Progressive Wednesday

A “grrrrreat!” move by Kellogg’s for kids.

Here’s a problem, courtesy of the Mayo Clinic:

The annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about one-third of U.S. children are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. In total, about 25 million U.S. children and adolescents are overweight or nearly overweight.

So what’s the big deal? Well, one of them is, of course, diabetes. According to the National Institutes of Health:

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in school-aged children. About 75 percent of all newly diagnosed cases of type 1 diabetes occur in individuals younger than 18 years of age. Most children and adolescents diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese.

But today’s good news goes like this:

Kellogg Co., the world’s largest cereal maker, has agreed to raise the nutritional value of cereals and snacks it markets to children. The company said it won’t promote foods in TV, radio, print or Web site ads that reach audiences at least half of whom are under age 12 unless a single serving of the product meets these standards:

• No more than 200 calories.
• No trans fat and no more than 2 grams of saturated fat.
• No more than 230 milligrams of sodium, except for Eggo frozen waffles.
• No more than 12 grams of sugar, not counting sugar from fruit, dairy and vegetables.

Kellogg said it would reformulate products to meet these criteria or stop marketing them to children under 12 by the end of 2008. A third of the cereals it markets to children in the U.S. fall outside standards.

At Progressive Wednesday, we often fall on the side of libertarianism (particularly socially), but there’s always a caveat: the protection of children. If adults (and adults includes companies) are harming children, the culture as a whole has an obligation to protect the liberty and welfare of these children. This protection also includes, to a degree, protecting children from their parents and guardians. Now, we don’t believe the cops should show up at someone’s door if parents serve their kids caramel apples and Twinkies for dinner.

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Corn, from Ascorbates to Zein: Learn

With most issues, progressive or otherwise, people usually realize that a problem exists or at least that improvements can be made. We squabble over whether or not it's worth fixing, how to go about doing that, how important the issue is, what side effects our actions might have, etc. But at least we know that there is a problem. Not so with corn. Here are some of the impacts the over subsidizing and overproduction of corn has on our society, in bullet form for your convenience:

• Corn is the most subsidized crop in our country. From 1995-2005, over 51 billion dollars were given to farmers in the US of A, more than twice that of the next closest crop.
• Cows are ruminants whose stomachs are designed to eat grass, not corn. They are given antibiotics to stave off infection until they go off to slaughter. This promotes antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can be transmitted to humans that eat corn-fed beef.
• Corn strips the soil of more nutrients than any other mainstream crop and therefore requires much more fertilizer and pesticides, and consequently, more gas and oil to produce.
• Hormones and antibiotics given to cows to make them grow faster and bigger end up in our meat, soil, and water.
• Corn acidifies a cow's stomach, providing a haven for bacteria like E. Coli. Most of these animals are raised in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) where these diseases are easily spread.
• Compared to 1970, farms (which grow corn) today produce 500 more calories per person each day. We pack away an average of 200 of those calories.
• By many formulas, ethanol made from corn burns nearly as much fossil fuel, if not more to produce the crop as it would to just burn it in our car. Ethanol made from other plants such as sugar beets is much more efficient. Making ethanol is good; making it good is better.
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is the most common sweetener in the country. It is cheaper and easier to make than sugar from beets or sugar cane. But (there's always a “but– ), it doesn't stimulate the pancreas to make insulin or leptin to let us know when we are satisfied. The result? We crave more, eat more, get fatter, and get sicker. We are literally subsidizing obesity.
• Many scientists are now attributing the latest honeybee die-off to chemical pesticides used in fields of sweet corn.
• Corn is Iowa’s number one crop. Iowa has the earliest Presidential Primary. Need I say more?

Corn, from Ascorbates to Zein: Eat

We won't tell you to stop eating food with corn or corn derivatives in it; that wouldn't be reasonable. But a few changes in our eating habits would certainly lower the need for corn. This site has a list of additives, preservatives, etc. that are made from corn. There are about 600, and the list is not exhaustive. It would be tough to cut these out completely (imagine being allergic to corn), but just knowing how much corn is in your ice cream might make you think differently the next time you're at the grocery store.

This horse is so dead that it's totally decomposed, but we're gonna beat its bones anyway. Buy organic food. Being organic doesn't necessarily mean that there is no corn in it (corn can be grown organically), but generally there is much less corn used to process organic food. Plus, organic food tends to have ingredients spelled out more fully, making it easier to sidestep corn products. For more info on the benefits of organics, click here.

There are 38 ingredients in McDonald's Chicken McNuggets. That's scary enough, but 13 of them are directly derived from corn, and a dozen or so more are processed with corn products. A Big Mac contains corn-fed beef and has high fructose corn syrup in the bun and sauce. And that large Coke has 310 calories from corn. Another reason to stay away from fast food.

Finally, consider buying grass-fed meat. It's leaner, free of antibiotics and hormones, and much less likely to contain E. Coli, fungus, or other contaminants. Here is a list of suppliers in your state, or you can have it shipped to your home. Supporting businesses that go against the grain (pardon the pun) to provide a product that is ethically superior is a big part of progressivism.

Corn, from Ascorbates to Zein: Sign

High Fructose Corn Syrup is one of the leading causes of obesity and type-2 diabetes, especially in children. There is a movement in New York City schools to have HFCS removed from school lunches that is garnering a good deal of attention. Here is a petition online that has collected almost 500 signatures. Add yours. It only takes a few seconds and can send a strong message, and maybe make “Big Apple kids– a bit healthier.

