Mark Bittman in this morning's New York Times asks, What's the difference between eating a cookie for breakfast and having a helping of a sweetened breakfast cereal? Usually, the cereal has more sugar! Bittman outlines the lobbying and political pressure that the "breakfast food" industry applies to any attempt to reduce sugar content or marketing to children. So far, the industry wins every time.
Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is calling for big cutbacks in the federal Food Stamp program.
“If hunger is a problem in America, then why do we have an obesity problem among the people who we say have a hunger program?” Santorum asked. ThinkProgress.
Three-quarters of those who live in this country are either overweight or outright obese. The health problems that accompany obesity are well-documented. What Santorum doesn't understand is that access to calories does not mean access to nutrition.
Some few people manage to resist marketing and the lure of cheap food, but the deck is stacked against us. Occupy Breakfast?
Photo from Frapestaartje's photostream at Flickr.
No comments:
Post a Comment