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| Living in Junk Food County? (Read 807 times) |
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posted: 12/24/2007 at 4:10 PM |
| Trent - If you are going to troll me - fine you win. I will quit posting giving perspectives from where and how your food is produced. There is a lot of disinformation out there and you in particular are going to believe what you want to believe. Bye. |
The whole world said I shoulda used red but it looked good to Charlene in John Deere Green!!
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| view log Funky Monkey |
posted: 12/24/2007 at 4:19 PM |
No, not trolling at all. I want to have an open discussion. That is all. I have opinion and experience, and you do too. I have knowledge and you do to. We should be able to share differing views, I would think. I do not intend to discount your opinion or experience at all. I apologize if you feel otherwise. My experience and knowledge is by no means all that there is, and nobody should believe theirs to be.
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| It's all fun and games until the flying monkeys attack. |
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| view log |
posted: 12/24/2007 at 5:01 PM |
| Trent is the bully of the Internets. |
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posted: 12/24/2007 at 11:02 PM |
Hey, Jim. I've been following these food threads and find the discussions interesting. Keept it coming!
Trent - I think the only possible "trolling" thing that Jim might be seeing is he doesn't think you're being serious about the 100 hour work-week or perhaps it's being perceived as one-upmanship.
Jim - Trent's just a little odd, but really it's pretty common for docs to go through a few years of 100 hour weeks during their training period. I think he was quite serious but intended no one-upmanship.
My sister's a doc, and seeing the insane hours she was made to put in made me decide I would NEVER follow in her footsteps. It's insane. 80-100 hour weeks was NORMAL. She tried to tell me it was good training for her to try to practice medicine when she'd not slept in over 36 hours. I think that's crazy.
Then again, a lot of things Trent does are "crazy." Like those multiple marathons. IMHO, Trent is a man with just waaaaaaay too much energy. Must be all that running.  |
| Working my way down from 174 to 159 pounds. Currently back at 174. Darn T-day & stress... >:( |
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| view log Funky Monkey |
posted: 12/24/2007 at 11:23 PM |
Awww shucks.
I AM nuts
And I intended NO oneupsmanship. Or disrespect. Really. Just sharing thoughts. Really.
And I DO appreciate your perspectives!
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| It's all fun and games until the flying monkeys attack. |
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| view log Barefoot and happy |
posted: 12/28/2007 at 6:46 AM |
Jim, thanks for your comments. It's helpful to get more input from somebody who has your firsthand experience.
Quote from r2farm on 12/24/2007 at 2:37 AM:... when my grandpa started farming out here... they were self sufficient and... they also had a great deal more free time and life was alot simpler.
If rural life was really better then (and I think I agree with you that it was), what do you think stops people from going back to some of the older ways of doing things? I don't mean forgoing all modern technology, but I do mean diversified farms that can thrive without a constant stream of expensive industrial inputs.
It seems so clear that the present way of doing things is killing rural communities and making people poorer and less healthy. What will it take to make people try something different?
Are you familiar with Joel Salatin? His writings are pretty thought-provoking, and his farm sounds a whole lot more profitable and pleasant than the typical approach. I'd be curious to hear what someone with your experience makes of it all. |
| Curious about running barefoot? Visit the new barefoot running group. |
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Big Chicken! |
posted: 12/29/2007 at 9:23 AM
modified: 12/29/2007 at 9:38 AM |
Sorry, after rereading this I realized how long it was. Problem is I couldn't cut back my words because I feel pretty strongly. I even have MORE to say but I will refrain for now!
I remember discussing in a class I took just how overweight poorer people are in the US. Poor people in other, not-so-industrailized countries are not overweight. They are skinny, sometimes with distended bellies. If you walk into most grocery stores you will find that the sales are for buy-one-get-one-free Hamburger Helper or Digiorno frozen pizzas. Look at the price of fresh produce and you will find higher prices. We have decided that we will not eat an apple that is not perfectly round or has even the smalles bruise. So lots of apples are wasted because people won't buy them and that cost must be incorporated somehow. And that is but one example of hundreds.
Our society has become hectic. By the time we get home from work we barely have time to cook a decent, healthy meal so what do we do? We stop by a fast food drive through or open up a box of prepackaged, place-in-the-oven dinner. For breakfast, a box of cereal is ridiculously expensive to most people so we stop at Dunkin Donuts, not realizing the cost of that breakfast is triple the cereal cost for the week. And never mind the time to tend to your own summer veggie garden like we had in our backyard when I was a kid. And that's even if our HOA in our suburban and not-so-suburban subdivisions and housing developments will allow it. You know, we'd hate to bring down property values with the smell of compost for fertilizing and the sight of dirty, muddy people picking their small harvests in their yards for that nights' healthy, delicious, home-grown dinner. The horror!
