Despite the promotion of the DVD's and the shameless use of pathos we are glad we watched it.
So since we are suckers for punishment.....I have signed up for the 5th annual food Revolution Summit on line. We will see how it goes. We both think we can winnow good from the fluff and glossy format and learn more about our food.
http://foodrevolution.org/
I think the interesting thing is that so many of us here in the Homestead blog world are very aware of food and how it affects us already.
I am posting a fact sheet from a pdf download I received from them. It's interesting this healthy outlook to food is managed by the "Robbin's from Baskin-Robbins ice cream, the son that did not take over the family business and walked his own road.
Top Ten Reasons We Need A Food Revolution
1
Our food system is
killing us.
In the U.S., more
than 2/3 of the population is now
overweight or obese,
and heart disease and stroke are killing
more than 700,000
people every year. The National Institutes of
Health reports that
in the 1960s less than 2% of America’s kids
had a chronic health
condition. Today it’s over 25%. And one in
three American
children is expected to get diabetes. All of these
illnesses are
directly linked to food and lifestyle choices.
2
It’s bankrupting
us.
Three quarters of
medical spending in the U.S. today
goes towards
managing lifestyle-related chronic illness. Medical
expenses are already
the leading cause of bankruptcy for
families, and
they’re quickly driving the entire nation towards
fiscal disaster. In
fact, the costs of Medicare in the United States
are expected to
double in the next generation. Meanwhile, the
federal government
in the United States provides tens of billions
of dollars in
subsidies for “commodity crops”, like corn, wheat,
and soy, that are in
turn processed into high fructose corn syrup,
white flour, and
animal feed for factory farms. The very things
that science tells
us we should be eating less of are
actually being
subsidized by the taxpayer.
3
It’s devastating
our planet.
Modern food
production practices are depleting our
soil and
groundwater, polluting our water and our bodies with
neurotoxic
pesticides, endangering pollinators like bees and
butterflies,
depleting ecosystems of other important wildlife like
frogs, fish and
salamanders, and they’re a driving force behind
climate change.
4
It’s hitting kids
and poor people the hardest.
Many low income and
inner city communities are
described as “food
deserts”, because there is so little access to
fresh vegetables and
other healthy foods. People of low income
and people of color
have the lowest life expectancy and the
highest rates of
diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cancer, and
other lifestyle
related chronic illnesses.
5
It’s inhumane.
Farm workers are
being exposed to large amounts of
toxic pesticides on
the job, and they’re driven to work brutally long
hours for very
little compensation. The average life expectancy for
a migrant farm
worker in the U.S. is 49 years. In Mexico, conditions
are even worse. And
then, there are the animals. Chickens never
see the sunlight and
are kept in cages so small they cannot lift a
single wing, mother
pigs are forced to spend most of their lives in
gestation crates so
small they cannot even turn around, and many
cows never see a
blade of grass.
6
It’s destroying
our antibiotics.
To keep animals
alive under these deplorable condi-
tions, they are fed
antibiotics with every dose of feed. In fact,
80% of antibiotics
used in the U.S. are fed to livestock, not to
people. If you
wanted to breed antibiotic resistant bacteria
you’d be hard
pressed to find a more efficient way to do it. We
are already seeing
increasing incidences where anti-biotic resist-
ant bacteria in
humans can be deadly, and this is why.
7
We can do better.
Less than 10% of
Americans eat a healthy diet consist-
ent with federal
recommendations. And an estimated 90-95%
of cancer cases and
80% of heart attacks have their roots in
diet and lifestyle.
We know how to radically improve the health
outcome for millions
of people – and to save trillions of dollars,
and possibly the
future of our planet, in the process.
8
The times are
changing and young
people are leading
the way.
Sales of organic
foods have increased over 26-fold in the last
generation, to now
exceed 4% of market share. We’ve seen
a three-fold
increase in farmer’s markets in the last decade.
Nine U.S. states
have now joined the entire European Union in
banning gestational
crates for pigs, and Australia’s two largest
supermarket chains
now sell only cage-free eggs in their house
brands. Sales of
certified non-GMO products have gone from
nothing to $7
billion in sales in the last 4 years. Sales of natural
foods have now grown
to be a $100 billion industry. Thankfully,
younger consumers
are leading the way, and are far more likely
to stand up for
healthier food.
9
Everyone can
benefit.
Whether you’re
young or old, sick or healthy, wealthy
or poor, you have a
stake in your health. And it turns out there’s
serious money to be
made in the food revolution. Farmers,
producers, retailers
and consumers all have the opportunity
to take part in a
massive shift in how we grow, process, eat
and think about
food. And to reap the benefits.
10
You can be an
everyday food revolutionary.
You don’t have to
wait for government or industry to
change. You can lead
the way by reclaiming your relationship
with food and making
it an expression of your values. If you
want health, and a
healthy planet, the invitation is clear. Join
the Food Revolution!
Take care and get your greens a growing!
God Bless you all.
It looks to be set up the same as a summit going arouond a few months back: Home Grown Food Summit 2016 | My experience with that was it was almost impossible to get the "free" seminars to load and when they did, it offered little info on the subject. Seems to me that folks are trying to find a way to repackage what we already have found out and sell it back to us. There's also a whiff of some social engineering / activist efforts in there, IMHO. Oh well, I know you'll share the good stuff with us :).
ReplyDeleteI have to say I am becoming somewhat of a skeptic about these things. We have decided that when things begin to trend they loose something of the reality and honesty of a real change. I thinks its why we really enjoy our blog friends. Not commercial and walking the walk. We will see what we get out of it. Now I am heading out to take care of the duck with a sore foot...he cut his web on something?!
ReplyDeleteAs soon as something becomes "popular", the good information is thinned out to promotional gruel. Most of us on here do a better job of managing our health and that of our environments.
ReplyDeleteIt sad really, the people that need to make the biggest changes are in the cities and, either don't understand the basic changes they can make or do not 'really' want to.
DeleteThe poor country cousins are doing better in this department. Here in "Poor" Kentucky there is a strange mix of Walmart food people and very aware food people.
Why do things have to be dumbed down and fluffed up?
Fiona, just happened upon your blog. This is the first article I've read and am thrilled someone else is researching "real" diet. In Germany they defeat cancer with a combo of diet and heat treatment - no hair loss or drugs that nearly kill you. Diet is a powerful thing indeed.
DeleteHi
ReplyDeleteYou might want to try ,ChefMD,
It is dr. John la puma
We saw him on pbs and that is when life improved for me, my daughter, and for my nephew.
Turns out we are all gluten sensitive.
The difference in. Health and feeling good enough to accomplish things is amazing.
Dr. La puma realized that most of his patients problems were ditary. He took a year sabbatical and went to chef school.
He was able to devise recipes good for his patients, that were tasty, and that the whole family were able to enjoy.
God bless him. He has helped millions of us and thanks to pbs for airing his story.
Thought you would like to look on the Internet and view his pbs presentation in your ,spare, time!
Many thanks, deb h.