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Alex Jamieson, Morgan Spurlock's fiancee, has written a book about the diet she put Morgan on to help him recover from his 30-day McDonald's-only diet. The book is called The Great American Detox Diet. It's scheduled to be released on June 4, 2005. Could be a good read....
As I was researching my post about corporate responsibility, I came across a poetry contest that Little Debbie organized. These kinds of contests are great for the companies who put them on because they:
It really is a savvy marketing tactic. But it's sad for me to read some of the poems that the contestants wrote. Here's one from Mary.
Little Debbie® is my girl because she has the treat
For anytime or anywhere I want to eat.A breakfast pastry will start the day.
Coffee Cake or Sweet Roll get me on my way.To satisfy my sweet tooth after lunch,
On a Creme-Filled Cupcake I can munch.If I prefer cookies, there are plenty of these.
Whatever my choice, it's sure to please.Need an after-dinner snack while watching TV?
Reduced Fat Brownies leave me feeling guilt free.From Canada, to Mexico, to each American state,
The lasting popularity proves Little Debbie®
products are great!Mary, Texas
Little Debbie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? I guess that's what happens when you combine sweet foods that have been engineered for maximum taste appeal with powerful marketing and branding.
My last post, although humorous, goes to an extreme. It places all responsibility for what we eat squarely on the consumer's shoulders. So the question I now want to raise is, "Where does corporate responsibility begin?"
I've been thinking about this question not only because of my last post, but also because of an interview Morgan Spurlock conducted with Eric Schlosser on the Supersize Me DVD. (Eric Schlosser is the author of Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness. I highly recommend both books.)
Toward the end of the interview, Eric Schlosser says (and I'm paraphrasing here): "The real question is where does personal responsibility end and corporate responsibility begin?"
Here's what Schlosser is getting at...
Someone who likes to eat carrots can easily regulate how much he consumes. Carrots have fiber, which makes you feel full. Carrots are sweet, but not too sweet. Once you've had a few, your body is likely to say, "I've had enough for now."
Contrast a natural food like carrots with a synthetic food like Twinkies, Oreos, or Little Debbie snack cakes. Most of these packaged desserts have little or no fiber, so it's more difficult to tell when you're full. They're loaded with sugar. And their flavors have been engineered for maximum consumer appeal.
Yes, there is willpower. But how effective is willpower against flavors and foods that have been engineered to conquer that willpower? If someone develops eating problems because of foods that have been engineered to be irresistable, then how much responsibility falls on the consumer and how much on the company that created the food?
These are tough questions to answer, and I don't even pretend to know the answer. But I do believe the individual and the company share the responsibility. I believe consumers should be held accountable for what they choose to eat; and I believe purveyors of food should be held accountable for the health issues their food causes.
Here's a piece of advice. If you want to be healthy, then act as if you bear 100% of the responsibility for the things you eat. I do not believe you are 100% responsible—food manufacturers are partly responsible—but to act as if you are is the only sure way to achieve optimal health.
If you take responsibility for what you eat, you'll have more success in attaining your health goals. Here's something I found that pokes fun at people who blame restaurants for their poor eating habits.
IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE
You are about to consume food substances in this restaurant that contain calories, fat, sugar, salt, carbohydrates, artificial flavors, preservatives, and other ingredients which may be, in some way, harmful to your health. Consuming inordinately large quantities of these food substances in this establishment or elsewhere or in combination thereof may make you fat. Consuming spectacularly excessive quantities may, in fact, make you clinically obese or, in plain English, so incredibly fat that short people huddle under your blubber for shade on hot days. Also, eating these food substances may contribute to diabetes, cancer, heart disease, blindness, deafness, numbness, and tingling in limbs. You may have allergic reactions to these food substances. You may choke on a sandwich [like Mama Cass]. In short, eating can kill you any number of ways. It is a dangerous and harmful thing to do. If you consume food substances in this establishment identified as "dessert," these warnings are treble true. Especially dangerous and potentially harmful are desserts identified on our menu as "Chocolate Death Cake" (hint, hint, hint) and "Banana Fudge Mountain." We make no representations whatsoever as to the nutritional value of the food substances we serve; to the contrary, it is our opinion that the food substances we serve have no redeeming nutritional value at all. Further, certain of the food substances we serve have ingredients and/or combinations of ingredients that may be or may in the future be judged to be addictive. The owners of, investors in, employees of, landlord of, and vendors to this establishment accept absolutely no responsibility or liability for whatever results you may experience as a result of eating here, including but not limited to, obesity and related adverse health conditions. If you have any concerns about these matters, please use your pudgy fingers to push the buttons on your cell phone and consult your physician and/or attorney before eating.
WAIVER OF LIABILITY
"I, ______________, hereby acknowledge that I have read the above Legal Notice carefully and understand it completely, and I certify that I am not an idiot. Further, I warrant that I will not, in any way, at any time, attempt to hold this establishment responsible or liable for any health or medical conditions I may have or develop in the future, including but not limited to obesity and related conditions. I also hereby prohibit any member of my family or any other individual, organization, or entity from attempting to hold this establishment responsible or liable as noted above on my behalf. I firmly and clearly state that I am fully and completely responsible for whatever I pick up and stick in my pie hole."
