By Dr. Mercola
“Fast Food, Fat Profits” gives a quick overview of what’s
wrong with the US food industry, and how its inherent design
virtually guarantees a sick, overweight population.
From food deserts and cheap fast food to soda that’s marketed
directly to children and a revolving door between food agencies
and the government, the system is very much stacked against
healthy eating … and healthy people.
If your meals consist of $1 burgers and super-size drinks,
your diet may be cheap, but it is also excessively high in
grains, sugars, and factory-farmed meats. This is a recipe for
obesity, diabetes and heart disease, just to name a few of the
conditions that commonly befall those who consume "the Standard
American Diet."
Why is a Fast-Food Meal Cheaper Than Healthy Food?
Many people realize that they can get a value meal at
numerous fast-food restaurants for far less money than it takes
to purchase foods to make a healthy meal for their family.
Adding to the problem, many on the most limited food budgets,
such as those who receive food assistance dollars, live in "food
deserts" – areas without grocery stores, and perhaps only a
convenience store or a fast-food restaurant where they can
purchase their food.
While it’s certainly possible to
eat healthy on a limited budget, this first requires that
you understand what constitutes a healthy meal, and then that
you have access to such foods, which is not always the case.
Meanwhile, instead of ensuring that all Americans have access
to healthy foods, the US government is actively supporting a
diet that consists of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), soybean
oil, corn oil and grain-fed cattle, a direct result of their
flawed
farm subsidy system.
The junk foods are made even cheaper through the use of
unhealthy filler ingredients and preservatives that prevent
spoiling, with the end result being that the very worst foods
for your health are often significantly cheaper to buy.
Kids are Eating Turkey Sandwiches With 100 Other Ingredients …
Perhaps nowhere are the problems with the food system more
apparent than in US schools, where kids are served processed
food products that only vaguely resemble actual fresh food. In
“Fast Food, Fat Profits,” one chef is shocked to see that turkey
sandwiches slated for the next school lunch contain 100
ingredients!
What this cocktail of chemicals is ultimately doing to our
population is difficult to pin down, but food additives like
preservatives, artificial flavors and colors and MSG have
already been linked to behavioral problems, ADHD and
cancer, among other
conditions. But, again, many assume that the burger from a
fast-food joint is equivalent to one they’d make in their own
kitchen … a far cry from reality.
For instance, the McRib sandwich from McDonald’s, described
as pork, barbecue sauce, slivered onions and tart pickles,
served on a hoagie style bun, actually contains more than 70
ingredients and even the ‘pork’ allegedly consists of
restructured meat product (made from all the less expensive
innards and castoffs from the pig).
Unfortunately, some parents are unaware that feeding their kids
fast-food meals is like feeding them a chemistry experiment, or
they are simply lured in by the low prices and tasty (albeit
artificial and addictive) flavors.
The Revolving Door Between the Food Industry and the Government
is Ever Turning
Many Americans also believe, mistakenly, that food sold on US
soil must be good for them, or else the state and federal
regulatory agencies would be taking action. But this ideal is
laughable when those same government officials work for the very
food companies they are supposed to be regulating.
Take, for instance, John Bode, a Washington attorney who
served on the Senate Agriculture Committee staff and held three
presidential appointments at the Agriculture Department. He
became president and CEO of the Corn Refiners Association in May
of this year.
Then there’s Catherine Woteki, US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) chief scientist and Under Secretary for Research,
Education, and Economics, who previously served as Global
Director of Scientific Affairs for Mars, Inc. Michael Taylor, a
former vice president of public policy and chief lobbyist at
Monsanto Company, who became the deputy commissioner for foods
at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is yet another
example.
There are other close connections that most of the public
isn’t aware of either. Dairy Management, which also includes the
National Dairy Council, has been aggressively marketing
cheese to restaurant chains in efforts to increase sales. But
we’re not talking about simply promoting consumption of a piece
of cheddar cheese or a block of Gouda … this includes fast-food
restaurants selling junk-food products like:
- Pizza Hut's Cheesy Bites pizza
- Wendy's dual Double Melt sandwich concept
- Burger King's Cheesy Angus Bacon cheeseburger and
TenderCrisp chicken sandwich (both of which contained three
slices of cheese plus a "cheesy sauce")
In other words, the government is not your ally here. They
are working alongside fast-food giants like Pizza Hut, Domino’s,
Wendy’s and others to get you to eat more of their
junk-food products, which happen to contain lots of (highly
processed) cheese!
Should Soda Be Banned From Food Stamp Programs?
Most Americans are drinking far too much soda and other
sugary drinks, a key culprit in rising rates of obesity, heart
disease, diabetes and related conditions. Some brands, like
Chubby’s from the Caribbean, are even marketed directly to
children (and feature bottles designed to fit in a small child’s
hand).
But, as the video highlighted, now a group of health
associations, physicians and nutrition experts are calling for
pilot programs that would restrict the purchase of sugary drinks
by people using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP). This is already done for alcohol and tobacco, but the
move to regulate what types of food and drinks a person is able
to buy is new territory.
Increasing regulations like these may not be the solution,
however, especially if the money spent on soda is simply put
toward more heavily processed foods. While farmer’s markets do
occasionally make it into the ghetto (and some do accept food
stamps), the farmer's market is an occasional institution,
operating just one day a week. Fast-food franchises, on the
other hand, pump out low-nutrient fare seven days a week, 365
days a year.
