I am all about keeping this blog positive but today I am not feeling so positive. Today I am angry and you should be too. I am angry that we have to fight and work so hard to keep our kids nourished and safe from the constant and borderline criminal bombardment of unsafe food. It shouldn’t be this hard. And this isn’t just about constant advertising (which is relentless) – this is about actually changing our kids palettes for good. Many readers email me and say – my kids are addicted to sugar or to pasta – this isn’t a coincidence. A recent study quoted in an article on Huff Post Food today by Kristin Wartman suggests that highly processed foods are addictive. The researchers reported that the rats would not stop eating the M&Ms until the candies were taken away:
But that’s not all — the food industry is actively shaping the palates of our children. While the food industry insists that it only advertises to children “to influence brand preference,” a study published in the journal Appetite found that the industry works to “fundamentally change children’s taste palates to increase their liking of highly processed and less nutritious foods.” This study dovetails with Dr. Bruce’s findings since researchers found that the awareness of fast food brands was a significant predictor of what they call the “Sugar-Fat-Salty” palate preference in children.
Data is also surfacing that obese children are less sensitive to taste. Researchers in Germany found that on the intensity scale, obese children rated all flavor concentrations lower than did those in the normal-weight group. They believe this may be due to the fact that leptin, the hormone that regulates appetite and makes us feel full, might also affect the sensitivity of taste buds. It is suspected that people who are obese or overweight are resistant to leptin, making them feel hungrier and driving them to eat more.
Let that soak in folks. This isn’t right. It means that even an 80/20 rule of moderation is not enough and might even fuel a losing battle with our kids. It means now more than ever we need to expose our children to real food flavors. We need them to expand their palates and learn to enjoy not only sweet and salty foods but also sour and fermented foods!
Right now people are voting in California to label GMOs. Not to ban GMOs but to label them. Just to get some information about our food we have to get on a ballot in California. Food companies really do not want this and are fighting it tooth and nail. I highly recommend you get educated on this ‘debate‘ but for me – I see no debate. This is critical. We should all feel that we are fighting for our lives and our children’s lives here. Again quoting from Kristin Wartman’s article because she says it so well:
A startling USDA report from 2006 states that since the percentage of children who are overweight has doubled and the percentage of adolescents who are overweight has more than tripled, “If we do not stem this tide, many children in this generation of children will not outlive their parents.” To put that another way: If trends don’t change, the surge in diet related disease among children means that many parents will watch their children die. That was the prediction from experts six years ago and we have yet to see any substantive action from Washington.
How many people do you know with cancer? How many people fighting weight issues? This isn’t a battle about money to me – I spend a lot on unprocessed real food to feed my family because I know down the line it will be less expensive to feed my family well than to deal with health issues. For me this is a battle about whether my daughter will get cancer or whether she will be able to have children. In a recent post about how I talk to me daughter about food, I told you all that I give her a choice. She needs to be empowered about her own body. She will soon be old enough and alone with other friends enough to make her own choices about food. I can only give her information, I can’t force her. But with so much junk out there it is truly is a losing battle.
All we can do is move forward and fight for our right and access to real foods. I see this as a political act not just something I do for my family. If you live in California – get out and vote Yes on Prop 37 and if you don’t, share something each day with your family and friends about the virtues of real food and how to get access to it and how to cook it. It saddens me that I even have to write posts about not going to the grocery store and how to’s on sourcing real food. It shouldn’t be this hard. I just need to vent. Does anyone else feel this way? Today we need each other to feel a part of something so if you feel alone in this fight please comment and vent away!
This post is featured on Thank Your Body Thursday, Fight Back Friday, Freaky Friday, Fill Those Jars Friday, Small Footprint Fridays, Monday Mania, Fat Tuesday
I understand your frustration. I feel the same way, and I am not even remotely as educated on the issue as you are. Ignorance is bliss, right? Though, I am glad that there are people out there, like you, who are doing their best to bring these issues to light. Thank you and keep sharing!
Thank you Jennifer!
I second that!