Signature: ______________________
Print Name: _____________________
Witness Signature: _________________
Witness Name: ____________________
Disclaimer: This document is provided for entertainment purposes only, is not intended as a substitute for actual legal advice, and should you need a legal document for this or any other purpose, the services of a competent legal professional should be sought. Its author and/or publisher accepts no responsibility or liability for your use or misuse of this document provided for entertainment purposes only.
From: www.dankennedy.com
When I wrote my "Dairy Milk Arguments" article, I didn't know about the pro-milk arguments that are out there. But the pro-milk arguments typically aren't in favor of the kind of milk you'll find in your grocery store... they're usually in favor of raw milk.
What's raw milk?
It's milk taken straight from the cow. The cows are fed grass, not grain. They're not given any antibiotics or growth hormones. And the milk is not pasteurized or homogenized.
Dr. Mercola has a good write-up about raw milk and its health benefits: "The Real Reasons Why Raw Milk is Becoming More Popular."
On the Real Milk site I found an update about a legal battle concerning cow-share programs that happened in Colorado (where I live) about a year ago.
I'm glad the raw milk supporters won, but I found myself laughing at the ridiculousness of the case.
Here are these politicians trying to prevent people from drinking raw milk. They'll let people drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, etc., but raw milk... that's simply too dangerous. Whatever.
I live in an urban area, so I doubt whether I'd be able to find a farmer to supply me with raw milk. But if you can get raw milk, you might want to give it a try.
I just watched a 5-minute flash movie called Store Wars. It's hilarious.
The movie is basically a viral marketing tool of the Organic Trade Association that encourages consumers to buy organic foods.
If you have a few minutes, you'd probably enjoy watching Store Wars. You'll get to see the "Organic Rebellion," the "Death Melon," "Darth Tater," "Chewbroccoli," and other funny spoofs.
If your child is watching eight hours of television per week or more at age three, then chances are great that he or she will be obese by age seven. So reports the British Medical Journal in a new study that was just published today.
When you think about it, eight hours of TV viewing is not difficult for a child to achieve. Two or three animated films in a week plus a "healthy" dose of Saturday morning cartoons and you're basically there.
Track your children's viewing time this week. Are they watching eight hours or more? If so, then you may want to think about cutting back.
Avoid mushrooms. That's what Robert O. Young, Ph.D. recommends.
Young and his wife, Shelley Redford Young, are the authors of The pH Miracle. In it, they report health information about specific foods and what they do to your body. One of the more fascinating passages has to do with mushrooms.
"Mushrooms of all kinds and in all forms—besides the obvious problem that they are themselves the fruiting bodies of yeast or fungus—form acids as they are digested. They also contain mycotoxins that poison human cells and lead to degenerative diseases. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a good mushroom. The 'edible' ones are just less poisonous than the ones that kill you immediately. Don't eat them, don't drink them, don't even sniff them. Mushrooms contain various amounts of the mycotoxin amanitin, which, in large amounts, will kill you almost instantly. With smaller amounts the result is the same—it just takes a little longer." (p. 86)
Here's another way to look at it...
Have you ever had athlete's foot or known someone who had it? Or possibly ringworm? Ever look at them closely? Foot and skin fungi are not pleasant. And I'm willing to bet you wouldn't eat the skin slough from an infection like that.
As Young points out, fungus is fungus. Now... do you still want to eat mushrooms?
My wife and I long ago discovered that it's bad form to go grocery shopping when you're hungry. We used to exercise from 8:30 - 10 at night... before we had kids, of course. And often we'd run by the grocery store to pick up a few things.
Big mistake.
We'd grab sugar cereal or cookies or something and then eat them before bed. So we try to avoid grocery shopping on an empty stomach.
But just yesterday my wife clued me in to a new technique for avoiding unhealthy foods at the grocery store: take a crying infant with you.
Stephanie went shopping with Owen (who is just two months old), and he cried the whole time. My wife was so eager to flee the grocery store that she didn't have time to be tempted by anything that wasn't on her list!
The crying infant thing isn't for everybody. Because if you don't have one, you can't even try this technique. Nevertheless, I hope the story made you smile.
One way to make sure you stick to your weight loss goals is to make them public: tell your family members, coworkers, and friends about your intent to lose weight so they can keep you on track.
But possibly the best way to make your goals public is to write a blog about your weight loss journey. And, in fact, this trend is growing in popularity.
Two examples. I periodically read My Big Fat Ass (http://mybigfatass.blog.com) and Mark Askey's Weightless (http://maskey.typepad.com/weightless)—both blogs dedicated to the personal sagas of two individual men trying to lose weight.
If you're currently trying to lose weight, then you may find some encouragement from reading these blogs. Even if you're not, you'll find interesting insights and helpful information about obesity and losing weight.
Speaking of sticking to goals, I imagine these two guys will have a few more readers to stay accountable to now that I've written about them. :-)
Reach people who are interested in diet, nutrition, weight loss and exercise.
