Reading Instead of Eating
Adbusters,
Back cover Nov/Dec 2002
Lately my reading has affected my eating.
The past few months it seems that publications are full of articles about food....and not just holiday recipes and post-holiday diet tips. There has been an increase in reports on the quality of the food that we consume–from its gestation to its marketing. Some of these articles are grim, some predict dire consequences and some are downright nauseating. I have found myself pondering school lunches
swimming in fat, multi-national corporations swallowing up the small food producers, corporate farms extinguishing species variety, and slaughterhouses. The worst is the specter of the slaughterhouse.
With just a bit of reading it is obvious that our food is not the comforting, wholesome, nutritious, Betty Crocker buffet we pretend it is. With a little bit more reading, its hard to imagine giving this slop to young children. Our average day’s food has gotten more pasteurized, irradiated, artificial, and bland. The quality seems to be spiraling rapidly downward.
It’s easy to blame the fast food industry, the huge corporations, and the ad agencies, since they are the ones putting profits ahead of nutrition and health. But do we really expect them to act differently in a capitalistic society? It wouldn’t make sense. Can we legislate the changes we need? Possibly, but legislation to change behavior is tricky at best.....and where would we start? The problem isn’t localized or specific to one industry.
It’s harder to blame ourselves, but we are the bottom line–the consumer, the one who makes the profits possible. We haven’t been paying enough attention, and while we’ve been busy caring about other things, one of our most basic needs, our food, has been adulterated. We need to become aware....read more, ask more questions, and spread the knowledge to those around us who aren’t apt to read or think much. And with our eyes wide open,
we need to use the most powerful mechanism for change there is.....the way we ‘vote’ everytime we spend our money.
As a bonus, I’ve found the more I read about the problem, the less I eat and the healthier I feel! Not bad.
Some reading to get you started: Adbusters
Nov/Dec 2002 issue
8:26:02 PM 
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