Sigh. 30% of Us Will Have Diabetes

So, last night, after watching the Steelers lose and the Penguins win (one of which was much more satisfying than the other), I stayed up and watched Food, Inc.



Very disturbing.

The difference between this and the last two "we're killing ourselves with food" documentaries is that it's a little more grounded in cold, hard facts than, say, "Super Size Me". And those facts are scary. But we already knew that. And we know how fat we're getting, and we know how unhealthy we're getting. I'm not sure we really know how bad is it.

There's a stat in the movie that one in three people born after 2000 will develop diabetes. THAT's CRAZY. A third of our population having diabetes because we eat crap? (And this is why I pause at a US health policy with a public option and say "But maybe people should have responsibilities to qualify them for that public option.") You can read more about the diabetes study here.

Do you know that we make chickens that grow so unnaturally fat so fast that they can't walk more than a few steps without falling down because their bones don't develop as fast as their steroid enhanced breasts?

Do you know that most beef actually has ammonia filler in it to battle e-coli and other viruses? Yes. You are eating ammonia with your fries.

And of course, you would be horrified by what the industrial food complex is doing to local farmers, essentially making them indentured slaves.

The thing is, I get it from the industrial food complex side even if I don't support it. We haven't found a better system than capitalism (or at least I'd argue that), but capitalism rewards those who create the biggest, best product at the least cost. And the food industry has been ruthless about this in pretty crazy ways. But we let them get away with it.

And here's the thing: Who am I to tell a family of four on a fixed income to go put back their pack of 15 huge chicken breasts for seven dollars and go buy an organic chicken for more money with less meat on it? But, that said, when people talk about the expense of organic food, I often look around their house and see what's in it. There's usually a large, flat-screen TV and a handful of iPods. And I sort of kind of want to say "Wow. If you were as passionate about what you put into your body as you were about your stuff, how you spent your money would be different." But then I check myself and remember that (while I'm far from perfect and still have the comfort Big Mac when I'm sad), I eat mostly organic because I can afford to. And I cook mostly for myself instead of having to hit drive throughs because I have the time to. So am I really in any position to tell people how to prioritize their food? Probably not.

The one flaw in the movie is that at the end the argument is made that we could change this and that the model for changing powerful big business is how consumers changed the tobacco industry. I think that's erroneous. People love their smokes, but it's not the same as needing their food. Do you *really* think the average American would rally around legislation to improve food quality by essentially paying more for less? Have you met any Americans lately? People would have to start dying left and right, and even then I doubt the people who *hadn't* died would give up their cheap ground beef.

I'm a downer, right?