I love happy meals, but they dont love me

After reading the material for this unit I have developed some ideas about dieting and how society is being affected by the media and food corporations. This essay gives me the opportunity to talk about the research I have done from the web (class web links) but also to interject my personal concerns, like everyone I have an opinion on the subject and I think I will be able to adequately defend my opinions. I read the article posted on the New York times by Michael Pollan, and for the most part many of my opinions about our current dieting crisis is also expressed in Pollan’s extensive article on the subject. Pollan‘s paper “unhappy meals“ was incredibly insightful and informative to many of the dieting problems Americans face.


After reading Pollan’s article I did feel somewhat enlightened on the subject of dieting and why there are so many different diets out there, which seem to have very little affect. The causes and reasons for this are very eloquently explained in plain language by Mr. Pollan. Pollan address the media one of the primary culprits for misleading people about dieting. I can relate to his sentiments, I absolutely hate watching the phoenix suns basketball game and during a timeout the broadcast cuts to commercials advertising the newest miracle breakthrough in dieting. The current crisis we as a society are facing with obesity and related illnesses can in large part be blamed on the media and how they portray the food industry. During the same commercial break we as viewers can see the next fantastic tasting hamburger from Jack in the Box which we know is not healthy for us, so after we eat this monstrosity the next commercial will show us the magic pill we can take to loose the weight we just gained. Of course not all of the blame can go on the media or the food industry, we as a society need to take some personal responsibility for what we eat and what media advertisements we should believe.


I have had numerous friends over the years (most of them female) who have tried different weight loss programs with mixed disappointing results. After reading Pollan’s article the problem with these systems is clear, many of these gimmick pills have very little health value associated with them. Having a celebrity or someone with presumed authority on the subject (Dr. Who) does not guarantee results, we as the public try these trendy programs and then wonder why 6 months from now we are still at the same weight, discouraged, and a little poorer in the pocket book. If you open any popular magazine in the supermarket you can find numerous weight loss pills and programs. If I was someone trying to lose weight I would be overwhelmed by the countless and confusing weight loss solutions I should try. When in fact the true answer to loosing weight is so much simpler and not found in the supermarket or GNC.


Eating a vegetable based diet with meat as a side dish instead of the main dish would be a great start. Buying produce from a fresh farmers market instead of processed food would be a second good idea. Eating in moderation when you are really hungry and not just to eat would cut down on your food intake. If you did a few of these suggestions and then throw in a little exercise here and there I think the results as a society would be incredibly more successful. But how can food corporations and the media make a profit on such simple advice. From what I have seen I don’t even think you need to give up everything you like to eat to make weight loss or eating healthier successful. For any given week if you said I am going to attempt to eat better following some of these suggestions and then for one day I will eat something not healthy that I really like (pizza, chips, beer) you should still be able to maintain a healthier diet. The alternative would be to stay with a specific confusing dieting regiment and have to fight your urge to binge eat on foods you really want. Either way you are going to eat that piece of pizza, so why not just work it in to you weekly eating habits. According to Pollan the simple idea of eating less meat and more vegetables and greens has been around for a long time and is known to significantly help with obesity and related problems, but the media, food manufactures, and nutrionists have done a great job in keeping it under wraps and marketing there own products as the miracle cure.


One of the web links which I thought was also very insightful was the farm to school web page. As a culture kids will follow the eating habits of the parents. If your parents are eating mostly processed food and supermarket bargains then there kids will also probably develop those habits as well. In Washington state in 2002 the Washington legislature directed the Washington state department of agriculture to promote programs in the community to enhance local produce and educational outreach programs like farm to school. In my opinion if more education can be given to kids on how to properly prepare meals and avoid fast food items then there is a chance future generations could overcome the current obesity epidemic.


I agree with the notion that as a culture we have lost the pleasure of cooking a family meal at home and actually enjoying good quality meals. Are generally faced paced lives make it harder to slow down and do things like prepare meals for the family, especially when convince tells you to get some KFC from the drive threw. There seems to be no doubt at least in my mind that a meal prepared at home with fresh local produce will have a significant amount of vitamins, minerals and nutrients which processed and fast foods do not. For me personally the best example I can use is my grandparents. They are both in there early 70’s and my grandma makes a mean meal, nothing fancy or complicated but home cooking with generally some meat with vegetables and a salad. Every time I visit them I look forward to breakfast and dinner. Now a nutrionist might say they are eating to much saturated fat foods or not getting some of the vitamins they should get if they take a supplement. I would argue that they have been eating there diverse local cuisine for some 30 years (since I have been alive) and they are both in excellent health and have not had any complications with cardiovascular disease or cancer. My grandpa at 70 something still works the ranch everyday (daily exercise) as is still built like a bull. So mixing a well rounded diet without the abundance of processed food and more greens in your diet with a little amount of daily activity could keep you in fairly good shape, is this not what people have done for the last couple hundred years until our generation.


In conclusion the solution to an obese society that is constantly battling health problems may not be in any miracle pill or complicated dieting solutions. Maybe eating good tasting locally made and prepared foods with all the natural ingredients already included and some moderate exercise during the week will help to turn our media driven diet around. I would like to start eating healthier and I think my first step will be to eat smaller meals when I am actually hungry with some snacks in between and have my meals be less focused on meat products and more on greens. I already have the frequent exercise covered and I have found some markets in my area which support and sell locally grown produce. Following some of these simple steps I hope to prevent my self from developing health complications as I get older and join the middle age club.