Too many farms are owned by large food corporations. Farmers must get their seed and fertilizers from these companies, sell to these companies. The foods are then processed into the pizzas, "helpers," cookies and crackers that are in the stores. Your box may have one brand name on it but if you look closer you will find it's a subsidiary of, say, Con-Agra or ADM for example.
R2farm's experience may be different. I hope so. Not all farms are owned by large corps. It's just my opinion that large corporations and marketing have changed the American people's view of food. Con-Agra-types have made fair pay for farmers' goods a thing of the past. Marketing has made consumers look for only the best, the perfect, the fastest, the cheapest. Tomatoes are never odd shaped, an apple never has a dent. What is that? I know nature doesn't produce perfection every time.
So until groceries start marketing healthy, poorer people will look for the cheapest. My mom uses her food stamps each month towards whatever is on sale (and has a coupon to go with it). She only buys salad items if they are on sale. The thought of green peppers costing over $2 for 2 or 3 of them kils her. Microwave meals are normal for her. And it kills me. But she's made the choice. And there is nothing I can do about it. Whole Foods Market (and others like it) are definitely pricey. I won't even shop there. I have a budget for groceries and those shops send me over the top. I can find what I need in a regular grocery store. And those stores are carrying more organic, small brand healthy convenient foods (Think Amy's, for example). But even those foods cost more than the large brands. Sometimes quite a bit more.
I guess it comes down to individual choice. Some people have chosen to eat crap foods, not take care of themselves (and not for lack of better information as it's everywhere). I choose to feed my family as well as I can with the more nutrtious foods. (Not to say we never eat frozen pizzas. I happen to love CPK's White pizza.) I encourage physical activity (structured and fun free play). There are many things that should be changed that will encourage better health but that is a whole 'nother thread or post and are better worded by people other than me.
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Kris C
Running away from the couch one mile at a time! |
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| view log Grand Illusionist |
posted: 12/29/2007 at 9:12 PM |
Just to toss this out there, having lived and grown up in rural southern America, and having lived, grown up, and worked on crop producing farms, there are many rural families that are obese but eat mostly what they grow. You see in the south, fat back, bacon, pork, etc are used exensively to favor foods...especially greens and beans. Not to mention real butter...these things are still being done (as they have been passed down), despite our knowing the dangers of trans fats, cholesterol, and sodium.
The argument has to be qualified but I know where the article is going. But honestly, I grow a small garden every year and unless you have a little experience, a vegetable kitchen garden can get expensive in a hurry...mostly because I try to go organic I usually spend more.
Anyone ever read "The $64 Tomato"? Funny. |
Hilton Head 1/2 Marathon, Feb 7
ING Georgia Marathon, Mar 29
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| view log Funky Monkey |
posted: 12/29/2007 at 10:04 PM |
| Runner67, interesting info, thanks. Question: was diabetes prevalent among the obese down there? One postulate out there is that folks are fattened here on less healthy and more diabetogenic foods by the nature of them being processed. |
| It's all fun and games until the flying monkeys attack. |
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| view log Grand Illusionist |
posted: 1/1/2008 at 2:48 PM |
| Quote from Trent on 12/29/2007 at 10:04 PM: Runner67, interesting info, thanks. Question: was diabetes prevalent among the obese down there? One postulate out there is that folks are fattened here on less healthy and more diabetogenic foods by the nature of them being processed.
Trent: I don't seem to recall many diabetes cases in my younger years...not very scientific, I know...however, I seem to hear more about it lately. My grandmother fought it most of her adult life but then again she had 8 children (aka farm hands). She died at the age of 95 despite having type II.
I can totally see where more prevalent health issues, such as diabetes, would become more common in the fast food lanes of rural America. The nutrients we get from fresh produce or home grown foods (and the lack of preservatives etc) is something many are missing in their diets.
I'm not sure who, here in Dixie, are aware or educated on the benefits of good nutrition. It does seem that even if they were in the know, nutrition/growing a kitchen garden etc would be a low priority for many (thinking of mind set, convenience, taste, etc). |
Hilton Head 1/2 Marathon, Feb 7
ING Georgia Marathon, Mar 29
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| view log Barefoot and happy |
posted: 1/2/2008 at 12:40 PM |
| Quote from Runner67 on 12/29/2007 at 9:12 PM: Not to mention real butter...
You may be interested to know that Americans eat far less butter today than they did 60 years ago. Replacing butter with cheap industrially processed vegetable fats turned out to be a terrible idea. |
| Curious about running barefoot? Visit the new barefoot running group. |
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| view log 27 weeks up duff! |
posted: 1/8/2008 at 11:47 PM |
I like food.
What are maf runs and are they food related?
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| jlynnbob "HTFU, Kookie's distal tibia"
Where's my closet? I need to get back in it. |
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