Food for Thought

A few weeks back I promised a friend I would do some research into the unhealthy eating habits so prevalent in our culture with the consequent health issues that are epidemic these days in our part of the world, and rapidly spreading globally. Personally, I have made some conscientious efforts to eat healthy for most of my life. But I do eat things I shouldn’t. And I have always tended to eat too much. And digging into the subject of food health has been an education.    

It doesn’t require a whole lot of digging in some cases. One thing that’s been receiving a lot of public attention, in recent months particularly, is the problem of Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF). There have been reports like this one on CTV News (you may have seen it) even in the past week (February 3^rd) that are sounding the alarm. This particular reporting was based on a study in a peer-reviewed health-care journal which “examines how the design, marketing and distribution of ultraprocessed foods mirrors tactics employed by the tobacco industry … optimized for craving, rapid intake, and repeated use.”

So, the study cited in the report is said to be based on ‘addictions science’. Check out the link if you care to read more of the specifics. It’s quite damming to be sure. And it calls for “regulatory action aimed at industry design and marketing, not individual willpower.” I do believe there are some things that could and should be done in the realm of regulatory actions. Laws against deceptive labeling and restricting of child-targeted marketing practices make good sense and have been required of the tobacco industry for years now. These measures could hardly be considered an over regulating of industry.

And there may well be other measures that authorities could undertake that would be justified and helpful as well. However, UPF are probably not going anywhere soon, I’m afraid. And if the problem is going to be addressed, there has to be a significant weight of responsibility placed on us – the ‘consumer’ they call us. (A salute to Canadian legend, Stompin Tom who wrote a great song about us!)  

When I consider our personal role in the fight for better food health, it seems to me that the seductive and addictive properties of UPF have at few allies working against us as we try and tackle the issues.

A big one is the price point. Everyone knows it costs more to eat well. And the gap between healthy eating and our pocketbooks only enlarges with the recent, rapid increase in more healthy (real) food costs. And the modern food industry’s complicity includes its unscrupulous marketing push to get our money (while expecting us to forfeit our health) by selling us on the notion (lie) that we get better quality (taste) food by spending less.

And on this point I think there is a great need for educating ourselves on the different opportunities that exist to purchase and prepare (and grow!) healthy food options without breaking the bank. I would love to hear your thoughts on that.

But there is another social factor working against us on this that doesn’t get as much attention, though in my estimation it’s an even bigger issue for us than our money. And that is our busyness. There is a large overlap between ultraprocessed foods and ‘fast food’. Usually when we think about ‘fast food’ we think of the local burger or pizza joint. And these are certainly a big problem for us a lot of the time. But the bulk of the fast food (UPF) that most of us consume we buy at the local grocery store to stock the pantries and refrigerators of our homes. Perhaps you’ve noticed how grocery stores have become more like convenience stores.

The simple fact of the matter is this – not only does it take more money to eat well. It also takes more time.

I love to cook. I often say it helps ground me. (I will probably have more to say on that sometime). Why wouldn’t I like to cook, I like to eat! But preparing food takes time (and effort). And generally speaking, the better it is the longer it takes.  

I’m not just talking about gourmet meals. Here’s a simple example from my own life – peanut butter. We eat natural peanut butter; the kind that doesn’t have icing sugar in it. It’s better for us and it tastes better when you get used to it. But it separates so you have to stir it and keep it refrigerated. And the stirring is a bit of a job, a job that most people don’t feel they have time for, especially when everyone has to get out the door.

I contend this is a bigger problem than the financial cost of eating well even, because the one thing that is more precious to us than our money even is our time. And this is where things get especially tough for us. We’re talking a change to our overall lifestyle that requires us to simplify and prioritize our living. I say this as an old, retired guy, but one who has been busy enough that this is the first blog post I’ve had time to put together in the past 7 days. I guess it’s true what they say  – I wonder where I found the time to work before I retired!

And I guess, this is where I get to the main point of this post. Eating well will for most of us require a significant lifestyle change; one where we declutter our lives and carve out more time for activities that are more grounded in a simple, healthy way to live. Will we do it? We will have to be intentional. But if we can realize just how important our health is, perhaps we might be more motivated to make some of those hard changes so we can experience more life, not less.

Let me know what you think