Nature vs Nurture

Good mornin' people. I hope life is treating everyone all right as hard as this summer has been, with rain deluging our friends on the other side of the pond and drying us out like beef jerky over here. Reports have been coming in from all around the globe all summer of flooding, volcanoes erupting, extreme drought covering over 60% of the USA and that this is the worst drought in a quarter century. Corn crops are in poor condition with over 30% failure and more to come as farmers are hit hard. Corn prices and therefore beef prices will climb with beef expected to rise by 10% over the next year. There is a chain reaction in conditions such as these between a crop, an animal, and a market but in these days of global and free trade, the balancing act a country has to do in regards to export/import and gambling on the future is akin to standing on a blade so thin and sharp, a samurai would smile.

AP Photo from the article on MSN

There have also been reports in a number of states of increased bear sightings and encounters due to food shortages stemming from a cold snap in April killing fruits and the severe drought destroying other tender and susceptible foods like berries. As a result of the frequency of these encounters, officials are projecting the concern about corn farmers and the safety of their crops as the bears come looking for fattening-up food for the preparation of the winter season. Farmers are being encouraged to bring their crops in early. The bears are breaking into cars, homes and businesses to steal food, some making repeated return trips for goodies. In the Catskills in New York "a half dozen to a dozen bears have been euthanized and more have been trapped and relocated". All the while there have been no human injuries reported in New York; nothing but property damage. Ahem.

My concerns over food price hikes for the next year or so remain unalleviated and my predictions remain unaltered. I strongly recommend you stock up on the items you use a lot of that are on sale (non-perishables) as well as pantry items with a long shelf life; the money you save will come in handy to pay for the more expensive food items like bread. I wrote that with a bit of tongue in cheek but really, we will see items that should be inexpensive and made with ingredients grown right here costing more than we are willing to pay. Before selling off our resources piecemeal to foreign interests, we used to be self-sufficient to the extent that we could find the makings of a meal cheaply and easily. Wheat was farmed by you or a neighbour, milled by the local mill, baked by you or the local baker and life went on. Now, we have countries on this planet that starve during times of drought because the food the farmers could have been growing has been replaced with people making junk for BigCorporate to sell to elsewhere. But this is not a dissertation on my feelings about BigCorporate--if you want a great book to read dealing with this issue, read Derrick Jensen's Endgame. Phew. Rant now over. 

Drop that Cake!!!

Canada's Official Food Rules was the country's first food guide.
 Issued in 1942, it reflects its wartime origins. (Swift Canadian Co.)

Recently the Canada’s Food Guide had itself an anniversary-the first guide entitled “Canada’s Official Food Rules” was released to the public 70 years ago. It began as an answer to studies that showed that over 60% of Canadians had inadequate nutrition and as this was shortly after the Great Depression many were receiving relief rations that were below levels of nutrition that were deemed adequate. The Rules were designed largely with the war effort in mind and to a lesser degree, of concern for the health of Canadian citzens.  According to CBC.ca “43% of the first 50,000 military recruits had been rejected for medical reasons.” Stands to reason they had a keen interest in ensuring a stronger, healthier body for carting that rifle (take a closer look at the milk bottle.

As the issues were updated through the years more of an emphasis had been placed by and for BigCorporate Agriculture products. In the 1992 update Meat, Dairy and Egg groups raised a ruckus about reduced serving numbers of their products and the Grocery Products Manufacturing Council complained that the guide labeled junk food as ‘bad’. Changes made then reflected these lobby groups’ influence.

not sure which issue this is from but the adult numbers are the same as the 1992 issue.  Google Images.

In this recent update, there is a better effort made to suggest eliminating or rather ‘not choosing’ foods that offer no nutritional value or are a danger to your health, such as trans fats. However, they do not come right out with a bald statement regarding the BigFood high fat, low nutrient ‘foods’ or BigGrocery’s highly processed, heavy carbon-footprinted ‘convenience’ foods. They instead ‘recommend’ lower amounts of sodium and trans fats. They do mention the importance of following a healthy lifestyle which includes exercise and eating according to the Food Guide, which in itself isn’t a ‘bad thing’ but if taken literally, I firmly believe as does Yoni Freedhoff, that you would actually gain weight. I have had a problem with the food guide for years and have always maintained that it is unrealistic and geared to the ideally optimized super athlete, not the average person. Seriously, 7 servings of grains per day? Are you kidding me? I’d be three hundred pounds and doing nothing else but filling my face all day. Now, 120 pounds and eating all day...that I’d consider! I love my food.

