[OT] Dumbing down

[Graeme]

Article on the BBC News site this morning - 'Supermarkets misleading shoppers on healthy food, say nutritionists'

FFS, 'The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) said many products are being identified as "healthy" because they are vegetarian, vegan, free from certain ingredients, or have fewer calories. But, it said, many have high levels of fat, salt or sugar, and are highly processed.'

WTF do people expect? You want a 'healthy' option? Go buy a carrot or a lettuce, and eat it, as is or (shock, horror) cook a meal yourself, using raw ingredients, so that you know exactly what it contains.

Have we really reached the stage where people have to have their hand held through every step of their sad, pathetic lives?

[charles]

yes.

[Nick Odell]

No.

We passed though that stage a long time ago.

Nick

[Scott]

My favourite was 100% pure orange juice where they helpfully told us this was suitable for a vegetarian diet and suitable for a cow's milk free diet. (I always thought an orange was a fruit not a vegetable!). I also liked some microwave instructions that ended with the words: 'If desired, flash under grill'.

[Bill]

In message [e-mail]>, charles [e-mail]> writes

No, I think we are at the stage where lazy journalists just regurgitate whatever comes in in their emails, or whatever replaces the faxes they used to work from.

Private Eye, with its journalist Phil Space, has it about right.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Yup. socialism and the EU have bred a generation of snowflakes.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Remember all the media is under pressure from lower income and the need to fill more copy with fewer staff.

So sadly, not surprising much of it is poorly researched.

[Brian Gaff]

The smart money in the health area is about to admit they got it wrong about fat. It seems that its the carbs that are the main issue as unless you need a quick hit of energy, the fat in food can be stored by the body and used better and that then keeps you thin. Its only because you are overdosing on the instant energy than fat goes into long term storage mode in the body. As there is little chance of the sort of famines from way back happening in most developed countries, it seems that we are in fact creating a lot of problems by this quick fix energy stuff, and many people if they lived off the fat reserves will feel a whole lot better and be less prone to the deceases of sugar glucose and other things. I am sure this will come soon and then the food industry will have a new cry and we will all be eating low carb toast and loads of butter.. grin. Brian

[michael adams]

The term "convenience foods" was dreamed up by a General Foods executive in 1955. Yes I lead such a sad and pathetic life that I actually read books about such gripping topics as the social history of food and the food industry. Up until that point General Foods had relied on their chemists alone to stay ahead of the competition. Now marketing got a look in. In 1955 over 50% of American housewives were working - a lot more than you'd think from the ads etc. but then ads only portrayed middle class whites - and so had less time to cook. (People who prepare food from scratch are still known in the industry as "scratchies". And aside from immigrants, constitute a very small minority of the population as whole*. Even retired people with plenty of time on their hands are targeted by gourmet meals on wheels delivery services ) So terms like "convenience foods" and "just heat and serve" were dreamed up so as to allow overworked housewives to serve up unhealthy sugar/salt/fat/ chemically enhanced mush - pseudo food - without feeling too bad about it

Fast forward 40 years and you've got the development of microwave ovens and Boots and M$S ready meals at the same time as the health lobby gets back into gear. Not that it ever really let up at any time. So again the chemistry takes a back seat and marketing takes over and billions are spent on trying to convince consumers that this crap is healthy.

Basically if people had to spend time preparing meals there'd be less hours available;e for them to be working producing all the other inessentials on which a complex post industrial society depends both in terms of goods and services. And both the food sector and retail would contract alarmingly.

So it's either living in caves subsisting on raw turnips or convincing sufficient people that sugar fat and salt consumption aren't as unhealthy as the mortality and morbidity statistics might suggest, so as to keep the whole show on the road.

michael adams

• Instead we have conscience soothing cookery programmes monopolising the popular TV schedules and cookbooks selling millions. Yet another reason, as if one were needed to despise Mockney Oliver and all he represents

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[michael adams]

Only in terms of its effects (or not) on blood chlorestorol. Not its calofific content. Frying in fat is the most effective route to caramelistion which enhances the flavour and mouthfeel of fried food,

Sugar and salt not only act as flavour enhancers but also act a a preservative, It was by adding sugar to dog food of all things, that General Foods were able to manufacture moist dog food Gaines Burgers to be sold in packets with an extended shelf life. Up until that point aside from tins all packaged dog food had been dry.

It appears that neither "Mother Nature" in all "Her Bountiful Goodness", nor white coated chemists beavering away in their labs have produced anything rivalling the big three in terms of their cost and effectiveness as flavour enhances.

There's always the raw turnips of course but they'd present rather more of a marketing challenge when competing with doughnuts and chips.

michael adams

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[dennis]

That is cr@p. Eat too much food and fat builds up around the organs and then it starts to interfere with their functions.

Why do you think a crash diet can reverse type 2 diabetes? Its because it burns of the fat around the organs so they start to function better.

Any excess food will turn to fat and in the wrong places first.

Basically you need fats, protein and carbs,but not too many of any.

[Bill]

In message [e-mail]>, michael adams [e-mail]> writes

[whisky-dave]

Have yuo checked what chemicals were used on the carrot before you ate it, you did wash it didn't you.

Not sure hat that has to do with it. Unless you think the word vegetarian means vegtables.

But if you do that you end up burning yuor penis :-0