Stossel Food Bunk II ~ Just Some Notes on Other Guests
Just some notes on the non-Taubes/Attia portions of John Stossel's Food Bunk program. I managed to catch and tape a rerun of it and watched in the background the other day. It still may be rerun (or watch online?) for anyone interested on FNC or FBC. It was on food freedom, government regulations, laws/bans and all that.
It began with Joel Salatin v. Felix Ortiz a NYC Councilman responsible for transfat ban, posting calorie counts, etc. Salatin came off rather well here in my opinion. Stossel shows video of a raid on a food coop. Scary. Ortiz was challenged on juices -- if you limit soda sizes, how about juice? His answer was more like "I ate my orange today" which disturbs me in spite of my recent defense of OJ. So many of the politicians and folks like Lustig and Diet Doc Eenfeldt are all in for banning and regulating and taxing their pet dietary peeves. They believe butter cannot be fattening, so Denmark's misguided butter tax was foolhardy, but tend to support idiotic things like Nanny Bloomie's cup size limits. In this regard, kudos to Salatin! I've had some less than favorable reactions to his notions of supermarket addiction. Unlike some, he comes off unhypocritical here -- I'm sure to say he's no fan of junk food would be an understatement, but he focused on the overarching unintended consequences of many of these regs/taxes supported by Ortiz.
Next up Pam Peeke author of Hunger Fix. Sugar, fatty, salty foods are addictive! But wait!! She (her own words) has been Stosselized about regulation, while still insisting certain foods are addictive. Should government have a role, NO! Well, not entirely, government can have a role in educating people. Food detox programs?? On the topic of food deserts where poor can't get fresh food, she blasts that myth. Good on her. Hmmm ... I'm in on the education, but what's the deal, with that? Education in schools about the addictive nature of junk foods along side the Just Say No education on drugs? Interesting to ponder if you believe in this.
On to the topic of "pink slime" that folks in this community jumped all over media reports of. In all honesty I haven't looked into this but the guy he had on, Don Gainor, debunking this sounded rather cogent to me. Feel free to comment if I'm off base here! He speaks of a process that saves the lives of cows because they get more meat from the cow. Sounds like something the animal rights people can at least stay out of the way of if not favor. I mean the beef industry is here to stay, so wouldn't it be better to involve fewer animals? And the purists out there? Well, just don't buy it? There are many ways to know your ground beef. Meanwhile apparently the company went out of business from the bad publicity and backlash from what was portrayed as shock journalism on the topic. What say you?
Next up, Taubes (and more Attia)
Comments
Not quite sure the answer. People deserve to know what's in their foods and the risks, but when they are operating on the up-and-up, in a way whatever level of protection, they deserve as much as the consumer. Hope that makes sense.
Took a few minutes to look into this further. I think this is the lawsuit http://www.beefisbeef.com, and here are their facts: http://www.beefisbeef.com/get-the-facts/ those same values here: http://admin.state.nh.us/purchasing/Ammonium%20hydroxide.pdf
I gotta say, I'm always a bit conflicted when you have "naturally occurring" compounds -- true about ammonium hydroxide -- added to foods or used in processes. Then again, how about citric acid folks? It is in many things.
Labels should say that it includes this product just like they say poultry is brined and injected and such. But I think I come down on the side of the manufacturer on this one.
George, the guest was describing how they get more meat off the bones in this process = more meat per animal.
Whether we like it or not, a lot of scrap from our meat industry is fat, and there aren't a lot of people eating tallow. I myself use 80% these days, and it still can make for greazy stuff if I use it in chili or sauce -- lots of draining.
I'm more of a behaviourist, so I don't view freedom as some fundamental or tangible element to stress about outside the context of basic human dignity, quality of life and personal freedom of conscience. No one's free -- we're always being manipulated, even from birth, which is why it's better to support critical thinking from both a personal and academic standpoint. It's clearly daft and naive to assume that government is the ONLY force trying to control people, just as it is equally warped to think that it is outright protecting people from such manipulation. They are all institutions and depending on how the people, as public and consumers, hold them accountable, determines how far they can go with their respective agendas.
On a practical, realistic level, I am not too confident in this outlook due to my own biases and slants. However, I can understand and somewhat agree with the essence of your contention. In an ideal scenario, honest consumers and honest businesses are equal parties engaged in trade, and both of them should be protected. However, in the complex sphere of modern day affairs, this relationship is far too muddled for me to trust any big business as being 'up and up', and as a lowly consumer, my loyalty will be with my fellow consumers, but again, that's my bias. So if we're pushing for a purely freedom oriented approach--something that I don't think works in a complex scenario--then we might as well let the consumer get their protection and knowledge from a free media and let the burden of sifting through hyperbole and truth hang over the consumer at the potential peril of both the consumer and the businesses in question. It would be great though if consumers could have the critical awareness to make efficient choices while honest businesses wouldn't be at the mercy of a media-driven popularity contest.
The habit of writing down what you've eaten after you've measured it, then adding it all up at the end of the day, is just one way to realize all the things you've eaten mindlessly. When I can't remember what I've had for lunch, I know I've eaten mindlessly, most often something handy and quick and not eaten at the table.
We have the freedom to choose, from a vast array of food products (just think of the many kinds of oils, now that supermarkets stock all those natural food items), so advertisers find a good audience for so many products. I don't watch TV (I don't have cable, so I watch television programs on amazon, without commercials) and don't buy 'women's magazines' anymore (what to cook for Thanksgiving). When I come across food talk, it's food bloggers, food newsletters (I get 'em) and, of all places, diet websites. It used to be, when I low-carbed, food talk heavy on the creamed cauliflower, made to look like mashed potatoes, and the meat-porn. Now, on Spark People, it's what you've had for dinner, breakfast, lunch, snacks, what you miss, what's the favorite food you crave!
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