The Global Supermarket and Just Desserts

Linking Diet, Behavior, Ecology, and Health

What’s in What We Eat?Fats, Carbohydrates, Salt

U.S. nutrition recommendations:

• less than 30% of calories from fat

• less than 10% from saturated fat

• 300 milligrams of cholesterol

• 2400 milligrams of sodium per day.

How Much is That???

Recommendations:

• If you eat 2000 calories per day:

30% of calories from fat(65 grams of fat per day)

• If you eat 2500 calories per day:

30% of calories from fat(80 grams of fat per day)

From McDonald’s http://www.mcdonalds.com/

Grilled Chicken / Big Mac:

Calories: 440 / 590Calories form fat: 180 / 340Total fat: 20 / 34 gramsSaturated fat: 3 / 11 grams Cholesterol: 60 / 85 mgSodium: 1040 / 1090 mg Carbohydrates: 38 / 47Protein: 27 / 24 grams

Hidden Sugars

• Look at the Label:

Corn Syrup and/or Refined Sugar is everywhere

Foods, Moods, Our Bodies

• In a study of 200 people done in England, subjects were told to reduce mood "stressors" consumed and to increase mood "supporters."

• Stressors included sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.

• Supporters were water, vegetables, fruit, and fish.

Foods, Moods, Our Bodies

Results:• 80% reported

improved mental health

• 26% said they had fewer mood swings

• 26% had fewer panic attacks and anxiety

• 24% experienced less depression

How Moods are Fed or Starved• The chemicals that control mood are the neurotransmitters in the

brain led by the pleasure "drug" serotonin. • These substances determine whether you feel good and energetic

or tired, irritable, and spacey. • The idea is to maintain a stable blood sugar level through the day,

slowly feeding these substances into the brain. • Low glycemic carbs include whole grain bread, beans, whole grain

crackers, soy, apples, pears, peaches, and other fruits. Carbohydrates such as commercial granola bars, animal crackers, graham crackers, potato chips, cakes and pies flood into the system too fast and cause the body to order up a big shot of insulin, which then tips the balance.

• "You can see it when you've had a white flour pancake and syrup for breakfast," a nutritionist says. "By mid-afternoon, you're ready for a nap." This sugar alert/ insulin cycle gradually becomes less efficient and leads to diabetes, heart disease and other problems.

Hormones, Depression, Diet

• Hormones are chemical messengers that regulate the activity of certain organs

• Hormones govern the menstruation process

• Diet affects hormones• Hormone imbalances are

linked to depression• Inadequate diet disrupts

ovulation

The Diet Mania

(what’s in this? look inside)

The Diet Industry Feeds on Our Concerns

• Americans spend over $40 billion a year on diet foods, books, etc

• Half of Americans are overweight, and half (not necessarily the same people!) are on a diet

The Glamour Industry Feeds on Low Self-Esteem

• It begins with Barbie dolls, then Cosmo, boyfriends, and always The Mirror: setting the unattainable standard

• http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~kbrow01/essays.htm

• When did these ‘beauty standards’ begin?

History of the Diet

There have always been community ideals.

Miss America 1938

Miss America 1924

Miss America 1975

‘Venus’ of Willendorf25,000 BC

Victorian Ideals

Furniture for Fasting

Victorian Fainting Couch

Chinese Foot Binding

Our Own Foot Binding

What are the Costs?

Bulemia, Anorexia, Dangerous diets, Depression, Self-loathing

What Else is Added to Our Foods?

Hormones:Hormonal additives, such as those fed to animals to increase their size and rate of growth, have been linked to breast cancer, diminished sperm production, and genetic abnormalities.

Antibiotics:• Some people are allergic to certain antibiotics, which can pose

health problems since there is a relatively small number of antibiotic drug classes.

• Antibiotics (along with many other medicines such as birth control drugs) may be found in many foods we eat (they are fed to animals and accumulate) as well as municipal water supplies.

• Bacteria (following Darwinian evolutionary principles) can become immune to the effects of antibiotics.

Other Drugs:• Birth control, antidepressants, and many other drugs are in the

water supply.

Who Owns the Means of Production?

• MoP: Land, seeds, tools, labor• Increasingly food giants like ADM

and Monsanto assert intellectual property rights over seed stock.

• In Southeast Asia, the Green Revolution has diminished yields and increased dependence on multinationals

• In Iraq, farmers now must buy from global agribusiness:http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7915.htm

So What Do We Eat?!

Organically Grown/Pesticide- and Hormone-free foods face:

• FDA labeling problems http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2005/11/03/PM200511033.html

• Higher price, lower availability, lack of consumer knowledge

• Farmers’ risk of being sued by agribusiness

(Google or Wiki Monsanto vs. Schmeiser)• Global agribusiness bankrupting smallholders

http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/bcbrasil.html

Eating in Our Neighborhood

• Locally produced food• Properly labeled food• As little processed food as

possible

Carrboro Farmers’ MarketChapel Hill Creamery

Maple View Farm Dairy

Other Peoples’ Neighborhoods

• Poor neighborhoods pay more for food than wealthy neighborhoods

• There are fewer grocery stores in poor neighborhoods, so

• People have to travel further to the store

• There is less fresh produce in stores in poor neighborhoods

What’s Cheap?

• Highly processed bulk foods

• Mass-produced foods• Fast food

The Omnivore’s Dilemma