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Junk Food: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Jan 13, 2016
by Caroline Miller
exporting junk food abraod, how food packagers are dealing with the health trend in Americaa, junk food
4 Comments

There’s a storm brewing at the retirement center.  It’s a small one.  4 vegetarians have gathered and there’s talk of revolution.  We’re sick of looking at all those drawn and quartered and fried dead animals that pass for food and want choices that are healthy.  Surprisingly, a number of carnivores are with us.  They want more fruits and vegetables, too.  So, we have a half baked plan that begins by waiting until the upcoming FDA food pyramid is published with its recommendation for a healthy diet. (Related topic Blog 12/30/15)  Our leader is certain that processed meats won’t be on the recommended list and that will be our Omaha beach, where we begin our assault on the administration.   As we’re vegetarians, we hope the skirmish won’t be bloody.

That we have meat eaters on our side shouldn’t come as a surprise.  As Tom Philpott points out in “The End of Junk?” (Mother Jones, November/December 2015, pg. 64.) America is trending toward healthy diets, a phenomena  that is sending  large processed food packagers into a tizzy.  Keeping up with the trend is costing these companies a combined $18 billion in lost sales. (Ibid pg. 64)  Kraft, General Mills, Nestlés and Campbell’s, to name a few, are scrambling to come up with healthier versions of their popular brands or buying trusted organic brands, like Annie’s Homegrown, a recent purchase of General Mills’.  

If this sounds like a trend for the good, it is.  But there’s a reason why these companies are eager to be compliant.  They are using the profits from sales in America to divert the unhealthy stuff to third world companies where the demand for them is growing.  In other words, our decision to become more food conscious is helping spread junk food to poorer nations, a dilemma that is cause for dismay.

It’s wonderful that Americans want to have healthier diets.  It’s sad that while making the shift, we are exporting our former bad habits to the rest of the world.  Why oh why are there no absolute wins in life?

Food Pyramid

Courtesy of cartoonistgroup.com

 

 

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4 Comments
  1. Pamela January 13, 2016 at 3:48 pm Reply
    Best of luck to you!! I'm not a vegetarian, but I've been cutting down considerably from animal proteins, and even my Colorado-born meat-junkie husband has joined me. We don't need that much meat (if any), and I applaud your efforts.
    • Caroline Miller January 13, 2016 at 6:21 pm Reply
      Word is out that without firing a shot, the retirement center will hire a dietitian. As for the efforts of you and your husband, my hats off to you.
  2. Susan January 14, 2016 at 3:19 pm Reply
    Isn't the next beachhead getting the center to form a dietitian hiring committee that includes a vegetarian? Yup, I know, I'm stirring the pot.
    • Caroline Miller January 14, 2016 at 3:27 pm Reply
      Yep! That would be stirring the pot. But I like it!

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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