I'm trying to turn myself into a vegetable eater, a lover of greens, and a snacker of fruits. I'm sure I'll make it one day before I'm selling myself for a hit of McDonald's and a sip of that sweet, sweet nectar that is Diet Coke...it is addicting, and so unbelievable bad for you.
I recently found out that aspartame has a sordid and complicated history with Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld was the CEO of Searle, the company that discovered aspartame by accident. It was initially banned because the studies on it showed that it could cause severe health issues, including brain tumors. In 1981, when Reagan was sworn in as President, it just so happened that a cohort of Rumsfeld's was hand selected to be the commissioner of the FDA...Rumsfeld was also a part of Reagan's transition team. The day after the inauguration an executive order was commissioned that allowed Searle to reapply for FDA approval. Presto!!! Aspartame was approved. Lots of other conspiracy level crap happened and now aspartame is considered healthy and magically. Except its not. I don't normally buy into crap unless that crap happens to be the truth. Thanks dear sister for bringing this to my attention. Also, Rumsfeld is just an awful person in general.
While visiting my sister in Austin, Texas, I had the privilege of eating the delicious foods she cooked for me that were all vegetarian and crazy healthy, good for you. Her girlfriend and herself volunteer at a local community farm and are able to take home local and organic fruits and vegetables. The farm also offers organic dairy as well...This is such a fantastic and amazing idea. For a few hours of work during the week, individuals are able to take home free produce. Community farming (gardening) needs to happen more often and at greater levels. You can learn more about it at www.communitygarden.org and for Fargo locals, you can check out the community garden information at www.cityoffargo.com. For low-income individuals and families, this is an excellent way to reduce budgets and promote healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle.
For those who come from low socioeconomic homes, eating healthy is incredibly difficult, even if you have government assistance in the form of SNAP benefits. There is a thing called "food privilege" and it exists, in this world, in America, the land of obesity and excess. There is also "food insecurity" which is just a nice way of saying children and adults in America are starving and what they can eat and can afford to eat is typically calorie and carbohydrate dense, long lasting (full of chemicals and preservatives), and as cheap as possible. Health disparities among those who experience poverty has been correlated in multiple peer reviewed studies (Google poverty and obesity, you'll find plenty of scholarly articles) and show that there is a connection. Judgment and shaming those who are impoverished is not an effective way in teaching healthy habits, educating them about meals, and most importantly, does nothing to lower the cost of healthy foods.
Spreading lies like this upsetting and totally absurd:
Check out those prices, are they shopping retroactively in 1997?! This is shaming and judgmental. As a society we criticize absolutely everything about people who do not fit the standards we want them too...but as an individual, why do YOUR standards have to be upheld by people you DO NOT know? Why must we sit behind the anonymity of a computer and tear apart someone else's behavior and body when we know nothing about the person? It is unfair and unnecessary; this behavior only exacerbates the problem. We are so quick to judge and absolutely unable to help. I work at a homeless shelter and we have a "Community Bread Shelf" not a "Community Produce Shelf" and it is because bread is cheap and can fill someone up quickly. The food we serve is not always nutritious and is usually boxed, canned, or frozen. There is little access to fresh fruits and vegetables but we do make every attempt possible to ensure that the people we serve receive healthy meals at every chance we have. Being overweight or obese isn't always a choice bred from laziness or excess, it is sometimes the result of issues far beyond our control.
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