump (heart) work harder causing even more problems.
What repairs your pump and pipes and the cells of your body are the micronutrients in fresh
food – antioxidants and enzymes are micronutrients that make energy and repair cells.
Autopsies done on Vietnam war veterans who were 18 and 19 years old found that they already
had heart disease and arteriosclerosis (plugged up arteries). It shocked the medical researchers
how early in life these diseases affect us, even when you are in shape like a soldier is. It is clear
you have to develop healthy habits at a young age.
Q: So what can we do?
We need to cook our own food versus eating fast food. We need to do cook at home, then pack
leftovers for lunch. We need to eat raw foods. This is very important for proper growth and
brain formation.
Other Tips from Dr. Foster:
For vegetables, steam them lightly or eat raw – Lots of nutrients are volatile and are lost
through cooking with grease, high temperature, etc.
Learn where to find fresh food in the store and at farmer’s markets.
Buy fresh foods locally – they are fresher and taste better.
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Take fast food and sodas out of school – replace them with healthy sandwiches and juices.
Train your taste buds towards low fat, low salt and low sugar. If you just cut down on these for a
few weeks you won’t crave them anymore.
Make sure you get enough calcium: You build bone mass until you are 24, then you lose it for
the rest of your life. So you have to have calcium throughout your life. Drink milk, green leafy
vegetables (the darker the green, the more calcium), eat yogurt, If you don’t like milk, drink
calcium fortified orange juice.
For fast food snacks take yogurts, apples (these travel well), cheese, carrots. Eat half a banana
in the morning.
When you combine poor diet with a lack of exercise, you have a recipe – for DISASTER!
Check CDC website: Obesity and what we can do.
Are you constipated (unable to poop)?
This is because your gut can’t get the fiber to push your poop through the poop chute! Dr.
Foster recommends at least one healthy dump a day. If you don’t do this, you aren’t getting
your fiber!
What to do:
Increase fiber – fiber is needed to prevent colon cancer, to be regular, and it draws cholesterol
out of your bloodstream. To achieve this eat brown rice vs. white, brown bread vs. white,
oatmeal and high fiber cereals vs. highly processed and sugary cereals.
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Dr. Beth Foster on Stress and Junk Food
Financial Stress from budget problems – for those who are struggling, fast foods are cheap and
readily available. If you are working a bunch of jobs, it is fast and convenient – but fast food is a
nutritional nightmare just at the time you need real nutrition.
Psychological stress – for those suffering from stress in school, work, sports or relationships,
they tend to look for calorie-rich foods, they skip real meals and constantly snack, and they tend
to skip their exercise. But eating right and getting exercise during stressful times is especially
important and can give people a sense of control and even calm.
8. Food Costs: The great misconception
There have been suggestions that people resort to junk food because they think it is cheaper
than fresh food. But experts including dietitians, fitness buffs and shopping gurus say good
food is cheaper in terms of real costs and over the long run - people just need to think smarter
about the way they shop and be prepared to spend more time in the kitchen.
The key is to think of foods in terms of cost per pound. So, whilst fruit and vegetables cost
between $2-5 per pound, chocolate bars and potato chips are between $15-20 per pound!
Think of the nutritional value as well as the financial value. People are often fooled by ads for
cheap pizzas and other takeaways but home-cooked food is cheaper. Eating good food means
people will need to eat less. If you eat food with no nutritional value, your body sucks it all up
and wants more straight away. Eating crummy food and eating out are always more costly –
both in terms of your physical health as well as the health of your wallet!
Side Bar –Whee Wii! Interactive Fitness!
When you think about playing video games, you often think that sitting idle in front of a
television screen for hours can only be detrimental to your health. But new interactive video
games can actually have a positive influence on your health. As long as you keep moving,
30
moving, moving! Interactive video games, like “Dance Dance Revolution” and those available
on the Nintendo Wii, aim to get your body moving and burn calories whilst you have fun.
Other things you can do: walk or bike instead of driving. Research has found that people who
walk or bike places instead of drive are among the healthiest people on the planet.
Solutions… for beating obesity, malnutrition and disease
Return to Traditional foods and diets….
One solution is to return to the dishes, diet and lifestyle of our ancestors. In the past, more
time was spent on the gathering and preparing of food. More energy was spent on preparing
the food and creating the actual meal.
Buying in bulk and eating seasonally. Shopping in bulk and buying fruit and vegetables that are
in season helps to reduce costs. Food clubs and co-ops are great places to buy in bulk.
Eat Locally and Seasonally. Foods that are in season taste better and are more nutritious.
Many areas have food clubs, co-ops, community supported agriculture, and community gardens
that allow you to participate in growing food.
Create eating rituals. Get a schedule and routine for eating with your family and at particular
times and with particular healthy foods, e.g. always start dinner with a salad.
The Problem of Processed Foods (just a bit more here?)
Whenever food is processed by separating food and raw ingredients into parts, overcooking it,
adding elements to it (check this), the nutritional value goes down. Most foods eaten by
teenagers are processed foods
Fast facts on processed foods

The vast majority of annual corn consumption in the United States is via processed
foods. If you eat processed food then your diet and your body is mostly corn!
31

Salt is listed on nutrition panels as sodium. Foods with less than 120mg per 100g are low
in salt/sodium, while foods with more than 500mg are high in salt. Avoid salt.

