cross-posted at annoyedomnivore.wordpress.com
Much has been made concerning a new study, led by Kelly Purtell of Ohio State University, that provides evidence that eating fast food is not only a major contributor to the obesity epidemic but also damages brain development in children. The study, which is behind a paywall, cataloged the fast food eating habits of 8,544 children at age 10, assessed their current test scores in math, science and reading, and then compared the results three years later. The study revealed that “52 percent of the children in the study ate fast food up to three times weekly, 10 percent had it four to six times a week, and 10 percent had it every day.” Not surprisingly, the children who ate fast food every day scored lower on tests than children who never ate fast food. Similar studies, however, have been conducted over the years, yielding many of the same results.
Research was done in 2010 by Dr. Sophie von Stumm from the Department of Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London, which examined “whether the type of children’s daily main meal – comparing fast food with ‘slow’, freshly-cooked food – impacted on children’s cognitive ability and growth.” Like the Ohio State University study, this research also accounted for socio-economic status, television watching and exercise. The results showed that childhood nutrition has longstanding effects on IQ. Another study conducted in 2009 came up with the same conclusions, in that a diet devoid of fresh food lowers IQ. This information is not new. And, sadly, government inaction remains steady. Aside from this evidence presented by the scientific community, no single politician in the U.S. has made any attempt to rein in or regulate the fast food industry.
Michelle Obama, however, did take a stand at increasing public awareness of the need to improve the quality of the food we feed our children. Shortly after arriving at the White House, Ms. Obama planted a garden, at the time declared organic, but which in fact merely eschewed the use of chemical herbicides. The garden did not strictly adhere to the official regulations as to what comprises an organic garden. Over this seemingly simple attempt to supply vegetables to the White House kitchen as well as serving as an educational tool for children, Big Ag groups went nuts. The Mid America CropLife Association, a group that represents Monsanto, Dow AgroSciences and DuPont Crop Protection, among others, sent a protest letter to the White House. Ms. Obama also instigated a program, “Let’s Move,” which espoused the virtues of physical activity and personal responsibility in nutrition. She ramped up her approach in 2010, and delivered a speech at a Grocery Manufacturers Association conference, where she called on the industry to “not just tweak around the edges, but to entirely rethink the products you’re offering, the information that you provide about these products, and how you market those products to our children. That starts with revamping…your efforts to reformulate your products, particularly those aimed at kids, so that they have less fat, salt and sugar, and more of the nutrients that our kids need.”
The fast food industry responded to Michelle Obama’s challenge by, A: not doing anything, and B: by actively opposing any chance of regulation. In 2011, a federal task force drafted voluntary guidelines for marketing food to children that was forcefully killed by a massive lobbying effort by Walt Disney, Nestle, Kellogg and General Mills. These companies and other groups also dramatically increased their lobbying muscle. Eighty three million dollars was spent by such groups during the Bush administration – now more than $175 million has been spent since Obama took office. A small sum of this money convinced Congress to declare pizza a vegetable.
It’s been well established that fast food is bad on every imaginable level. That the industry needs to be regulated is also an idea that’s well established, but politically difficult, particularly in the U.S. One tactic that has been deployed is to turn the issue of whether or not to consume fast food from an issue of personal responsibility to one of concern about national public health. “It takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of dedicated people and it takes research,” says John F. Banzhaf III, a law professor at Georgetown University. And as Michelle Simon of the Prevention Institute says, “because government is so beholden to industry that it can’t do a proper job protecting the public through regulation, we are left with no other recourse but to turn to the courts.”
If we wish to protect the developing brains and bodies of our children, much more needs to be done to curb the nefarious practices of the fast food industry. Calorie counting aside, all additives should be publicly acknowledged and increased nutritional education offered in our schools.
Recipe of the Week
I’ve made chicken enchiladas with tomatillo sauce many times. On this occasion, however, I decided to “beef” it up and the results were quite good.
Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce
1 whole roasted chicken, preferably organic or free-range
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
2 to four jalapenos, sliced in half and seeded
1.5 lbs. tomatillos, husked
12 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 bunch spinach
1 small bunch cilantro
2 cups chicken stock or water
10 flour tortillas, preferably homemade using organic flour
salt and pepper to taste.
fat free yogurt
Lightly coat a roasting pan with oil, turn the oven on to 400 degrees, and place the onion quarters, tomatillos, jalapenos and garlic cloves on the pan. Place in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. I recommend removing the garlic before the other vegetables so the cloves don’t burn, after about 10 to 15 minutes. When the vegetables are done, remove them to a blender or food processor, including any pan juices. Add the spinach and cilantro and puree until smooth. Place the mixture in a pan along with the chicken stock or water and cook down until it’s been reduced by about a third. Remove all the chicken from the bone, and remove the skin. Chop or tear up the chicken and add to the pot after the sauce has been reduced. Taste for salt and pepper.
Ladle some of the sauce on the bottom of a large roasting dish. Remove the chicken from the sauce and place a portion on the tortilla. Put one or two dollops of yogurt on the tortilla and loosely wrap up. When all the tortillas have been filled, cover with the remaining sauce, cover with foil and cook in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes. I had a little sauce left over, which I froze and will probably use in rice dish.