And the Machine Oozes On...

Imagine my disquiet today when I received the weekly dumping of junk mail and there nestled lovingly within the folds of the Loblaws flyer was the pull-out ad for Guiding Stars, their new nutritional rating system. On the first page of the pull-out we are immediately assured as to the novelty, the honesty, the expertise and the reputation of the system and system's originators. On the second page we are given a bit more information and more assurance this time through testimonials. The third page, as it is a grocery store never forget, are the 'suggestions' to be found in their aisles. Finally on the back page we are given a large colour photo of an attractive, healthy young woman, a Dietitian, to reassure us further. Along with this photo is paragraph listing just what the Loblaws Dietitians can do for you.

On the very surface of the surface, this looks like a good thing. Who wouldn't like a bit of free shopping or cooking advice, especially when you are newly diagnosed with something that requires you to alter your eating habits? I have a problem with this program and the ad in some ways and see it as a positive in other ways.

Negative

While informing you that grocery shopping is so confusing that you are expected to have difficulties, they let you know that they will be there to hold your hand and talk you down from the ledge. This separation of consumer and common-sense knowledge is a favoured tactic of manipulators i.e. governments, big business, parents....By doling out tidbits of knowledge while fostering dependence and reliance upon their service they keep the consumer unsure of their own judgement, grateful to the hand-holders, and willing to do as they are told--in other words trusting the expertise of professionals. 

The consumer believes they are being educated and they are peripherally but they are also being steered in the direction of relying upon Loblaws for their food choices completely. Let's look at page three for an example: They have a photo layout of the various healthy choices you can make like cereal, dairy, meat, produce etc. The products chosen to be shown is a major brand or expensive cuts of meat instead of other generic choices. I find it funny that on the first page it states "Canada's first impartial nutrition rating system" yet on the third page Quaker Oats, Country Harvest, Yoplait, Tropicana and Fontaine Sante Salads are the food choices pictured. Why not a bag of no name large flaked oats instead of highly processed oat and sugar cereal? Why not a loaf of fresh twelve grain bread from their own bakery? I realize this is a grocery store but will everyone else remember that when their brows are being soothed and their tummies rubbed as they do the oh-so-difficult task of buying their food?

Positive

Even though consumers are being manipulated by BigGrocery (that on average carries more American products than Canadian, I'm just saying) they are supplying a service that is needed by a large part of the population that has either gotten used to having others do the thinking/work for them or are in a physical position of needing more help such as a senior. Now the former is the one I wish would change as they are fully capable of making food lifestyle choices themselves and it is the unwillingness to become involved with their own health that, in part has led them to this point in time where they need food advice. Until that time however, a little knowledge is better than none so asking for help from the Dietitian is a great start.

The three star system is a simple and quick tool for everyone to use regardless of any language barrier and having the footwork done in such a mirky quagmire of brand names and the sheer number of products on the shelves is a blessing from an ironic Bacchus. The weekly shopping can run more quickly if you are a switch eater/label reader as you can basically just grab it off the shelf; that cereal is higher in fibre--grab it; that can of tomatoes is low in sodium--into the cart it goes.

All in all, caution and common sense would be the keywords here. Use with discretion. Take it with a grain of salt. Don't be led by the nose....okay, I'm tapped out.

Just remember that not everything given to you is a gift. 200 years ago we would not be having this conversation and most of us would have more than enough food to eat without the modern confusion over what to put in our mouths. Today's society has lost touch with knowledge and traditions involving food that were remembered just a few generations ago. Food and food preparation should not be a chore, cause stress or lead to confusion. Food is simple; buy fresh ingredients, cook a simple recipe, eat the delicious food. Nothing confusing there.



all photos found online



http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/07/27/f-food-guide-70.html
http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/dry-summer-means-more-encounters-with-bears-2
http://www.weightymatters.ca/2009/10/overweight-canadians-not-eating-enough.html
http://news.ca.msn.com/  look under the extreme weather tab