I can’t agree more about food not really being food. Thankfully it’s pretty easy to avoid, just use whole ingredients.

Wouldn’t it be nice if schools merged Physical Education, Home Economics, and Personal Planning into one required class and called it say, Personal Health. They’re still encouraging segregation of jocks and preening girls for future laborers and housewives. It’s about as stupid as food pyramids, which any young person would conclude that a hamburger or pizza fulfills perfectly.

A recent study looked for the healthiest communities in the world. The two that topped all others also had remained somewhat isolated in race and diet. One community was in Asia with a diet of soy and vegetables, the other in Europe with red meat, bread, and potatoes. There was one other similarity: a lack of supermarkets and chain restaurants.

(This is why, by the way, when people say they want other people to respect their diet, I feel like saying, My respect ends where your diet impacts the entire fucking planet. What we eat is NOT values-neutral, I’m sorry, it just isn’t.)

I think it is important to read labels. I think it’s more important to shop on the periphery of the store, where they keep the fresh produce, but learning to pick up the products you’re putting into your mouth and reading what’s in them is vital. Read that ingredients panel. Read the nutrition panel.

For example, I remember reading on one of my favorite food blogs—Accidental Hedonist? I’m not sure—about the store-bought guacamole…that contained no avocado. Oh, yum!

I think part of the “food” problem in this country is that people have been taught to eat things that aren’t food. Burger King is not food. Burger King products cause more disease and health problems than they provide nutrition. Most processed and packaged supermarket “foods” aren’t any better.

No need to read labels. Choose whole grains, fruits and veggies and spend a little extra time learning how to prepare your own meals at home. It beats having to spend time later in the hospital.

Food in many other countries IS better, actually (particularly in Western Europe, including their fast food). In many places they’re willing to pay more for fresher food—mainly because they don’t have to devote a large portion of their income to social services like medical care. However, American food habits are spreading, and as populations eat more processed food, their rates of obesity rise.

Corn is an insanely common food product. Go into your local market and read the ingredients list on the back of a food product. High fructose corn syrup is the best known, of course, but many cooking oils, margarine, and other product. Here’s a list and an explanation of why these corn products may still affect those allergic to corn. (Being allergic to corn and soy in today’s world? Almost impossible to live.)

Here’s the National Geographic on why fast food meals are mostly corn. The beef and chicken are raised on corn, the ketchup and other condiments are primarily corn, the buns are corn..

Other countries don’t have corn subsidies, and their food system doesn’t appear any better. Or perhaps the US exports their subsidized corn to these countries?

Also, I didn’t realize corn was such a common food product. In a whopper and fries, what does corn represent? Even the deep-fryer oil is mostly canola and soy.

I enjoyed your post. I personally have given up on restaurants. At home, no problem. I prepare far better vegetarian meals, with more variety, than trying to cook with meat.

Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: I’ve certainly heard about it, so I will check it out.