Thank you for writing this!!
This was so well done. I completely understand and feel your frustration. I am right there with you. Thanks for posting this!!
Thank you Tamara!
Yes, yes, and yes. We often feel we have to fight to find food not laden with sweeteners and crap – it’s worth it to us to do so, but yeah, it’s aggravating.
It is frustrating that people aren’t realizing that there is a link between our bodies and what we put into them. I had heard about the Proposition but didn’t know what it was about, so thanks for letting me know. I think it’s also really frustrating for those of us who are trying who learn that companies haven’t been forthright about what is already in food (arsenic, GMOs, etc.) It’s hard to vote with our pocketbooks when we don’t even know what’s in our food! Short of growing all our food, it’s hard to trust what we are buying.
Thank you for writing this…I have been feeling the exact same way! I feel like its getting harder and harder….when actually its just I am learning more and more about what is really going on. The one thing I constantly repeat to myself that makes me push forward is a quote from Ghandi: "Be the change you wish to see in this world!" 🙂
I use that as my mantra as well!
I live in CA and last week I was reviewing the mail-in ballot that my dad received. He had checked no on Prop 37 (gasp) and I asked him why. His response was that it would raise the cost of food.
I was SHOCKED to hear this, and surprised that his opinion was based on bad information fed to him by the commercials on TV, paid for by the big corporations who don’t want to disclose what’s REALLY in their food.
I gave him the run down and he then also voted yes, thereby nullifying his vote. Not as good as a true yes, but certainly better than a no.
Thanks for writing this article and for linking to the parties. Getting the TRUTH out is key. If we’re going to make big changes, it’ll take all of us to band together and fight!
Eek! When push comes to shove it is amazing to me how much people are driven by their ‘right now’ wallet vs. their ‘later’ wallet! thank you for sharing this story!
Hi there … I have had a lot of success emailing certain food companies as to whether their, for example, gluten free cereal bars contain GMOs. I usually get an email back in a day or two and it opens up your kitchen o some more choices. Good luck!!
I completely agree and understand your frustration!! This is one of the main reasons I make almost everything at home! It’s so frightening that we can’t make informed decisions even if we really want to, without going far out of our way to contact companies and hope they respond.
As far as the whole sugar and taste thing goes – it’s so true. Once I cut sugar out of my diet, I couldn’t believe how much sweeter and more flavourful fruits and vegetables tasted. Without sugar baked goods have so much more depth of flavour!
I would love it if you would consider sharing this post on my blog’s link-up, Waste Not Want Not on http://www.poorandglutenfree.blogspot.com. Thanks 🙂
Thank you! You just put into words all of my frustration. I feel like the times I go to the grocery store, it’s like I’m going into combat against the food industry just by trying to feed my boys good real food! I drive out to a local farm for raw milk, pastured meat and eggs and my boys hate the trip. All I want to do is give them good food but all they want is the next sugary snack thu can get their hands on. It’s very frustrating and tiring but I know its best and I pray they will someday see how important it is (including my hubby). Thanks for letting us know we are not alone:-)
Needless to say, I have also felt ‘alone’ in the battle since the birth of my two girls. ‘Hard’ is certainly the right word in trying to wage this somewhat unpopular ‘war’. Unpopular amongst many moms as they do not want to feel guilty about one more thing (understandably). Unpopular amongst grandparents as their ‘truths’ are based on times when this war was not commercial. Unpopular amongst dad’s as they are not familiar with the daily targeting of children nor with the reasoning why mom wants ‘war’ over one more thing at home.
I also live in a country where the poor are targeted and defenseless unless someone cares enough to help make the choices in the ‘cheap’ breakfasts served to our local preschools. In fact, a knowledge of the real palette is the only power that can save these children. Thr next obstacle is the price of ‘real food’ in our country is too high. Some care enough about this fact that they plant nut and avo trees outside their garden gates.
Since the health of our children depends on the health of our community, we have lost our own if we care not for others…by blogging(thanks,), planting, sharing, tasting, helping…