Food is a Battlefield
I have been part of a wonderful group of about eight mothers for the past few years. We met in a playgroup when our children were young, and now we keep up mainly online and in a few monthly get-togethers. One of the moms passed on information about Jamie Oliver's new show that was starting last week called Food Revolution. I started reading a little bit about it and thought "This isn't for me. I'm not one of those 'Organic Moms'." I mean, I would love for my kids to eat organic, hormone-free, no high fructose corn syrup food, but I can't go to Whole Paycheck (that's what my friends call Whole Foods) all the time. It just isn't in my family's budget or schedule to make all our food from scratch.
I watched Jamie Oliver's speech at the TED conference, and it peaked my interest enough to watch his first show. What I saw and heard SHOCKED me. I heard that this generation of kids will be the first to live shorter lives than their parents because of obesity. I saw what is really cooked in school cafeterias from powdered potatoes to breakfast pizza and will forever want to pack our lunches. I saw a teenage girl tell her story of how she has six years left to live because her liver is giving out due to obesity. I learned that one in three children is obese or overweight. One in three!! I saw caskets that are doubled in size because of all the obesity-related deaths. Now, before you're thinking I'm all high and mighty and feed my kids wonderful, nutritious food, think again. My oldest is one of the pickiest eaters on the planet. He craves carbs and sugar (as do I), hates most meat unless it's a chicken nugget and complains about the dinners I make. He would much prefer something that comes out of a box, a can or a restaurant than any home- cooked meal I would make. Now, maybe this says something about my cooking, or maybe it says something about the food industry in our country.
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