Food Fight
By Donald Garrison
Rants 'n' Raves Contributing Editor

I'm aware that many foreign countries who were somewhat isolated (especially) from American export and influence have historically had a much better health record that the general stateside population. They've particularly shown fewer heart, cancer and lung problems. Japan, Vietnam and China were two (although China's population has problems of a different nature.) That has changed dramatically over the last 30 years as the United States marshalled such exports as MacDonald's, General Mills and Big Tobacco to these Countries.

The tobacco giants have made an all out assault on these countries in the last several years. Tobacco usuage has increased 17% in the last year alone according to US tobacco export records.

Heart, lung, colon disease are up dramatically in these countries. Countries that had virtually no incidence of a common US ailment, diverticulitis, due to their high intake of fiber-rich foods are experiencing a surge in this disease. The Japanese rarely suffered from this dibilitating disease until they adopted the US diet, heavy in dairy and beef products while deep-sixing many foods from their normal diet of rice and vegetables, kelp and fish products. Native cultures like the Eskimos whose lifestyle was invaded by the major U.S. oil companies are also starting to eat more of the US diet. MacDonald's, Burger King, and Pizza Hut are conquering the Alaskan Northlands at no less a pace than the California gold rush in the 1800s!

It could be said that most of these countries' peoples ate off the land with more natural food stuffs (from the ground or sea) for nurishment and sustenance. The US diet, high in fatty content, processed foods, salted and sugared, red meat slathered in animal fats, processed sweets and over cooked process vegetables in a can easily overtake less 'fun' foodstuffs. Coconut oils, soy oils, saturated fats show up in most of the breakfast meals of grains and pastry. Butter, milk and white flower are the main ingrediants in what many Americans find 'pleasureable' to eat. Snack foods, deep fried potato chips and their derivatives are among big staple "fun foods" that are consumed by the metric tons.

Some are beginning to heed the warnings of the medical community, heart and lung associations, and others who've demonstrated studies that directly implicate our US dietary habits as basically unhealthful and that cost billions in medical care, lost work time and shortend lives. Just as Big Tobacco is under seige, so is General Mills, MacDonald's, and concessionary treats such as high fat and cholerestol coconut oiled popcorn - the latter having as many calories as seven MacDonald Big Mac hamburgers. For those who are counting - this is approximately 3500 calories. This is the equivilent of what a large active male farm worker would need daily to maintain his energy level. A marathon runner would burn approximately 6000 calories in 27 miles of high energy consumtion. There are 3000 calories in one pound of fat.

Tobacco and the US Diet: two of Americas most insidious exports, guaranteed to bring misery and suffering to all people alike. Who says the US isn't an equal opportunity country. . .

Bag of popcorn anyone?

Send your responses! - All good quality, good faith responses will be published on this site, space permitting. Please try to keep it to 7 kb of plain text and simply indicate where your submission begins and ends.

Back to Rants 'n' Raves

Back to Cultural Studies Central