45% of processed corn becomes sugar or high fructose corn sweeteners. This is the
keystone ingredient in three-quarters of all processed foods – especially soft drinks! It is
bad news: sugar without nutrition.

For every calorie of food energy produced through processing, 10 calories of fossil fuel
energy is used. This is obviously unsustainable.
Questions to explore further:

As consumers do we really know what happens to our food when it is processed?

What are the ‘hidden’ ingredients that go into growing, processing and transporting our
food?

How do these ‘hidden ingredients’ have environmental, health or political impacts?

Should there be tighter restrictions on the food industry?
Check that label! Michael Pollan’s tips:
Would your Great-Grand Mother recognise it?
Author Michael Pollan says that you should:

Avoid food with more than 5 ingredients on the list,

Avoid ingredients you don’t recognize,

Avoid ingredients that you can’t pronounce,

Not eat any foods your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize and be able to make

Avoid High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) at all costs!
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Activity: What is it that I eat?
Make a list of the number of ingredients in your favourite processed foods. How many
ingredients do you not recognize? Can you not pronounce?
Social Action Idea:
Research the real story behind a processed food and expose that story to your classmates!
Sidebar: The Slow Food Movement
In the 1980’s in response to the growing amount of American Fast Food that was feared to be
threatening Italy’s traditional food culture, a movement was founded around Slow Food. The
main idea behind the slow food movement was to focus people’s attention to the appreciation
of food, where it comes from in the relationship between food producers and consumers to
‘cultivate one’s taste’ to enjoy all that food has to offer.
For more visit: www.slowfoodusa.org
Fast Fact – corn
Corn covers some 125, 000 square miles of the American Continent – twice the area of New
York State. Large corn fields are visible from Outer space.
A very gross and fat case study – The Burger and Hot Dog
You may be shocked to hear a little of the history behind the hamburger. Did you know that
the Hamburger was historically thought of as the ‘poor man’s food?’ This reputation changed
later in the 20th century as the popularity of the burger grew, but what remains is that the
hamburger is made from the cheapest cuts of meat and cheap does not always equal good, as
you are about to find out! A hot dog is filled with ground up parts of the pig (or other animals
like turkeys and chickens) that cannot be sold or eaten any other way. Use your imagination!
Bullet points about burgers and hot dogs
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INTERACTIVITY
What’s in a label?
Have you ever looked closely at a food label and actually thought about the ingredients and
processes that went into making that food? How can you tell? What are the natural
ingredients and what are the processed ingredients?
The art and skill needed in reading a food label has made this a new literary genre to emerge
after World War II. You don’t need a science degree; you just need to look more closely at
those labels. It gets easier with practice. After all, don’t you think it is important to know what
you are putting into your body?
Now you would think that breakfast cereals and cereal bars should be a good source of fiber,
low in unhealthy fats and not too high in salt or calories, but a closer look could get you thinking
about what you might have for tomorrow’s breakfast!
Understanding Nutrition Labels
Nutrition panels can be confusing, but if you know how to read them, they’re a useful source of
information.
Serving Size
Sugars
Protein
This section of the label tells you what
Sugars are also listed under
Protein is important for proper growth
constitutes a serving of a product and
Total Carbohydrate, and are
and development because it supports your
the number of servings contained
found in many foods. Starchy body's cells and builds and repairs your
within the package. The Serving Size is
foods, such as pasta and
muscles and other tissues. Common foods
usually listed in easily understood
potatoes, are rich in complex
with good amounts of protein include
measurements, such as cups, pieces, or
carbohydrates and should be
milk, eggs, meat, fish, poultry, cheese,
packets, and is then followed by the
eaten as a part of a healthy
yogurt, nuts, and soybeans.
metric amount, which is expressed in
diet.
grams.
Simple sugars, found in most
Since many foods that are high in protein
are also high in fat and cholesterol, you
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If you eat more, or less, than the
sweets, such as candy and
should choose lean cuts of meat and
suggested serving size, you will need to
cookies, should be eaten only
lower-fat cheeses and yogurts whenever
adjust all of the nutritional values listed in moderation, because they
on the label to match the serving you
add calories without adding
consumed.
other nutrients.
possible.
Complex carbs = good
Simple sugars = bad!
Sodium (salt)
Include picture of a nutrition
label here.
Listed as sodium, salt is often used in
packaged foods as a flavor enhancer,
which means your salt intake can be
high without you knowing it. Sodium
can be found in small amounts in
almost all foods, even drinking water.
The highest concentrations of sodium
Fats Broken Down
Mono-unsaturated (healthier)
Found in: Avocados, Olive oil, Almonds,
Cashews, Peanuts, Macadamias
Polyunsaturated (healthier)
Found in: Fish, Margarine, Vegetable oil,
Pine nuts, Walnuts, Brazil nuts
Omega-3s (healthier)
are found in processed meats such as
bacon and ham, canned soups and
Found in: Tuna, Salmon, Sardines, Other
vegetables, and in many frozen foods.
oily fish, Pecans, Walnuts, seeds
Saturated (less healthy)
Found in: Palm oil , Coconut milk, Coconut
oil, Animal, products such as meats,
poultry and dairy foods
Transfats (unhealthy)
Found In: Processed foods such as bought
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pastries and cakes, many fast foods and
takeaway meals
Fiber
Carbohydrates
Kilojoules/Calories
Wholegrains, fruit and vegetables
Whole grains, such as
These are listed under energy in the panel.
provide your body with the fiber it
oatmeal, whole wheat bread,
needs, but it can sometimes be difficult
and brown rice, are all good
to make sure you’re eating enough.
choices for carbohydrates
Eating high-fiber foods can help.
because they are high in
To avoid overeating, try to get your
calories from foods that satisfy your
appetite.
fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Sugars also make up
carbohydrates – see sugars.
What about the list of ingredients?
All food labels are required to list the product's ingredients in order by weight. The ingredient in
the greatest amount is listed first. The ingredient in the least amount is listed last. So, to
choose foods low in saturated fat or total fat, limit your use of products that list any fat or oil
first - or that list many fat and oil ingredients.
Activity: How does it measure up?
Apply your knowledge - Now that you have looked closely at a label – have a go at making
some comparisons between different food products. Which ones are actually better for you
and how will you weigh this up?
Try:

