I’ve been waiting patiently to have something I felt was worth writing about here. It’s been a while… things are easier than they were when I started. I know which breads I can eat in the grocery store, but have actually been making my own instead. I no longer spend hours shopping for food, trying to figuring out what I can and can’t eat. Our shops are quick and usually consist of fruit, vegetables, canned beans and tomatoes to use as the base for things, milk, cheese and meat. We barely visit the middle isles of the grocery store anymore. So with the struggle to fumble my way around my new world of food more or less behind me, I find myself with less to write about.
Not to worry though, faithful readers (I know there are a few of you… you’ve been asking me where I went)… I’ve finally had some ideas come my way. Unfortunately I’ve been waylaid by some things that have come up in my personal/professional life that have kept me busy. I was selected to be part of a Community Grants Committee at work, which is amazing… I get to help decide where our company spends its charitable dollars! It is a ton of reading though, and I’ve got to get it all done before I leave for my honeymoon this weekend. I am also up for a new position, so I’m trying to prepare for an interview this week. So things are hectic, but good.
Back to the matter at hand… something disturbing sent to me by a friend: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/03/19/13292591-qmi.html
In case you don’t feel like reading the article, you should at least check out the link to see the pictures. In short a woman is claiming to have left a McDonald’s Happy Meal sitting on a shelf for a year. She says it has not rotted or decomposed in any way shape or form, and that rather than getting smellier, it has ceased to smell at all. I want to be clear on my position here (mostly because I’d prefer not to be sued by McDonalds). I am not endorsing this link, or supporting this research. There is nothing quantitative in this particular article, proving that this is legitimate (she may have this proof, I just haven’t seen it).
What I want to talk about is not the information itself, but the way I’ve seen people react to the information. I showed this to almost a dozen people at work. Most shrugged, some said “Yeah, what did you expect?” and still others said the picture made them think they wanted McDonalds for lunch. Someone even went so far as to joke that they’d gladly feed their kid indestructible food, because it would make him indestructible. The only people who were at all upset about this are the ones who would have avoided fast food before seeing this.
Are we really so removed from our bodies and our health that we don’t understand that food should rot? I find it incredible that a species that has lost all ability to instinctually recognize what it should not ingest, has thrived the way we have. We are so confused about what food is.
So if those who are most likely to eat these things are the ones least affected by this information, how do we make any change? I’m reminded of what my husband refers to as the “fattest thing” I ever said (and it was). Several years ago we were lying around watching TV, and I was eating one of those ice cream cones that come from a box. I looked at him and said “I don’t care if it is made of feathers; it’s delicious!” So I can relate to this mentality. What I’m trying to figure out is how I got from there to here. It’s not that I don’t still love and want those foods. It’s just that I finally understand how unnatural it is to eat that way. How much my body suffers when I do. Maybe I’d finally seen one too many articles about food that didn’t rot. I really can’t say. I think that somewhere deep down I always got it, I just didn’t want to get it. In the end I guess that’s the answer… you have to want to get it.
EWWWWWWWWWWW
ReplyDeleteNormally, I eat at McDonalds maybe once or twice a year.
This month, I've eaten there 5 times. Each time I do, I regret it and immediately have a gross, heavy feeling in my stomach.
This is just more incentive to avoid that place entirely...
(Well, except for the coffee. Their coffee is actually pretty decent.)
Good post, Shawn!
The absence of mold and other visible deterioration of the food does not in itself imply that it is still edible. Food preservation has been a constant battle for humans. As a result we have pickles, jams, jellies, jerky, dried foods, cheese, yogurt, wine, beer, mead, frozen foods and refrigeration. The list could go on and on, but all have a common goal...to take a "raw" ingredient and allow us to store it for consumption.
ReplyDeleteSo, look at a happy meal.
1. All of it is factory processed, so it must be a sterile and clean as possible...this is a good thing as you wouldn't want to inflict mass poisoning on the populace... See More
2. All of it is cooked. Cooking will kill many "beneficial" spoilage vectors such as bacteria. The cooking process also removes moisture, which allows the food to keep longer.