When Congress votes on a new Farm Bill this year, they will decide how much money will be paid in subsidies and to whom that money will go. This petition asks them to shift those funds away from the huge corporate farms and towards programs that can put those subsidies to better use. So please sign it, then tell your friends and tell them to tell their friends– ¦

This Wednesday: I’m not lovin’ it

Problem:

A few weeks ago, I was driving home from my in-laws late at night. Feeling a bit drowsy, I decided to stop at the nearest restaurant for a caffeinated beverage. I don't usually eat at fast-food joints, but there aren't many choices near their house (cows outnumber humans by a ratio of about 4:1). So Burger King it was for a large diet, yes, diet coke and some cheesy tots for my “cheesy– tot.

After I placed my order, the little machine at the counter piped in: “Would you like to add a Whopper with cheese for 80 cents more?– By rounding up to an even five buckaroos, I could save over 60% on “ America's favorite burger.– So I stared at the 12-foot banner advertising the Quadruple BK Stacker (that's a full pound of beef, if you can call it beef) behind the 5' 6– , 220-pound cashier trying to decide. Almost 800 calories for only 80 cents. That's, let's see– ¦ 800 divided by– ¦ carry the one– ¦ 10 calories per Lincoln head. No wonder we're so fat.

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Make Progress:

When I say “we– , I have to include both of us here at Progressive Wednesday. And, for that matter, two-thirds of our great, if somewhat gluttonous, nation. Yes, according to the American Obesity Association, 64.5% of Americans like us are considered to be overweight, while half of those fit the definition of obese. That definition? A Body Mass Index over 25 is considered overweight. A BMI surpassing 30 is considered obese. You can figure out your BMI with the calculator here.

Obesity is not an issue of beauty; it's an issue of health. It's not about fitting into those size two jeans or looking good at the beach this summer in that new two-piece. It's about living longer and feeling better. It's about being around when your kids have kids, and maybe even when your kids' kids have kids. It's about being there when the Buffalo Bills finally win the Super Bowl, whether it's this year or in 2077 (that'd be Super Bowl CXI).

But the effect the amount and type of food we eat stretches well outside the milieu of health or appearance. These issues wander into the field of economics, both local and global, health care, animal rights, the environment, agriculture, human rights, and– ¦ do I really need to list more? Let's make some progress.

• Watch
• Stop
• Choose
• Walk

I’m not lovin’ it: Watch

Frontline: Diet Wars

It probably won't come as a complete shock when I tell you that our friends over at PBS have done it again. Their Frontline series has produced a piece called “Diet Wars,– which takes an in-depth look at the problem with obesity in this country and around the world, with an emphasis on the constant battle between commercial diets and their role in the increase of obesity in the United States during the 1980s and 90s.

Steve Talbot, yes the same one who played Gilbert Bates on “Leave it to Beaver,– tries, as so many others have, to sift through the claims and accusations flung around like emaciated rag dolls by the creators and critics of these commercial diets. It may sound like the same old same old, but “Diet Wars– isn't. Talbot's willingness to give the non-mainstream opinion a fair shake actually makes the debate interesting, and the results sometimes shocking. You can watch the whole program online at the PBS website or you can purchase it here and help out the last true public television station.

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Super Size Me

The only problem with “Diet Wars– is that it can be very discouraging to someone considering attempting one of the commercial diets, even though many of them have proven to be very effective at least at taking the weight off, if only temporarily. It can stifle motivation. Not so with “Super Size Me.– In this 2004 Academy Award nominee, writer/director Morgan Spurlock eats nothing but McDonald's for a whole month. Three times a day for 30 days, he eats everything on the menu at least once. Oh, and if they ask him if he wants to “Super Size– it, he says yes.

Spurlock doesn't just get fatter, he gets sick. He becomes addicted to McDonald's food, developing headaches and depression that only a McMeal can cure. His liver acts like that of an alcoholic and he develops heart palpitations after less than three weeks. Against the advice of several doctors, he finishes, gaining 25 pounds in the month. You can get it here, or rent it at any video rental store. After you see this film, you'll likely never want to eat fast food again. And that wouldn't be the worst thing. In fact– ¦

I’m not lovin’ it: Stop

Stop eating fast food, plain and simple. Okay, plain, but maybe not so simple. We have become a society on the move (at least in our cars) and sometimes a quick meal at KFC is the only thing we seem to have time for. Plus, we've grown to like the food, maybe even love it. It's fast, convenient, tasty, cheap, and deadly. To prove my point, the ever useful numbered list:

1. Chicken served at McDonald’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Outback, Applebee’s, Chili’s and TGI Friday’s was found by the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine to contain PhIPm, a carcinogenic compound. In other words, it causes cancer and they didn't tell us.
2. To quote Eric Schlosser, author of Fast-Food Nation: “Fast food has become the operating system of today's retail economy, wiping out small businesses, obliterating regional differences, and spreading identical stores throughout the country like a self-replicating code.– To quote me: “It's like Wal-Mart that makes you fat.–
3. In the “duh– category, eating fast food regularly greatly increases your chance of becoming obese and developing diabetes. Even, or especially, in children.
4. The 142 billion dollars we spend annually on fast food exceeds the amount we spend on higher education. That would help explain more than just our weight problem.
5. According to the Worldwatch Institute, 12 percent of the national healthcare budget goes toward treating ailments caused by obesity.
6. Animal rights groups have won many lawsuits against every major fast food chain. Conditions have since gotten better, but are still a long ways from good.
7. The production of food by major fast food chains contributes exponentially to soil depletion, water and air pollution, the loss of family farms and rural communities, and even global warming.
8. Every fast food hamburger you eat contains meat from hundreds of cattle. Each burger potentially contains diseases from all of those animals.
9. Because fast food is so highly processed, much of its flavor is destroyed, so the tastes of most fast food are manufactured at a series of special chemical plants in New Jersey.
10. Major fast food companies are frequently involved in civil rights lawsuits for the treatment of workers at their supplier's farms, from Florida to China.