Bewildering

There is a central contradiction between nutrition theory and practice today. One one hand, our advice concerning the health benefits of a diet based largely on whole, live natural foods has not changed in more then fifty years and it is constantly supported by ongoing science. On the other hand, many people seem to be confused about what they are supposed to eat to stay healthy. When considering this contradiction, we should be aware of the role the food industry plays in creating an environment conducive to overeating animal based and highly processed foods.

For thousands of years, human body weight stayed stable. Throughout adulthood, those who came before us generally consumed no more than the food needed to stay alive. With rare exceptions, their body weight neither rose or fell by any significant amount. We were given a perfect biological system which reflected the wisdom of the body at work. Then, around 1980, things began to change.

We live in an age of industrial food with its numberless fast food outlets and supermarkets. Industrial food companies, not unlike cigarette , pharmaceutical and car companies, routinely place the needs of stockholders and the need for making profits above those of the consumer. They lobby congress to eliminate regulations and press regulatory agencies to not enforce those regulations that are on the books. Annually they spend billions of dollars on direct media advertising and its a sad commentary that much of it is aimed at children.

In his book The End of Overeating, Dr. David a Kessler points out that the business of food is to create highly rewarding stimuli and he quoted a high-level industry executive, who asked to remain anonymous, who said that," Higher sugar, fat, and salt make you want to eat more. They make a food compelling and indulgent. They make it high in hedonic value which gives us pleasure." Dr. Kessler also asked." Do you design food specifically to be high hedonic?" to which the executive replied,"Oh, absolutely. We try to bring as much of that into the equation as possible." "As we do this", says Dr. Kessler, " The food industry becomes the manipulator of the consumer's minds and desires."

Food companies, when they are not filing lawsuits about regulations they don't like, co-opt food and nutrition experts by supporting organizations and research while expanding sales by marketing directly to children and other groups whether or not the products are likely to improve people's diet. These practices are legal. Whether they are ethical is another matter. Much of what they do lobbying, marketing, engaging the services of "nutrition experts", is conducted out of the public view. Lobbying records are too often subject to confidentiality agreements.

The subliminal nature of food and beverage advertising is a tribute to its ubiquity as well as to the sophistication of the agencies that produce it. They spend billions of dollars annually on direct media advertising in magazines, radio, newspapers, television and billboards. Most of the billions are used to promote highly processed, elaborately packaged and "dead foods." Little, if any, is spent advertising "live" food like fruits,,vegetables, and grains. No wonder that so many people are bewildered