If, like me, you watched Newsnight last night with journalist 
Mi 
chael Pollan being quizzed about his latest book, In Defence of Food, did you also wonder why food has become so complicated?
For example, who eats butter any more? Is it made from the right kind of fat, does it contain Omega 3 oils? These are the questions I ask myself too as I avidly scan food labels. Have we become a little hysterical about food?
Pollan believes that our idea of what food is and what we should be eating has been completely distorted by the food industry and nutritionists. He believes that people are now so confused about their diet that they have no idea what real food actually is any more.
As far as I am concerned, food should be fresh and locally produced if possible. And this is a subject close to my heart as I love food and I love eating, and I like to enjoy what I eat.
So it is a great pleasure for me to work on my latest project with NIAB, the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, which is actively supporting the Year of Food and Farming and will be working with Cambridgeshire schoolchildren this spring and summer to inform them about food and where it comes from.
I am meeting with their staff this afternoon to discuss our communications campaign, which will include students learning about modern plant varieties and the importance of plant breeding for consumers.
Sadly, according to Food and Farming research:
One in five children never visit the countryside – indicating that more than a million children across the country have absolutely no contact with the land.
- 21st century youngsters are more likely to have holidayed abroad than to have explored England’s fields and farms.
- A further 17% have only been to the countryside "once or twice", meaning a third of children have little, if any, experience of the rural world.
- A fifth of children say they have never picked and then eaten fruit – one of the staples of classic outdoors life*
It is tragic that at a time when so much information is available about healthy eating, it seems to confuse people and we have ended up with record levels of obesity, though inactive lifestyles is also a major contributory factor towards this.
I wish the government would introduce restrictions on fast food advertising to children.
Restrictions are in place in the Scandinavian countries and there is a much lower incidence of childhood obesity in those countries.
I’m sure there’s more to it but I think it’s difficult to argue that fast food is not linked to health and obesity.
On the basis that all tax payers pick up the tab I think we should expect the government to do more.
On the basis that all tax payers pick up the tab I think we should expect the government to reintroduce proper school meals to every school – sandwiches were unheard of in my day unless you had a serious medical complaint. Then, at least at school, all children would know and have tasted a ‘proper’ cooked meal, from fresh ingredients, cooked on the premises that day from scratch.
I think another good initiative would be to re-introduce cookery back into schools. NOT which focuses on health and safety and commercial food prep and production, just cooking. You learn not to put raw chicken on top of cheese and some children have never experienced the joy of licking the bowl when making cakes. No wonder parents don’t cook for their children, they weren’t taught how.
And my final thought would be like that during the war – of encouraging people to grow their own produce. Allotments have waiting lists and there should be more of them and they should be protected and not targetted by developers. Same goes for school fields.
So come on Alan Titchmarch – make it sexy and fashinable to grow your own brassicas!
There’s also a strong link between relative poverty and obesity which is counter-intuitive
Food is way too complicated. Everything seems bad for us!
This is the fact that makes me sad, angry and dismayed – too long has it been fashionable, even compulsory, to travel to the sun. Disney!! OK, this is the global systems, we’re up to our necks in it, but please let’s make sure little ones know where they live as well. For all sorts of reasons, food included.
Ellee, your last bit says it all. It’s got as much to do with our lifestyles as it has to do with what specifically we eat. People exercise less and I’m not just talking about the gym. People of every age walk far less than they used to do. Add to that the amount people drink and there’s another weight gaining factor.
All this food fad stuff is largely tosh – I’d wager a good deal of it comes from conflicting survey information put out by competing brands.. It’s got far more to do with our vastly ‘improved’ lifestyles (for most of us at least) coupled with our more sedentary existences.
I think we have indeed become hysterical about food….
the fact seems to be that we are getting fatter..
Give me the french diet anyday! cream-cheese and wine :o)
Food shopping is rather complicated as you try to read every label to see if you should eat it or not.
I’ll be interested to read Michael Pollan’s new book as I have found the others very interesting.
Another topic close to my heart, Ellee.
I was one of the fortunate city kids educated at an early age on eating fresh foods. Like you, my rule of thumb is fresh & local.
What shocks me is how so many individuals feel that eating a salad at McDonald’s is healthy. . .
August
I tend to have butter only for “special occasions”. I believe that it is comparatively poor in the omega-3 fatty acids, you need fish oil for these. I tin of sardines once a week should sort you out 🙂
I’ve heard so many parents say not to blame them for their child’s habits – it’s society’s fault. Rubbish – it always comes back to the parents in the end, Ellee.
I eat butter, without reading the label. I just buy the plain old supermarket value brand of butter. I eat it on my toast, I fry my eggy bread in it, last night I cooked herring roe in it. I use it to sweat onions when making curry, I add a knob or two my mashed potato. I slice courgettes and saute them in butter to have with my Sunday roast. Butter is wondeful stuff, I’d be hard pressed to live without it.
As for Omega 3, herring, or even better kippers, are dirt cheap and packed with the stuff. Try eating them with toast – and butter.
Too much choice and sedentary lifestyles have a big part to play in this. We eat butter though!
It is, indeed, sad that it has all become so complicated in the UK and the enjoyment has gone out of the preparation [where there is any] and eating of food. Here in Sicily all food products are labelled so that you nknow which town they came from, everything is fresh and the freezer aisles in supermarkets are an afterthought!
Welshcakes, lucky you, I know how important food is in Sicily, your blog has been a real eye-opener about its different cultures.
Steven L, yes,I do eat sardines, I quite like them in a jacket potato.
We really don’t have enough to worry about so we invent problems.
Not everyone wants to get old. Is it really all it’s cracked up to be ? In fact I look at many geriatrics and the thought horrifies me, especially the abysmal way they are treated.
This country is full of officials who just love bossing people around, being superior and condescending. If you aren’t keeping fit you’re being badgered about shortening your life expectancy … and when you do keep fit they’re at you for not putting enough away for pensions.
People know what makes them fat. We don’t need 5 a-day merchants on our backs. They should be sacked and made to do something useful like clean up grafitti.
My goodness. Could you imagine me with senile dementia ? As though I’m not eccentric enough as it is.
🙂
Here’s the Wiki timeline of life expectancy and it seems that the Big Mac generation ain’t so bad 😉
(Ok it’s not that simple as comparing nuts and berries to Big Macs (ugh) but I thought it was interesting)
Pip, A big Mac just doesn’t have any taste, most junk food tastes just like that – junk.
And Kevin, I think you will keep your marbles in your old age, you have a lot going for you and that keeps you sane.