News Taffy

If you looked into your pantry or refrigerator right now, what would you see? Do you have Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese? Lunchables? Oreo cookies? Soft drinks? More importantly, do you see any “real” food? Do you have canned or frozen vegetables that are plain, without any butter or cheese sauce already on them? Do you have any fresh vegetables or fruit? In addition to ready-to-eat cereals, do you have old fashioned oatmeal? Do you have anything made with whole grains, not processed white wheat flour? Are there any dried beans or at least some canned beans? If not, what are you feeding your family?

While on vacation last week, my husband read a very interesting book titled “Salt Sugar Fat” by Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Moss. Michael Moss’s book exposes how the food industry and even the federal government conspire to earn their $1 trillion in sales each year while ignoring the cost to our health. For example, Salt Sugar Fat reveals that the average American eats 70 pounds of sugar a year. That is the equivalent of eating an average 10 year old child, one who is not obese that is.

Worse, Moss reveals that the biggest cause of the obesity epidemic is the surge in consumption of beef and milk products, especially cheese. My husband and I were appalled when we read the chapter explaining how our government has subsidized the dairy industry since the 1930s, buying excess milk and cheese. The government eventually had so much milk and cheese that it was actually stored in an abandoned mine near Kansas City, costing tax payers some $4 billion a year! Clearly, the USDA has been more concerned with helping the food industry make money than with safeguarding your health. The food industry did their part, finding new, more creative ways to get the public to eat more cheese. Think of all the foods you eat that now have cheese as a prominent ingredient - everything from pizza to cheese soaked vegetables.

If you ever gave your child Lunchables, and I admit I have, you never will again if you read this book. Lunchables started out as a way to boost falling sales for bologna, which the American public perceived as having too much fat and salt. They were immediately popular and marketed to working mothers and young children. Sales really took off after they added sugar and Lunchables became one of the worst choices you could offer your child, loaded with truly unhealthy amounts of salt, sugar and fats.

Coca Cola’s new ad campaign is designed to convince you that soft drinks are part of a healthy diet and that artificial sweeteners are perfectly safe. When you see these ads, remember that Coke is trying to shore up falling soft drink sales, not look after your health. With the food industry only concerned with increasing sales and their bottom line, it is more important than ever to educate yourself and your family on healthy eating. Choose to eat real food, not processed crap, and protect your health.