Outsmarting The Food Mercenaries

I will be presenting a one hour session on this topic at the Martha Riley Community Library in Roseville, CA, on June 1 at 4 PM. Despite a plethora of instant information on every product on our market shelves today, the Collective American Nutritional IQ hovers below normal. We talk a good talk, and then we buy packaged junk, supplied by mercenary companies, which have guaranteed this generation and possibly the next, the highest obesity and diabetes numbers this country has ever seen. Sugars and chemicals now go where they have never gone before. Activia, a yogurt based snack heavily advertised on television by actress, Jamie Lee Curtis, is positioned as a healthy way to keep “regular.” Jamie advises the viewer to enjoy Activia three times a day. A single serving of many Activia products contains close to four teaspoons of sugar; three servings a day add up to more than 12 teaspoons. The American Heart Association recommends only five teaspoons per day for a healthy woman. In addition, Activia contains Agar, a laxative. Diacetyl, an artificial flavoring used to give popcorn that buttery taste, is known to cause “popcorn lung,” a debilitating respiratory condition. I will discuss the food company strategies to first hook, and then keep the buying public addicted to their low-nutrition products. Bring your favorite food item and find out its RealNutritionValue: good, acceptable, bad, ugly, or hideous.