Food is always in the news. The problem is it always seems to get negative press. I wonder why this might be. Is it to counter balance fantastic blogs like this one? 😉
A recent development in the great horsemeat scandal of 2012 (boy has that story got legs!), is that in spite of the public uproar at the mere thought that horse might have made it into their frozen lasagnes, Princess Anne suggested we create a market for horsemeat for the sake of animal welfare.
The press reported this serious suggestion with either a whiff of humour or a sense of how dare someone, even a royal, suggest such a thing. Horsemeat posed no actual threat to public health, in fact it might have been quite the opposite. Horsemeat is quite a lean and “healthy” meat. It seems that instead of taking something which is an interesting proposition and allowing serious debate, the press reported what they thought people wanted to hear…especially those people who thought it would be awful to take a bite out of Neddy.
Food is an easy target and a headline makers dream
Another story over the last couple of weeks has been that chips (French fries) and other deep fried food contains one of the same carcinogenic substances which is found in…wait for it…cigarette smoke! Sounds bad right? Yes it does and it got a lot of copy all over the place. Strangely though it got much, much more press than a very recent report from WHO (the World Health Organisation) that in fact the air we breath is carcinogenic due to the level of pollutants which float around our lovely planet.
So food got the bad press? Again is this because people want to hear this story and feel good by cutting down on their favourite fried food and the healthy lifestyle lobby get to say “I told you so”? Probably, because that’s better than “don’t breath in…it might kill you”.
It would appear food stories get too much attention and mostly for the wrong reasons.
Of course some foods are going to be bad for you. We have known for years that deep fried food is simply not a healthy option. Horsemeat won’t kill you if you accidently (or deliberately) eat it. So is most food news simply no news?
Who knows, so I’m going to go and think about it over a horse steak and chips.
What’s the most wacky food story you have heard? Do you think the press are too keen to demonise food?
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Hi Michael,
I observed years ago that the news released about our food can be quite conflicting. What was once bad for us turning into good for us..what is good for us suddenly becomes hazardous to our health. Out of frustration, we decided to be mindful of the food we eat but making sure to pray a blessing over it before consumption.
Rachel Lavern recently posted..A Healthy Dose of Professional Development
Rachel, Some of the processed foods I’ve seen need a blessing, in fact they need all the help they can get! 😉
Hi Michael… great thoughts here…just the other day I saw on some TV show how they were suggesting to farmers in years from now and not too many, cattle will be hard to keep as water and food will be in short supply so – the farmers may consider maggot farming as that may well be the future of food… like yeah whatever…food scaremongering is a big business….!
Sarupa Shah recently posted..8 tips to manifest more time for your business
Sarupa, Yes that’s yet another story picking up on something “creepy” to do with food. A surprising number of the world’s population already eat insects, so I don’t think they will be forced upon us too soon 😉
Anything to keep the public in fear of their own environment. I think the media has a quota they try to meet each week…How many people they can give some sort of phobia too. I have always read that horse meat was fine anyway. I guess any animal that is domesticated overall is hard to imagine ingesting though, lol. Hey Michael, great first lines up top!
Wes Holyfield recently posted..Lean Muscle Workout Plan
Thank Wes! Yes most people can’t get there head round eating something they could/would have a “relationship” with…except the poor rabbit!
lol, I didn’t think of the rabbit. Good point.
Wes Holyfield recently posted..Learn About Amino Acids
The only food news per say was Mad Cow..that made us in US very nervous yet non-stop to fast foods for our loved beef burgers.
Hey, I eat horse meet for many years in the desert. We did not care and it was good for us yet I have no fear of eating anything. You are just going to have the media spread what is bad, unhealthy and what they are paid to make us the readers nervous and shape our purchasing habits. That is just bad news is the exciting news for those who still read papers?
Great article and just eat what you want no matter we all end up the same ascended. So , enjoy what God has given us and stop with the fear. No one lives forever!
William Earl Amis, Jr. III recently posted..Focus On What Is To Come
Well said William, I think when it comes to food the most important word you used there is ENJOY! 🙂
Hello Michael,
Interesting subject…the trouble is that the food industry has become too industrialised and like too many other companies focuses on its investors, rather than its customers. The mass production of food has lead to so many horror stories which only play into the hands of the press, who exaggerate any kind of shock story in order to sell their rags.
As supermarkets now dominate the food supply chain, the mass production of food in a box and the lack of control thereof has created the opportunity for unnecessary additives like Sugar to be put into everything, or indeed different kinds of meat, which has appalling consequences for the health of the nation.
