Download The Global Supermarket and Just Desserts

The Global Supermarket and
Just Desserts
Linking Diet, Behavior, Ecology,
and Health
What’s in What We Eat?
Fats, Carbohydrates, Salt
U.S. nutrition
recommendations:
• less than 30% of
calories from fat
• less than 10% from
saturated fat
• 300 milligrams of
cholesterol
• 2400 milligrams of
sodium per day.
How Much is That???
Recommendations:
• If you eat 2000
calories per day:
30% of calories from fat
(65 grams of fat per day)
• If you eat 2500
calories per day:
30% of calories from fat
(80 grams of fat per day)
From McDonald’s
http://www.mcdonalds.com/
Grilled Chicken / Big Mac:
Calories: 440 / 590
Calories form fat: 180 / 340
Total fat: 20 / 34 grams
Saturated fat: 3 / 11 grams
Cholesterol: 60 / 85 mg
Sodium: 1040 / 1090 mg
Carbohydrates: 38 / 47
Protein: 27 / 24 grams
Hidden Sugars
• Look at the Label:
Corn Syrup and/or
Refined Sugar is
everywhere
Foods, Moods, Our Bodies
• In a study of 200 people
done in England, subjects
were told to reduce mood
"stressors" consumed
and to increase mood
"supporters."
• Stressors included sugar,
caffeine, and alcohol.
• Supporters were water,
vegetables, fruit, and fish.
Foods, Moods, Our Bodies
Results:
• 80% reported
improved mental
health
• 26% said they had
fewer mood swings
• 26% had fewer panic
attacks and anxiety
• 24% experienced less
depression
How Moods are Fed or Starved
• The chemicals that control mood are the neurotransmitters in the
brain led by the pleasure "drug" serotonin.
• These substances determine whether you feel good and energetic
or tired, irritable, and spacey.
• The idea is to maintain a stable blood sugar level through the day,
slowly feeding these substances into the brain.
• Low glycemic carbs include whole grain bread, beans, whole grain
crackers, soy, apples, pears, peaches, and other fruits.
Carbohydrates such as commercial granola bars, animal crackers,
graham crackers, potato chips, cakes and pies flood into the system
too fast and cause the body to order up a big shot of insulin, which
then tips the balance.
• "You can see it when you've had a white flour pancake and syrup for
breakfast," a nutritionist says. "By mid-afternoon, you're ready for a
nap." This sugar alert/ insulin cycle gradually becomes less efficient
and leads to diabetes, heart disease and other problems.
Hormones, Depression, Diet
• Hormones are chemical
messengers that regulate
the activity of certain
organs
• Hormones govern the
menstruation process
• Diet affects hormones
• Hormone imbalances are
linked to depression
• Inadequate diet disrupts
ovulation
The Diet Mania
(what’s in this? look inside)
The Diet Industry Feeds on Our
Concerns
• Americans spend
over $40 billion a year
on diet foods, books,
etc
• Half of Americans are
overweight, and half
(not necessarily the
same people!) are on
a diet
The Glamour Industry Feeds on
Low Self-Esteem
• It begins with Barbie dolls, then Cosmo,
boyfriends, and always The Mirror: setting
the unattainable standard
• http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~kbrow01/essays.htm
• When did these ‘beauty standards’ begin?
History of the Diet
There have always been community ideals.
Miss America 1924
‘Venus’ of Willendorf
25,000 BC
Miss America 1938
Miss America 1975
Victorian Ideals
Furniture for Fasting
Victorian Fainting Couch
Chinese Foot Binding
Our Own Foot Binding
What are the Costs?
Bulemia,
Anorexia,
Dangerous diets,
Depression,
Self-loathing
What Else is Added to Our Foods?
Hormones:
Hormonal additives, such as those fed to animals to increase their
size and rate of growth, have been linked to breast cancer,
diminished sperm production, and genetic abnormalities.
Antibiotics:
• Some people are allergic to certain antibiotics, which can pose
health problems since there is a relatively small number of antibiotic
drug classes.
• Antibiotics (along with many other medicines such as birth control
drugs) may be found in many foods we eat (they are fed to animals
and accumulate) as well as municipal water supplies.
• Bacteria (following Darwinian evolutionary principles) can become
immune to the effects of antibiotics.
Other Drugs:
• Birth control, antidepressants, and many other drugs are in the
water supply.
Who Owns the Means of
Production?
• MoP: Land, seeds, tools, labor
• Increasingly food giants like ADM
and Monsanto assert intellectual
property rights over seed stock.
• In Southeast Asia, the Green
Revolution has diminished yields
and increased dependence on
multinationals
• In Iraq, farmers now must buy
from global agribusiness:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7915.htm
So What Do We Eat?!
Organically Grown/Pesticide- and Hormone-free foods
face:
• FDA labeling problems
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2005/11/03/PM200511033.html
• Higher price, lower availability, lack of consumer
knowledge
• Farmers’ risk of being sued by agribusiness
(Google or Wiki Monsanto vs. Schmeiser)
• Global agribusiness bankrupting smallholders
http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/bcbrasil.html
Eating in Our Neighborhood
• Locally produced food
• Properly labeled food
• As little processed food as
possible
Maple View Farm Dairy
Carrboro Farmers’ Market
Chapel Hill Creamery
Other Peoples’ Neighborhoods
• Poor neighborhoods pay
more for food than
wealthy neighborhoods
• There are fewer grocery
stores in poor
neighborhoods, so
• People have to travel
further to the store
• There is less fresh
produce in stores in poor
neighborhoods
What’s Cheap?
• Highly processed bulk
foods
• Mass-produced foods
• Fast food
The Omnivore’s Dilemma