3. All if it is heavily salted. Salt is an excellent preservative that inhibits bacterial growth and mold blooms
French Fries: They are deep fried; a process which further removes moisture AND creates a poor surface for micro-organism colonization. Add oil & salt to the mix and it's even harder for them to get moldy
Burger: Much of the fat is cooked out of the burger patty. What you get on the burger is essentially rehydrated jerky. Left to it's own devices, the fat would go rancid (which doesn't smell bad, but tastes awful) and the salt would preserve the meat ingredients.
Now, take your average household. It is usually clean, has some form of climate control for temperature and humidity and is relatively free from scavengers. So of course a happy meal would dry out. Put that outside and you'd have a smelly mush in a couple of weeks if not days.
Am I arguing that a happy meal is healthy for children? No. Is it nutritious? Not overly. Is it food? Of course. Should we be eating it? That's totally up to you.
You were talking about how you got from the fattest thing you've ever said to 'here' - a conscious consumer.
ReplyDeleteElliot and I were talking about this not long ago. Information is all around us all the time, people say the same things over and over. You've read about the benefits of eating *around* the grocery store or eating local foods or family farmed animals... Yadda yadda yadda... I dont think that these days you can get away with a "Oh I didn't know" when it comes to healthy eating.
So, what made you change? Well, it all started years ago, I'm sure, when you were walking through the isles at the grocery store and chose whole grain spaghetti over enriched flour noodles - so you've slowly been making (probably) mostly unconscious decisions (until now!) to eat better.
Also, you watched Oprah and something *clicked* right? It was a source you trusted (maybe not entirely - but enough) promoting Pollan's book, which peaked your interest.
So, what I'm saying is; that sometimes you've already made that internal decision to change - but when someone you're inspired by or look up to speaks on a topic like this - it's easy, and also becomes necessary to make the physical changes. Or, sometimes you need someone you respect (whether they be in the media or not) to share *their* environmental/gastric stories! :)
For example, I was on the fence about going vegetarian for a long time. YEARS, even! But, then I read Eating Animals by Safran Foer - and that was it. Just like that I'd completely changed my life around. Not because he 'told' me to - but because I trust his words and it was exactly what I needed to hear. Had someone else - ANYONE ELSE said the exact same thing, I dont think my decision would have been as definite.
Know what I mean Jelly-bean?:P
Anyways, Shawn - I love your blog, please dont feel like no one reads it, because we do! Or, I do anyways, and you know what, who cares if no one else reads it? This is a way for *you* to document *YOUR* journey. Something you can look back on in a year or two and remember how it all started!
Love Smelly
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ReplyDeleteIt's being read Shawn & it is worthwhile :)
ReplyDeleteIt helped me to get 'back on track' really. It prompted me to think of my man like my in house 'drug dealer' when it comes to food too ;-)
I actually identified him as just that! It made him aware also. We get caught in routines and habits so much so that sometimes we don't even notice this kind of thing- those kinds of roles.
While I'm not quite eating the same way you are because I follow the Maximized Living program & I am vegetarian, it is nice to be reminded that someone is on a journey to better eating/ better health too and I can appreciate the struggles, the slippery slopes, the efforts and so on while they seem to be mirroring some of my own and my own thoughts/ feelings.
For me, because I have polycystic ovaries, a low thyroid annnnnd a newly discovered ovarian tumor, my hormones are a mess, my body is upset and weight loss seems almost impossible BUT where I cannot control a lot of this crap, I am grateful for the opportunity to control what goes into my bod and I recognize that my choices DO make a difference even if they are less visible. Your blog keeps these positives fresh in my mind and it reminds me that weight loss is just an added bonus- a side effect- not the main goal. Anyway I might be on a roll with a rant now but you asked for comments here rather than facebook so now you have that. See facebook for relevant McDonalds comment lol.
Thanks for all the loving dear readers! It was a much needed reminder that this is mainly for me, but that others are benifiting as well. I've never blogged before and didn't expect the feeling that comes with releasing your thoughts into the "void" and feeling like you are getting echos in return. I'll keep in mind in future that just because I can't see the ripples I'm making, that doesn't mean they aren't there.
ReplyDeleteAnactoria - I think I've figured out who you are... but am not sure. Do I know you because of our friend Smelly? :)