What people really need is to know these days is how to find the best locally sourced quality produce, and hence the growth of interesting blogs like yours!
Perhaps once people get tired of being ripped off by the ever fluctuating supermarket prices, the shocking standards of the mass market supply chain that doesn’t even know what meat it is selling, and offshore trading entities that set out to deliberately avoid tax in local jurisdictions through transfer pricing, then the small local producer might make a comeback.
So to help us transition to a more healthy economy in more ways than one please carry on telling us about quality produce wherever it exists, and how to turn it into tasty grub!
I quite agree Chris, the mass production system seems to have got too big for its boots. We talk about the importance of sustainability, food miles and animal welfare, but these things seem to bypass a large proportion of what is available in the average supermarket.
Hi Michael,
Food usually makes a good news and many times, when it comes, it creates ‘fear’. Unlike some other people hear, ‘fear’ is good especially in today’s processed food dominated world.
I think last year, they aired a show in India about use of pesticides and man, it was scary. Can you imagine 27 gram pesticide going inside your body with every 100 pound fruit and vegetable? (the news was something along those lines). Did it wake me up? You bet! Did it scare me? You bet!
So, I think we should pay attention to these things and adjust our lifestyles going forward to make sure we are making informed food decisions for our own health and that of our loved ones.
Thank you for a very interesting discussion here…
Regards,
Kumar
Kumar Gauraw recently posted..WordPress Is Not A Ping Spammer And You Don’t Need Any Ping Optimizer
Wow Kumar that is seriously scary! Not just bad for us but the environment too. It is down to us as the consumer to makes those choices as you suggest.
Hi Michael, I think the press are too keen to deamonise everything. It’s unfortunate the press do that to everything, especially food. I think it causes a lot of people to get put off food, when (like you say) most of the time there’s nothing wrong with it. If we listened to it all, we wouldn’t eat anything!
Julieanne van Zyl recently posted..Flat Out Like A Lizard Drinkin’
Too true Julieanne, if we took notice of all the “food which is bad for you” stories I think most kitchens would be empty by now lol
I think the press is anxious to demonize anything that opens the door to greater government controls over our lives, Michael.
Food is so basic to us, that the more controlled it becomes, the more controlled we become.
Of course there are many do-gooders who are really concerned more about health than control, but they are often funded by bigger concerns with bigger fish to fry.
There are lots of things wrong with food, air, water and the rest. I think most people are capable of figuring that out and taking the necessary precautions without big brother having to always grab them by the hand and drag them away from scary things, kicking and screaming.
David Merrill 101 recently posted..Sales Funnel Part 3 | OTO Products
Well said David I agree. There have been so many occasions were a product has been deemed “bad” for you one decade and good for you the next…it does make you wonder!
Well let me say right up front, no horse meat will EVER pass these lips! That said, I must admit I do get pretty weary about the food dramas in the news. As you’ve pointed out some foods will be bad for us, but I’m a believer in the power of moderation. Besides, I figure I’ve given up soda, fast food and fried food, nobody is taking my one measly cup of coffee a day away from me. 🙂
marquita herald recently posted..Are We Meant to Find Deeper Purpose?
Haha Marquita it would be very hard to lose my coffee too and I wouldn’t care what they say 😉
Hello Michael! If we listened and believed to half of what we hear about different foods we probably wouldn’t be eating a whole lot of anything!! LOL
Now you asked what the craziest thing we have heard about recently and I would have to say (French fries) and other deep fried food contains one of the same carcinogenic substances which is found in French fries and other deep fried food contains one of the same carcinogenic substances which is found in cigarette smoke!
Really!! How Crazy is that!! WOW
Thanks for sharing.. Chery :))
Chery Schmidt recently posted..Are You Grateful For What You Have In Your Life?
Exactly Chery it’s totally crazy 😉
Hi Michael,
A really creepy story in the media I read in an article pertained to the Pepsi-Cola Company using aborted human fetal cells in their flavor research. They would take the aborted fetus’ cells and process them into different flavors, and test them in their drinks.
I found this really quite disturbing. I am not really concerned too much about the pesticides in the food. 27g/ 4,544g of fruit and vegetables doesn’t scare me considering that I probably don’t eat half that much fruit in a month. I probably should eat that much, 150g of fruits and vegetables a day isn’t too unreasonable. I haven’t really considered horse meat. It seems like something to try, maybe not in the states, but elsewhere maybe. I look forward to trying new foods, and meats are some of my favorite foods.
Thanks for the read Michael. Bon Apetit!
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