SUSTAINABLY

Legitimacy for food addiction

Michael — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:57:34 +0000

This isn't my only thought on the subject, or even the primary one; I expect to pen that in the next day or two. But I see legitimate, informed citations of food addiction — as opposed to dumb tweets such as "OMG, cayenne-encrusted popcorn shrimp balls dipper in cranberry honey mustard, my new food addiction! — almost every day. Here's another one, from Nourish, a short video featuring Dr. Nadine Burke.

How did they survive on so little?

Michael — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:10:07 +0000

From the US Centers for Disease Control.

My speech on food addiction

Michael — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:57:11 +0000

I gave this speech about food addiction last week at my Toastmasters club in Lexington, Mass.

The audio isn't the best, but it IS there. Also, if I were editing, I'd have eliminated the first two minutes or so, and if you want, you could skip ahead to that point. Prior to that, the speaker is my friend, author and public speaker Roberta K. Taylor.

Volume selling, volume eating go together

Michael — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:53:51 +0000

I am like most people in that I have a) tired of "the latest study" because it seems you can always find one that says the opposite of the last one and b) interest in studies that confirm my world view.

But that's not why I'm sharing this nugget:

Headline: Report Suggests That Your Supermarket May Affect Your Weight

Fight for the right to have bake sales

Michael — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:22:51 +0000

The linked post from Marian Nestle’s blog recounts the hasty retreat from a plan in Massachusetts to bar school bake sales, and it encapsulates so much of the nation’s nutrition problem.

In the uproar that resulted, opponents argued that it would make it harder to raise money for class trips, etc.; not resolve the obesity problem; and tread on local rights.

fMRI brain scans can predict weight gain

Michael — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:53:19 +0000

It is passe, if not cliche-ish, to say that MRI images of the brain show similar activity for some people shown food images compared with cocaine addicts shown coke images.

But a study at Dartmouth College — published April 18 in The Journal of Neuroscience — goes a step further, using images from the brain’s rewards center to predict who is likely to gain weight six months hence.

Not only that, but researchers used the same technique to predict sexual desire.

Tax would help, but could it ever pass?

Michael — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:35:27 +0000

I’m reminded of the “lock box,” which was a largely unsuccessful political gambit promoted by Al Gore during his 2000 presidential run as a way to make Social Security tax increases more palatable. The idea was that we would ensure that taxes collected for this purpose would not be redirected, making it just one more tax increase.

Oh no! The food industry could go under!

Michael — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:57:25 +0000

A proposed standard for nutrition claims in New Zealand and Australia is being opposed by an industry group.

Yes, I know, that's hardly news. After seeing the US food industry insist on no more than voluntary guidelines and then using tens of millions and all its other muscle to defeat those, it's clear that the industry will truck no curb, no matter how innocuous.

Who needs our protection?

Michael — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:59:29 +0000

A question that keeps recurring: Why are the free-speech rights of corporations more important than our shared imperative to protect children?

No rights are absolute, as exemplified by falsely shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, as expressed by Oliver Wendell Holmes in a 1919 Supreme Court case. In the larger sense, there are very few absolutes in a world colored in shades of gray, anyway.

How can you not be outraged?

Michael — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:48:39 +0000

I'm late to this topic, and perhaps have failed to add to, or take advantage of the momentum generated when this special Reuters report on food marketing to children was released April 27. But it's too important not to bring it to your attention, and by more than just a tweet.