By Nadria Tucker
Lose weight, support the local economy and get a warm tingly feeling of self-righteousness.
(Photo by Photo Mojo, flickr)
Birmingham, Alabama. Publix. The woman in front of me in the checkout line tries (and fails) to buy steamed crab legs with her food stamps at $11.00 a pound. This is her idea of eating well. The woman behind me loads the conveyor belt with Wheat Thins, Lean Cuisines and a 24 pack of Diet Coke. This is her idea of eating healthy. I get out of the store with a buggy full of produce, only one plastic bag and a bill well short of triple digits. This is a victory.
Food is a business — like the music industry and the auto industry — concerned more with making money than with putting out a quality product. How does this affect you? Consider this: A fast food burger is cheaper than a head of broccoli.
Why? Animals are raised mass-produced in unhealthy and disturbing ways (remember the whole downer cow thing?). Unlike broccoli, corn and soy are subsidized so heavily that they’re in everything — in places they shouldn’t be. Read the label on a box of mac & cheese if you don’t believe me. Look closely — the “cheese” is made of corn. For these and many other reasons (let’s sum them up as Big Food — sounds kind of like Big Tobacco, doesn’t it?), what Americans eat isn’t as healthy, tasty or environmentally sound as it could be. Don’t take my word for it. There are experts out there to consult. Books to read, films to see. The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. Food Matters by Mark Bittman. Food, Inc. (in theaters in June).
Because of this (and our increasingly sedentary lifestyle), we’re fat. Alabama is the fattest state in the United States. Yes, I realize that a fast food burger is cheaper than a head of broccoli (I said that already). But you can get more than one serving out of a head of broccoli, can’t you?
All of this is why I feel good when I leave the grocery store. Because I know I’m doing my part. Here’s how you can do yours.
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