Compare Cereal Boxes

Compare Breakfast bars
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
Compare different types of crackers, biscuits and cookies.
Side Bar - Fat or Fiction?
They may have a bad reputation, but some fats are actually a nutrient your body needs to
function properly– provided you choose the right ones. In fact, your brain cannot function
without sheaths of fat. Instead of cutting all fat from your diet, make sure you eat less of the
unhealthy fats and more of the healthier varieties.
Unhealthy ‘trans fats’ are the ones to avoid but did you know that trans fats are not yet listed
on most food labels? This makes them hard to avoid but here is the word up: you can often
identify that they are in a food if it lists partially hydrogenated vegetable oil on the ingredients
list. Learn the lingo and you’ll be fine!
What are my current food choices? Will my thinking change after learning more about food?
Let’s read on…
EXTRAPOLATIONS: WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN . . . (THIS SHOULD BE A TEMPLATE FEATURE)
ETHICAL TOOLS: Changing our thinking to change our behavior (THIS SHOULD BE A TEMPLATE
FEATURE)
A pig should be a pig: Kant’s Categorical Imperative
Michael Pollan’s idea to let a pig be a pig is similar to philosopher Immanuel Kant’s notion of
the “categorical imperative” – which could be translated as “the one absolute rule”. His rule
was to treat everyone (and everything) as an end in themselves – as something valuable and
important and worthy – instead of something that we can make use of. How far do we just
make use of animals and plants and other resources instead of thinking about their welfare and
future?
The Glass Abattoir, or Find out the story and be able to live with it: Make it your business to
find out the story behind the food you eat, how it was produced and transported. Michael
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Pollan says that we all need to know the whole story of our food – e.g. how cows are born,
raised, slaughtered, and packaged – and we ought to be able to say we are totally OK with that
before we eat that item. He believes that we will change our food eating practices once we are
aware of how animals suffer, or of the hidden practises of industrialized farming and processed
foods.
Transparency: A related idea is “transparency” which means that information is easy to get.
For food this means that we know where our food came from, who produced it, the nutritional
information about it, whether it is genetically modified, etc. Transparency means we have
freedom of information and can make informed decisions about what we eat.
Diversity brings vitality: In any social or biological system, diversity always brings vitality. An
ethical tool is to always promote difference, multiple perspectives, and the widest variety of
ideas or elements into anything we do, like our friendship groups and our diets.
Light one candle. Some people think that they can do so little to help the earth that it is not
worth doing. Wrong! The fact that you can only do so much makes it all the more important to
actually do it. When you walk instead of drive, buy organic and local, and talk to your friends
about your choices you are making a difference! If you light one candle and this lights another
one and so on, you can eventually light and change the whole earth! You are the only person
who can do your part, so you must be the one to do it!
Eat more healthy foods
Some internet sites promoting nutritional ideas and information about food:
www.eatright.org
www.eatwellguide.com
www.eatwild.com
www.fda.gov
www.fitday.com
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www.foodroutes.com
www.healthytravelnetwork.corn
www.informedeating.org
www.nutrition.gov
www.permaculture.com
www.usda.gov
How has my thinking changed?
I used to think?
Now I think?
So you have read about some of the key issues surrounding our food, what’s in our food and
what it is actually doing to us. I can imagine that you still have questions and want to learn
more. But what are some of the things that you can start to do right now and how can you