While it's possible to make the healthy choice, under these
conditions, it's not easy.
There’s no denying, of course, that processed foods, whether
soda or potato chips, will eat up your grocery budget in the
blink of an eye, and will cause disease in the long-term. In
reality, any money spent on junk food is a waste, and
purging these items from your grocery list is the first step to
eating right on a budget. Some of the healthiest foods are
incredibly affordable,
even under $1 a serving, such as:
- Raw organic milk
- Raw nuts and seeds
- Two cage-free organic eggs
- Avocado, berries and broccoli
- Home-grown sunflower sprouts
- Fermented foods you make at home
What’s the Real Cost of Eating Cheap Food?
“Fast Food, Fat Profits” highlights what is arguably one of
the most disturbing health trends of the 21st century – the fact
that today’s generation may be the first to live a shorter
lifespan than their parents, and this is a direct result of too
much cheap (nutrient-deficient and toxin-laden) food. Avoiding
processed food requires a change in mindset, which is not always
an easy task. It CAN be done, however. Rather than looking at
processed foods as a convenience that tastes good or saves
money, try thinking of it as:
- Extra calories that will harm your body
- A toxic concoction of foreign chemicals and artificial
flavors that will lead to disease
- A waste of your money
- Likely to lead to increased health care bills for you
and your family
- Not something to give to children, whose bodies are
still developing and therefore are both much more
susceptible to cancer and in greater need of nutrients
Your goal should be to strive for 90 percent non-processed,
whole food. Not only will you enjoy the health
benefits—especially if you buy mostly organic—but you'll also
get the satisfaction of knowing exactly what you're putting into
your body, and that in and of itself can be a great feeling. It
may cost more to eat this way, but then again it
might not. (And in the long run the amount it will save you
in the long run is immeasurable.)
Are You Trying to Eat Healthy on a Budget?
While it may not be immediately obvious for people who have
grown up relying on ready-made, pre-packaged foods and snacks,
you can replace those foods with something equally satisfying
that will support, rather than wreck, your health. This requires
some strategy, especially if you're working with a tight budget,
but it can be done:
- Identify a Person to Prepare Meals.
Someone has to invest some time in the kitchen. It will be
necessary for either you, your spouse, or perhaps someone in
your family prepare the meals from locally grown healthful
foods. This includes packing lunches for your kids to take
to school.
- Become resourceful: This is an area
where your grandmother can be a wealth of information, as
how to use up every morsel of food and stretch out a good
meal was common knowledge to generations past. Seek to get
back to the basics of cooking – using the bones from a roast
chicken to make stock for a pot of soup, extending a Sunday
roast to use for weekday dinners, learning how to make
hearty stews from inexpensive cuts of meat, using up
leftovers and so on.
- Plan your meals: If you fail to plan
you are planning to fail. This is essential, as you will
need to be prepared for mealtimes in advance to be
successful. Ideally this will involve scouting out your
local farmer's markets for in-season produce that is priced
to sell, and planning your meals accordingly, but you can
also use this same premise with supermarket sales.
You can generally plan a week of meals at a time, make
sure you have all ingredients necessary on hand, and then do
any prep work you can ahead of time so that dinner is easy
to prepare if you're short on time in the evenings.
It is no mystery that you will be eating lunch around
noon every day so rather than rely on fast food at work,
before you go to bed make a plan as to what you are going to
take to work the next day. This is a marvelous simple
strategy that will let you eat healthier, especially if you
take healthy food from home in to work.
- Avoid food waste: According to a study
published in the journal PloS One,1
Americans waste an estimated 1,400 calories of food per
person, each and every day. The two steps above will help
you to mitigate food waste in your home. You may also have
seen my article titled
14 Ways to Save Money on Groceries. Among those tips are
suggestions for keeping your groceries fresher, longer, and
I suggest reviewing those tips now.
- Buy organic animal foods. The most
important foods to buy organic are animal, not vegetable,
products (meat, eggs, butter, etc.), because animal foods
tend to concentrate pesticides in higher amounts. If you
cannot afford to buy all of your food organic, opt for
organic animal foods first.
- Keep costs down on grass-fed beef.
Pasture-finished beef is far healthier than grain-fed
beef (which I don't recommend consuming). To keep cost down,
look for inexpensive roasts or ground meat. You may also
save money by buying an entire side of beef (or splitting
one with two or three other families), if you have enough
freezer space to store it.
- Buy in bulk when non-perishable items go on
sale. If you are fortunate to live near a buyer's
club or a co-op, you may also be able to take advantage of
buying by the pound from bins, saving both you and the
supplier the cost of expensive packaging.
- Frequent farmer's markets or grow your own
produce. You may be surprised to find out that by
going directly to the source you can get amazingly healthy,
locally grown, organic food for less than you can find at
your supermarket. This gives you the best of both worlds:
food that is grown near to you, cutting down on its carbon
footprint and giving you optimal freshness, as well as grown
without chemicals, genetically modified seeds, and other
potential toxins.
Just as restaurants are able to keep their costs down by
getting food directly from a supplier, you, too, can take
advantage of a direct farm-to-consumer relationship, either on
an individual basis or by joining a food coop in your area. Many
farmer's markets are now accepting food stamps, so this is an
opportunity most everyone can join in on.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.