Supermarket Secrets

I am a fan of the website FreeDoucmentaries.Org where I spend many hours watching documentaries, especially health ones. Right now I am watching a British documentary called Supermarket Secrets which talks about, yep, you guessed it, the secrets of supermarket food. It’s broken up in two parts about 50 minutes each, but I learned a lot. The problems discussed in this documentary applies not only to British supermarkets, but American ones as well.

Some of the issues raised include the treatment of animals used for meat, the quality of preprepared foods, and even the issue of how produce “looks,” which causes millions of dollars lost and tons of wasted food. Just because some potatoes have blemishes, but are perfectly edible, they are discarded. Food has to look perfect, just like conventional products. There was a stat in there that said about 40 percent of organic farmers’ crops are wasted purely on cosmetic grounds. That is surely a deterrent for farmers to farm organic. This wasted crop is left to rot.

What about all the poor people who could eat that food? Why aren’t those potatoes sent to starving children and families across the world? We eat, and waste, so much food, it’s a bit sickening.

One of my favorite quotes from the movie was about the issue of making food look a certain way before they are sold. Joanna Blythman, author of “Shopped,” said that she doesn’t think housewives go home, after finding an imperfectly shaped orange in their purchases, and cry about it. I surely doubt people have become so ridiculous that they become upset over the shape of their produce. So why do grocery stores care so much about it that a significant number of food is wasted?

I never thought I would be interested in consumerism, but its connection to obesity, the food that is available to eat, and how people view health is undeniable and worthy of exploration. Let me know your thoughts, even if you haven’t had a chance to watch the videos.

Messages and Obesity

Today I had a nice, thought-provoking meeting with my thesis adviser, Dr. Forestiere. I am writing my undergraduate honors thesis on the rhetoric used by President Bush regarding Iran and its impact on American public opinion. I am finishing up the “results” section, and was having trouble expanding beyond the obvious results I got from my study.

Dr. Forestiere explained to me to think about the broader implications of what I found (that what the President says is a significant factor in forming people’s opinions about foreign events), and connected it to my interest in fitness. She said something along the lines of, “What you found out in your study can even be applied to the messages formed about obesity,” which got me thinking about how we have gotten to where we are today in America.

I thought about how obesity became such an epidemic, and how it finally has become so unacceptable in America that organizations such as the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance are being formed, yet it’s still acceptable to eat poorly and live a sedentary lifestyle. The conflicting messages that we receive are interesting; it’s funny how there’s a commercial encouraging the viewers to pick up a sport and adopt healthier habits, and then right after that one goes off, there’s a McDonald’s commercial talking about how great you will feel if you bought and consumed its Big Mac with Super Size fries.

The messages we receive strongly shape not only how we view and comprehend society, but also how we view ourselves. These messages don’t only come from the media. Dr. Forestiere sent me a link to an article from CNN discussing the impact of the relationship mother’s have with food and body image with their daughters’ health. How many times have you said (or heard someone say) around a little kid “Oh, I can’t wear that, it makes me look fat” or “I’m not going to eat today, I don’t want to get fat.” Now little kids refuse to wear certain clothes or eat a cookie because they’re worried about getting fat.

Messages are powerful, and I want to know the role of messages in determining how people view and feel about obesity. That would be a fun master’s thesis, don’t you think?

You know I want your two cents; leave a comment!