apply some of the ideas from this book?
Walk to the Store
Insist on better cafeteria food
Get rid of those soda machines!
Cut out or down on the fast food. Go for slow Food
Cook at home, from scratch
Commit to family meals
Meal planning/create routines and a family culture of food
Tell your friends
Plan a social action project – there were introductory ideas contained in this book and make a
difference!
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What else would you put on the list?
HOW HAS MY THINKING CHANGED? (TEMPLATE FORMAT FEATURE)
Are there things you used to believe that you now believe more strongly? Are there ideas or habits or
behaviors (your own or those of others) that you now question or might want to change? What further
research or reading might you want to do? What social actions might you undertake? Who might you
talk to about these issues and what to do about them?
Glossary of Terms
Create a glossary of terms used in the book.
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Bibliography
Books
Kingsolver, B. (2007), Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Harper Collins, New York.
Pollan, M. (2007) The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Foods, Penguin, New
York.
Pollan, M. (2008), In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, The Penguin Press, New York.
Rosen, J. & Rippe, D. (2006), The Flip: Turn Your World Around, Hampton Roads Publishing
Company Inc, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Schlosser, E. (2001), Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the all-American Meal, Houghton
Mifflin Company, New York.
Shapiro, M. (2007), Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for
American Power, Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, Vermont.
Shiva, V. (2000), Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply, South End Press,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Newspaper Articles
Dininny, S. 2007, ‘Almost-organic fruit may fetch premium, Idaho Statesmen, 25 August.
Freking, K. 2007, ‘Obesity rates climb across U.S’, Idaho Statesmen, 28 August.
High Country News, Hannah Nordhaus, The Silence of the Bees. Retrieved September 10, 2007
at www.hcn.org/silence_of_the_bees/
Hogue, T. 2007, ‘Locavores restrict diet to local foods’, Idaho Statesmen, 24 November.
Idaho Statesman, Cynthia Sewell, Collapse of honeybee colonies baffles biologists. Main 4.
May 29, 2007
Kaleita, A. 2007, ‘Should consumers buy organic?’, Idaho Statesmen, 25 November.
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Konz, A. 2008, ‘Kentucky among national leaders in providing meals, The Courier-Journal, 25
February.
Lennihan, M. 2007, ‘Rising Food Prices: Higher grain and energy prices push up bills at
supermarket checkouts, Idaho Statesmen, 9 October.
Mellgren, D. 2008, ‘Norway opening ‘doomsday’ vault to protect seeds from disasters’, Idaho
Statesmen, 26 February.
Pritchard, J. 2007, ‘Is our food at risk from imports?’, Idaho Statesmen, 25 April.
Rosenthal, E. 2008, ‘Illegal seafood is big business in Europe’, Idaho Statesmen, 15 January.
Sachs, J. 2007, ‘Give Nature a Rest’, The Press, Christchurch, 30 March.
Smith, D. 2007, ‘Death of a great ape’, The Press, Christchurch, 30 March.
Stamford, B. 2007, ‘It may be a new diet, not medicine, that’s the cure’, Idaho Statesmen, 13
September.
Magazine Articles
Manning, R. (2004), ‘The Oil We Eat: Following the Food Chain Back to Iraq’, Harper’s Magazine.
Newman, K. (2004). ‘Why are we so fat?’, National Geographic, August.
Ode Magazine, Sept 2007 –
Sprout Magazine: Treasure Valley’s Sustainable Living Journal, Boise, Idaho
Web sites
www.eatlocalchallenge.com
www.eatright.org
www.eatwellguide.com
www.eatwild.com
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www.ediblecommunities.com
www.farmtoschool.org
www.fda.gov
www.fitday.com
www.foodroutes.com
www.healthytravelnetwork.corn
www.informedeating.org
www.localharvest.com
www.nutrition.gov
www.permaculture.com
www.sustainabletable.org
www.usda.gov
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