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Diet and its history are very interesting. Thanks to dental foresics, we can trace what people ate and when they ate it.

http://blgtnjew.livejournal.com/74625.html

Opinion on diet:

http://blgtnjew.livejournal.com/75103.html

I think people are made to be opportune eaters - eat what you can find and eat it all.

If PETA was concerned about a healthy diet, then they would petition for WIC to include animal protein sources such as Chicken, Fish and Beef to be included in the program. My SIL is neck deep in trying to change this. Many kids are lactose intolerant, mostly minorities, and this has a huge impact on protein/fat intake and subsequent growth and mental development. Meat is the most nutrient dense food as well.

BTW, I love to look at old photos. There are a lot of hints about diet and lifestyles in them.

http://www.shorpy.com/

I was talking about the BOOK Fast Food Nation. I never picked up any PETA-type messages in it (there was a whole chapter devoted to potatoes, though).

The author also discussed the dangers of marketing fast food to children and was concerned about children eating so much of it. He also said that he "ate an enormous amount of fast food" (page 9) during the two years that he researched the book, so he doesn't sound like he's advocating for PETA. He came across as being pretty balanced.

As a reference to an earlier post about french fries, the ones sold in fast food restaurants (and likely most others) are flavored with a laundry list of additives. The additives give food flavor and make it appear to be fresh longer.

Additives also extend to many other food products; as an example, Fast Food Nation list the (very) many additives that make a Burger King strawberry shake taste like strawberries. You can see the book online at Google books; go to the bottom of page 125 for the list of additives in the Burger King shake.

I'm going to relate this to education by saying that our schools do a woeful job about teaching their students about even the basics of nutrition and why eating non-processed food is so important. Lack of education is a huge reason underlying a lot of problems in this country.

Val

Oh, I couldn't agree with this more, Val! My son ate cheese pizza every single while he was in 1st grade, and his side dish was sugary yogurt. As he has had issues with <ahem> regularity (not to sound like a commercial or anything...), this was NOT a good diet for the boy! And this is a kid who LOVES salmon, broccoli, salad, whole wheat bread, all fruit...But the schools seem to prefer that kids eat everything they took instead of that they eat a little bit of good foods. They prioritized minimizing waste over minimizing waists, if you will.

It was really appalling to me how lousy the nutrition was.

Now it's my turn to agree wholeheartedly. I'm not sure why so many institutions serve such poor food. As a contrast, we visited Mount Rushmore once and everything about the place --- including the food --- was spectacular. They had so much fresh food, I couldn't believe it.

I have a friend who works in a medical school. He's always scratching his head asking why a place with so many heart patients consistently serves fatty high-calorie food. The VA hospitals are the same???

Back to education: I saw a documentary about a special kind of school for at-risk youth a few years ago. One of the school's big platforms was to provide high-quality fresh food for free to the kids. The principal said that the kids were learning better and behaving better in this school than they had at other ones, and he believed that the food was a factor in the improvements.

Val

Oh, I don't doubt that one bit! I'm not a terribly earthy-crunchy person, but I don't know how we can be surprised that a generation of kids living on little more than unpronounceable chemicals and food additives is having behavioral problems! I mean, duh!

OHG, was it you who said that we shouldn't eat things unrecognizable as food to our great-grandparents? For the most part, I think that's right. (Sushi being an exception! )

Ahh, but sushi was recognizable to great-grandparents who were living in Japan, so it counts.

Val

Kriston, I don't remember saying that, but that's not bad advice.

Oh, sorry to attribute to you unfairly. I must have picked it up elsewhere. It just sounded like the sort of wisdom you would pass on and I would agree with, you know?

And good point about the sushi, Val! Thanks for the assist.

I heard that advice (don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't reconize) from Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore's Dilemma, when he was promoting one of his books. I don't know if it originated with him or not. It is one of the things that stuck in my mind, though, and made me interested in reading his books.

OHG, I have felt that this book has done a good job of descibing some of the issues my family's farm has gone through in terms of market pressures, legislation, big chemical companies, Big food corporations, incentives etc. It is very sympathetic to the farmer (and many no-win situations that they seem to get placed in) and to ordinary folks who might just want to know what they are actually buying at the store. As in the case of the baby carrots, you actually have to be knowledgeable to read the label and know the difference between a "real" baby carrot and a cut baby carrot that has been lathed down. I think that that is really the bigger point he makes in the book--we are so far separated from the point of production, we really have very little idea what our food has been through by the time we buy it. Anyway, if you decide to read farther, I'd be interested in hearing your thought.

I grew up extremely poor and as a result learned poor eating habits. My childhood diet consisted mostly of grilled (government) cheese sandwiches and potatoes. As an adult my poor eating habits caught up with me so I have been trying to learn more about nutrition. I vowed to teach my children better than what I was taught. As I studied, I taught my children. I read a terrific Superfoods book and had my kids create their own Superfoods book. They loved the exercise and learned a lot. I realized I had been successful in teaching my children when I made French Toast for dinner one night (the first time ever). Dd5 looked at me and said, "Mom this in not a nutritious dinner. You need to make something healthier tomorrow." I am still working to improve, but it is hard to break life-long habits.

Last year I ran a garden club at my dd's school. At the beginning of each meeting, we would have a snack and a nutrition/food lesson. It was a great way to introduce the kids (many low-income students) to fresh fruits and vegetables. I was always amazed that they consistently ate everything we brought. I guess it helped that they were always hungry after school. I had several parents tell me how their children were eating fruits and vegetables that they never would eat before, even unusual things (for kids to like) such as grapefruit and blackberries.